Cardinal Numbers
**Cardinal numbers** answer 'how many?' and serve as the basic counting forms: εἷς ('one'), δύο ('two'), τρεῖς ('three'), τέσσαρες ('four'), πέντε ('five'), δέκα ('ten'), ἑκατόν ('hundred'), χίλιοι ('thousand'). Among 1–4, εἷς, τρεῖς, and τέσσαρες inflect; δύο normally remains δύο in nominative/genitive/accusative but has dative **δυσί(ν)**. From 5 onward most are **indeclinable**. Cardinals function as adjectives or substantives.
εἷς, μία, ἕν
**εἷς, μία, ἕν** ('one') has a full **singular three-gender paradigm** with case inflection: **εἷς/μία/ἕν** (nom.), **ἑνός/μιᾶς/ἑνός** (gen.), **ἑνί/μιᾷ/ἑνί** (dat.), **ἕνα/μίαν/ἕν** (acc.). This three-gender singular paradigm is its distinctive feature; it is not the only cardinal with case inflection, since **τρεῖς** and **τέσσαρες** also decline. Context can give εἷς emphatic senses such as 'a single/one alone'.
**Eph 4:5** — εἷς κύριος, μία πίστις, ἓν βάπτισμα ('one Lord, one faith, one baptism'). Note the three genders: εἷς (m.), μία (f.), ἓν (n.).
δύο
**δύο** ('two') is largely invariant in Koine/NT Greek: nominative, genitive, and accusative normally use **δύο**, while the dative **δυσί(ν)** is attested. Older **δυοῖν** belongs to Classical/historical comparison. A noun referring to two entities normally has **plural morphology** in Koine; semantic 'two-ness' is not a surviving grammatical dual category.
**Matt 18:8** — δύο χεῖρας ἢ δύο πόδας ἔχοντα ('having two hands or two feet'). δύο is unchanged here (nom./gen./acc. normally use δύο; the dative is δυσί(ν)). ἔχοντα is accusative singular masculine, agreeing with the understood subject of the infinitives ('you' — the person entering life), not with χεῖρας or πόδας.
τρεῖς
**τρεῖς, τρία** ('three') declines as a 3rd-declension word: **τρεῖς/τρία** (nom.), **τριῶν** (gen.), **τρισί(ν)** (dat.), **τρεῖς/τρία** (acc.). The masculine/feminine form is **τρεῖς**; the neuter is **τρία**. τρεῖς appears frequently in narrative (e.g., three days, three disciples).
**Matthew 18:20** — οὗ γάρ εἰσι **δύο ἢ τρεῖς** συνηγμένοι εἰς τὸ ἐμὸν ὄνομα, ἐκεῖ εἰμι ἐν μέσῳ αὐτῶν ('For where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in their midst'). **τρεῖς** is the cardinal nominative plural masculine/feminine form 'three'. Contrast the numeral adverb **τρίς** ('three times').
τέσσαρες
**τέσσαρες, τέσσαρα** ('four') declines similarly to τρεῖς: **τέσσαρες/τέσσαρα** (nom.), **τεσσάρων** (gen.), **τέσσαρσι(ν)** (dat.), **τέσσαρας/τέσσαρα** (acc.). Note the spelling variation **τέτταρες** (Attic) and **τέσσαρες** (Koine). It appears in expressions like 'four corners of the earth'.
Higher Cardinal Numbers
Many cardinals from **five through 199** are indeclinable: **πέντε, ἕξ, ἑπτά, ὀκτώ, ἐννέα, δέκα, ἕνδεκα, δώδεκα, εἴκοσι(ν), τριάκοντα, ἑκατόν**, etc. Higher adjectival numerals can inflect, for example **διακόσιοι** and **χίλιοι, χίλιαι, χίλια**. The numeral system should therefore be learned by class rather than summarized as 'all higher numbers are indeclinable'.
**Matt 14:17** — οὐκ ἔχομεν ὧδε εἰ μὴ πέντε ἄρτους καὶ δύο ἰχθύας ('We have nothing here except five loaves and two fish'). πέντε is indeclinable; δύο is unchanged here in the accusative, while Koine/NT dative δυσί(ν) is attested.
Ordinal Numbers
**Ordinal numbers** answer 'which in sequence?' — **πρῶτος, δεύτερος, τρίτος, τέταρτος**, etc. Regular ordinals are **three-termination first/second-declension adjectives**: masculine and neuter follow second-declension morphology and feminine follows first-declension morphology. They agree with their noun in gender, number, and case.
**Matt 20:1–16** — the parable of the workers hired at different hours uses ordinal expressions for the **third, sixth, ninth, and eleventh hours** (τρίτην, ἕκτην, ἐνάτην, ἑνδεκάτην), along with forms of **πρῶτος** for the first workers.
Multiplicative Expressions
True **multiplicative adjectives** express 'X-fold' and typically use **-πλοῦς**: **ἁπλοῦς** ('single/simple'), **διπλοῦς** ('double/twofold'), **τριπλοῦς** ('threefold'), **πολλαπλοῦς** ('manifold'). These are adjectival and inflect. Forms such as **ἅπαξ, δίς, τρίς, τετράκις** mean 'once/twice/three times/four times' and belong instead to the numeral-adverb system.
**Matt 18:22** — οὐ λέγω σοι ἕως ἑπτάκις ἀλλὰ ἕως ἑβδομηκοντάκις ἑπτά ('I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven'). ἑπτάκις = 'seven times'; ἑβδομηκοντάκις = 'seventy times'; ἑπτά = 'seven'.
Numerical Adverbs
**Numeral adverbs** answer 'how many times?' and are indeclinable: **ἅπαξ** ('once'), **δίς** ('twice'), **τρίς** ('three times'), and higher formations in **-κις** such as **τετράκις** and **ἑπτάκις**. Distinguish the cardinal **τρεῖς** ('three'), the numeral adverb **τρίς** ('three times'), and the multiplicative adjective **τριπλοῦς** ('threefold').
Distributive Expressions
**Distributive expressions** indicate 'so many each' or 'so many at a time'. Greek lacks a dedicated distributive number (unlike Latin's *bini*, *terni*) and instead uses **ἀνά** with the accusative or repeats the cardinal: **ἀνὰ πέντε** ('five each'), **δύο δύο** ('two by two'). Mark 6:7 sends the disciples **δύο δύο** ('two by two').
**Mark 6:7** — ἤρξατο αὐτοὺς ἀποστέλλειν δύο δύο ('he began to send them out two by two'). The doubled δύο expresses distribution; ἀποστέλλειν = present infinitive after ἤρξατο.
Fractions
Greek expresses **fractions** through several constructions. **ἥμισυς** ('half') is an inflecting adjective with gender/case forms; other fractions can use substantivized ordinals or phrases with **μέρος / μερίς**. In Revelation 8 the PT1904 text repeatedly uses the substantival neuter ordinal **τὸ τρίτον + genitive** to express 'one-third', for example **τὸ τρίτον τῆς γῆς** and **τὸ τρίτον τῶν ὑδάτων**. Fractions therefore cannot be reduced to a universal rule of neuter singular/plural adjectival forms.
**Revelation 8:7–12** repeatedly uses the substantival neuter ordinal **τὸ τρίτον** ('the third [part]' / 'one-third') in fractional expressions: 8:7 **τὸ τρίτον τῆς γῆς** and **τὸ τρίτον τῶν δένδρων**; 8:8 **τὸ τρίτον τῆς θαλάσσης**; 8:9 **τὸ τρίτον τῶν κτισμάτων** and **τὸ τρίτον τῶν πλοίων**; 8:10 **τὸ τρίτον τῶν ποταμῶν**; 8:11 **τὸ τρίτον τῶν ὑδάτων**; 8:12 **τὸ τρίτον τοῦ ἡλίου**, **τὸ τρίτον τῆς σελήνης**, and **τὸ τρίτον τῶν ἀστέρων**. This is one Greek fractional strategy; it does not justify a universal claim that all fractions use neuter forms.
Approximate Numbers
Approximation can be marked by particles such as **ὡσεί** and **ὡς** before numerals, with meanings such as 'about/approximately/as if': **ὡς ἑκατόν** ('about a hundred'), **ὡσεί πεντακόσιοι** ('about five hundred'). The grammar should describe the approximation itself; whether a reported number is historically precise, rounded, rhetorical, or otherwise interpreted is a separate question.
**Acts 1:15** — ὡσεὶ ἑκατὸν εἴκοσι ('about one hundred and twenty' [names of disciples]). ὡσεί indicates approximation.
Inclusive and Exclusive Counting
Ancient texts can employ counting conventions that differ from modern elapsed-time calculation, including forms of **inclusive reckoning** in which both endpoints are counted. Such conventions can help explain how expressions like 'on the third day' relate to other temporal formulations, but a particular passage must be interpreted from its own linguistic and historical context. Greek morphology by itself does not establish a specific chronological harmonization.
**1 Corinthians 15:4** — καὶ ὅτι ἐτάφη, καὶ ὅτι ἐγήγερται **τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῇ τρίτῃ** κατὰ τὰς γραφάς ('...that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures'). This is an ordinal temporal expression. Discussion of inclusive reckoning is a historical/interpretive question beyond the morphology of **τρίτῃ** itself.
Quantifiers
**Quantifiers** express quantity without a specific number: **πᾶς** ('all, every'), **πολύς** ('much, many'), **ὅλος** ('whole'), **ἕκαστος** ('each'), **οὐδείς/μηδείς** ('no one, nothing'), **τις** ('some, a certain'). They are often **adjectival** (declining with a noun) or **substantival** (functioning as a pronoun). Their syntax with the article is treated in Chapters 43–44.
πᾶς
**πᾶς, πᾶσα, πᾶν** ('all, every, whole') is the most important quantifier. It declines irregularly (3rd-declension m./n. stem παντ-, 1st-decl. f. πασ-): **πᾶς/πᾶσα/πᾶν** (nom.), **πάντος/πάσης/πάντος** (gen.), **παντί/πάσῃ/παντί** (dat.), **πάντα/πᾶσαν/πᾶν** (acc.). Its meaning shifts with the article: **πᾶς ὁ…** ('the whole…') vs. **πᾶς** without article ('every…'). See §22.15 and Chapter 44.
**Matt 28:18** — Ἐδόθη μοι πᾶσα ἐξουσία ἐν οὐρανῷ καὶ ἐπὶ γῆς ('All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me'). πᾶσα (f. nom. sg.) = 'all'.
πολύς
**πολύς, πολλή, πολύ** ('much, many') is the chief quantifier of amount. It declines irregularly: **πολύς/πολλή/πολύ** (nom.), **πολλοῦ/πολλῆς/πολλοῦ** (gen. sg.), **πολλοί/πολλαί/πολλά** (nom. pl.). The comparative is **πλείων/πλεῖον** ('more'); the superlative is **πλεῖστος** ('most').
**John 6:2** — ἠκολούθει δὲ αὐτῷ ὄχλος πολύς ('a large crowd was following him'). πολύς = 'much, large' (m. nom. sg.).
ὅλος
**ὅλος, ὅλη, ὅλον** ('whole, entire') emphasizes **completeness** rather than number. It declines as a normal 2nd/1st-declension adjective. **ὅλος** + article means 'the whole X' (τὸν ὅλον νόμον, 'the whole law'). It contrasts subtly with **πᾶς**: ὅλος stresses the undivided whole; πᾶς stresses totality across members.
**Matt 4:8** — δείκνυσιν αὐτῷ πάσας τὰς βασιλείας τοῦ κόσμου… cf. ὅλος in Mark 14:55 — ὅλον τὸ συνέδριον ('the whole Sanhedrin').
ἕκαστος
**ἕκαστος, ἑκάστη, ἕκαστον** ('each, every single one') stresses the **individual** members of a group one by one (distributive sense). It declines as a 2nd/1st-declension adjective. πᾶς collects the whole; ἕκαστος distributes to each member.
**Acts 2:3** — καὶ ὤφθησαν αὐτοῖς διαμεριζόμεναι γλῶσσαι ὡσεὶ πυρός, **ἐκάθισέ τε ἐφ’ ἕνα ἕκαστον αὐτῶν** ('and [a tongue] rested upon each one of them'). Target: **ἕνα ἕκαστον** = accusative singular masculine, 'each one', governed by **ἐπί (ἐφ’)**.
οὐδείς and μηδείς
**οὐδεὶς, οὐδεμία, οὐδέν** ('no one, nothing') and **μηδεὶς, μηδεμία, μηδέν** are the corresponding μή-type negative quantifiers. They decline like εἷς (m./f./n.). **οὐδείς** is typical of straightforward assertion/denial, while **μηδείς** is regular in prohibitions, wishes, subjunctive and many other μή-type environments; the choice is **not an indicative vs. non-indicative rule**.
**John 1:18** — θεὸν οὐδεὶς ἑώρακεν πώποτε ('No one has ever seen God'). οὐδείς with the indicative (a fact). Cf. **Phil 4:6** — μηδὲν μεριμνᾶτε ('Be anxious about nothing') — μηδέν with an imperative.
Paradigms
Cardinal Numbers: Forms and Declension
εἷς, τρεῖς, and τέσσαρες inflect; δύο is mostly invariant in nom./gen./acc. but has dative δυσί(ν). From πέντε onward most cardinals are indeclinable. Note χίλιοι declines (plural). Ordinals are normal adjectives.
| Number | Greek | Notes |
| 1 | εἷς, μία, ἕν | full singular m./f./n. case paradigm |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | δύο | nom./gen./acc. δύο; dat. δυσί(ν); older δυοῖν = Classical/historical comparison |
| 3 | τρεῖς, τρία | declines 3rd decl.; τριῶν, τρισί(ν) |
| 4 | τέσσαρες, τέσσαρα | declines; τεσσάρων, τέσσαρσι(ν) |
| 5–10 | πέντε…δέκα | indeclinable |
| 11–19 | ἕνδεκα, δώδεκα… | indeclinable compounds |
| 20 | εἴκοσι(ν) | indeclinable |
| 100 | ἑκατόν | indeclinable |
| 1,000 | χίλιοι, χίλιαι, χίλια | declines plural |
Chapter glossary
- εἷς μία ἕν — one
heis mia hen
numeral
Cardinal numeral 'one' with a full singular masculine/feminine/neuter case paradigm (εἷς, μία, ἕν). Its distinctive feature is the three-gender singular paradigm; it is not the only cardinal with case inflection.- δύο — two
dyo
numeral
Mostly invariant in Koine/NT nom./gen./acc.; dative δυσί(ν) is attested; older Greek also has dual δυοῖν.- τρεῖς τρία — three
treis tria
numeral
3rd-declension cardinal; m./f. τρεῖς, n. τρία (τριῶν, τρισί(ν)).- τέσσαρες — four
tessares
numeral
Declining cardinal; Koine τέσσαρες / Attic τέτταρες.- πρῶτος — first
prōtos
numeral
Ordinal adjective; the basis of 'first' in rank, time, and sequence.- πᾶς πᾶσα πᾶν — all, every, whole
pas pasa pan
quantifier
Key quantifier; with article = 'the whole', without = 'every'. (See Ch. 44.)- πολύς πολλή πολύ — much, many
polys pollē poly
quantifier
Irregular quantifier; comp. πλείων, superl. πλεῖστος.- ὅλος ὅλη ὅλον — whole, entire
holos holē holon
quantifier
Quantifier stressing undivided completeness (vs. πᾶς).- ἕκαστος — each, every one
hekastos
quantifier
Distributive quantifier stressing individual members.- οὐδείς — no one, nothing
oudeis
quantifier
Negative quantifier in οὐ-type denial; μηδείς belongs to μή-type negative environments. Choice is constructional/semantic, not reducible to indicative vs. non-indicative mood.