Relative Pronoun ὅς, ἥ, ὅ ('who, which')
The **relative pronoun** **ὅς, ἥ, ὅ** introduces a relative clause and refers to an antecedent. It normally agrees with the antecedent in **gender and number**, while its **case is normally determined by its syntactic role inside the relative clause**: **ὁ ἄνθρωπος ὃν εἶδον** — ὅν is accusative as the object of εἶδον. **Relative attraction** is a marked exception in which the relative can take the antecedent's case.
**John 6:29** — Τοῦτό ἐστι τὸ ἔργον τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἵνα **πιστεύητε εἰς ὃν** ἀπέστειλεν ἐκεῖνος ('This is the work of God: that you believe in the one whom he sent'). Target: **ὃν**, relative pronoun, acc. sg. masc., governed by **εἰς** and referring to its antecedent/referent in the relative expression.
Relative Pronoun ὅστις ('whoever, whatever')
**ὅστις, ἥτις, ὅ τι** is the **indefinite relative** pronoun ('whoever, whatever, whichever'). It combines the relative ὅς with the indefinite τις: 'who + some = whoever'. It is used in general or indeterminate statements: **Πᾶς οὖν ὅστις ἀκούει μου τοὺς λόγους τούτους** ('everyone therefore who hears these words of mine', Matt 7:24).
The traditional label 'indefinite relative' describes common uses, not every occurrence. The compound can also have a specific referent: **ἥτις** refers to Philippi in Acts 16:12. Identify its force from the construction and context.
**Matthew 7:24** — Πᾶς οὖν **ὅστις** ἀκούει μου τοὺς λόγους τούτους καὶ ποιεῖ αὐτοὺς… ('Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and does them…'). Target: **ὅστις**, nominative singular masculine indefinite/general relative.
Relative Attraction
**Relative attraction** occurs when the relative pronoun 'is attracted' into the **case of its antecedent**, even though its function in the relative clause would require a different case. Normal: **τὸν ἄνθρωπον ὃν εἶδον** (ὅν acc., object of εἶδον). Attracted: **τοῦ ἀνθρώπου οὗ εἶδον** (antecedent gen.; οὗ gen. by attraction — without it the relative would be acc. ὅν). This is common in Koine and reflects a natural tendency to align the relative with its antecedent.
Inverse Attraction
Less commonly, the **antecedent** is attracted into the case of the relative pronoun. This **inverse attraction** is rarer but appears in literary NT Greek (Hebrews, Luke-Acts).
Antecedent Incorporation
Keep two constructions distinct. In a **headless/substantive (free) relative**, no separate antecedent is expressed and the relative clause itself fills the nominal role ('whoever...', 'what...'). In **antecedent incorporation**, an overt antecedent nominal is drawn into the relative clause. These are not the same phenomenon, and ὅστις often functions naturally in headless/general-relative constructions.
Interrogative τίς, τί ('who? what?')
The **interrogative pronoun/adjective** **τίς, τί** ('who? what? which?') asks a question and is **orthotone**: **τίς, τίνος, τίνι, τίνα**, in contrast to the enclitic indefinite **τις** (§21.7). It inflects for case and number, with common masculine/feminine versus neuter forms. It can be substantival (**Τίς ἐστιν οὗτος;** 'Who is this?') or adjectival with a noun (**τίς λόγος;** 'what/which word?'). The qualitative interrogative **ποῖος** ('what kind of?') is a different member of the correlative system (§21.10).
**John 1:19** — …Σὺ τίς **εἶ**; ('…Who are **you**?') — the priests and Levites ask John the Baptist who he is.
**Matt 22:42** — …Τί ὑμῖν **δοκεῖ** περὶ τοῦ Χριστοῦ; τίνος **υἱός** **ἐστιν**; ('…Whose **son** is he?').
Indefinite τις, τι ('some, anyone, something')
The **indefinite pronoun** **τις, τι** means 'someone, something, a certain, any'. It shares essentially the same segmental inflectional shapes as interrogative **τίς, τί**, but differs in **lexical function and prosodic behavior**: τις is **enclitic**, whereas τίς is orthotone/interrogative. Enclitic status does not mean every surface token is invariably printed without an accent; Greek enclitic accentuation can redistribute accent according to context.
**Mark 8:14** — …Καὶ **ἐπελάθοντο** λαβεῖν **ἄρτους**, καὶ εἰ μὴ **ἕνα ἄρτον** οὐκ **εἶχον** μεθ' **ἑαυτῶν** ἐν τῷ **πλοίῳ**.
Indefinite ex.: **Luke 10:25** — Καὶ ἰδοὺ **νομικός τις** ἀνέστη ('And behold, **a certain lawyer** stood up') — τις (enclitic) = indefinite 'a certain'.
Accent as a Grammatical Distinction
The **τίς / τις** contrast is a useful example of grammar encoded through both lexical function and prosody. **τίς** is interrogative and orthotone; **τις** is indefinite and enclitic. Accent is an important diagnostic, but the grammatical opposition is not merely typography, because enclitic accent can be redistributed by Greek accentuation rules.
Indefinite Relative Pronouns (ὅστις)
The compound relative **ὅστις, ἥτις, ὅ τι** combines relative ὅς with indefinite τις. It often has **general or characterizing** force, as in **Πᾶς οὖν ὅστις ὁμολογήσει** ('everyone therefore who will acknowledge', Matthew 10:32). It is not restricted to indefinite referents: **ἥτις** in Acts 16:12 refers to the named city Philippi. The traditional category 'indefinite relative' must therefore be qualified by context. Mark 4:23 has **εἴ τις** ('if anyone'), not ὅστις.
Qualitative Pronouns
Greek qualitative pronouns belong to a correlative family. **ποῖος, ποία, ποῖον** is the direct interrogative ('what kind of?'); **οἷος, οἵα, οἷον** is relative/correlative ('of which sort / such as'); **τοιοῦτος** is demonstrative ('such'), with related indefinite/general-relative forms such as **ὁποῖος**. The forms should be classified by their correlative function rather than glossed interchangeably.
Quantitative Pronouns
**ὅσος, ὅση, ὅσον** ('as much as, as many as') is a quantitative relative pronoun. It is common in NT instruction: **ὅσους ἐὰν εὕρητε** ('as many as you find', Matt 22:9).
Correlative Pronoun Systems
Greek has structured **correlative pronoun families** organized by function. A qualitative grid includes **ποῖος** (interrogative), **ποιός** (indefinite), **τοιοῦτος** (demonstrative), **οἷος** (relative), **ὁποῖος** (general relative). A quantitative grid includes **πόσος / ποσός / τοσοῦτος / ὅσος / ὁπόσος**. This system is different from simply chaining οὗτος, ὅς, τίς, and τις as though they were one inflectional paradigm.
Paradigms
Relative Pronoun: ὅς, ἥ, ὅ ('who, which')
Inflects for gender, number, and case. The relative normally agrees with its antecedent in gender and number, while case is normally determined by its syntactic role inside the relative clause; **relative attraction** is a marked exception that can alter the surface case.
| Case | m. sg. | f. sg. | n. sg. | m. pl. | f. pl. | n. pl. |
| Nom. | ὅς | ἥ | ὅ | οἵ | αἵ | ἅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gen. | οὗ | ἧς | οὗ | ὧν | ὧν | ὧν |
| Dat. | ᾧ | ᾗ | ᾧ | οἷς | αἷς | οἷς |
| Acc. | ὅν | ἥν | ὅ | οὕς | ἅς | ἅ |
Interrogative vs Indefinite: τίς / τις
Interrogative **τίς** and indefinite **τις** share the same basic segmental inflectional shapes but differ in lexical function and prosodic behavior: τίς is orthotone/interrogative, while τις is enclitic/indefinite. Surface accent must be interpreted with Greek enclitic rules.
| Case | Interrogative τίς ('who? what?') | Indefinite τις ('some, anyone') |
| Nom. m./f. | τίς who? | τις someone |
|---|---|---|
| accented = interrogative; enclitic = indefinite | ||
| Nom. n. | τί what? | τι something |
| Gen. | τίνος of whom? | τινος of someone |
| Dat. | τίνι to/for whom? | τινι to/for someone |
| Acc. m./f. | τίνα whom? | τινα someone |
| Acc. n. | τί what? | τι something |
Chapter glossary
- ὅς — who, which (relative)
hos
pronoun
Relative pronoun introducing a relative clause; it normally agrees with its antecedent in gender and number, while case is normally determined by its syntactic role inside the relative clause. Relative attraction is a marked exception.- ὅστις — whoever, whatever
hostis
pronoun
Compound relative pronoun, formed from relative ὅς and indefinite τις, often general or characterizing. Compare general ὅστις in Matthew 10:32 with specific feminine ἥτις referring to Philippi in Acts 16:12; it is not invariably indefinite. Mark 4:23 uses εἴ τις ('if anyone'), not ὅστις.- τίς — who? what? (interrogative)
tis
pronoun
Always accented (acute); asks a question.- τις — someone, a certain (indefinite)
tis
pronoun
Indefinite enclitic pronoun meaning 'someone/something/a certain/any'. It shares basic inflectional shapes with interrogative τίς but differs in lexical function and prosodic behavior; enclitic accent may be redistributed in context.- ὅσος — as much/many as
hosos
pronoun
Quantitative relative; πάντας ὅσους 'all [as many as]'.- — relative pronoun
pronoun
ὅς — introduces a relative clause, referring to an antecedent.- — interrogative
pronoun
τίς — asks 'who?/what?'; always accented.- — indefinite
pronoun
Indefinite pronominal category; in this chapter especially **τις, τι**, an enclitic pronoun meaning 'someone/something/a certain/any'. Its distinction from interrogative τίς involves function plus prosodic/accentual behavior, not an invariant absence of surface accent.- — relative attraction
syntax
Relative pronoun pulled into the case of its antecedent (τοῦ ἀνθρώπου οὗ εἶδον).- — antecedent
syntax
The noun a relative pronoun (or pronoun) refers back to.