Examples
Below are two examples of the genitive absolute, in different tenses.
| (1) | τῶν ἀνδρῶν πολεμούντων, αἱ γυναῖκες μόναι οἴκοι εἰσίν tōn andrōn polemoúntōn, hai gunaīkes mónai oíkoi eisín While the men are waging war, the women are at home by themselves. |
This first example shows how a genitive absolute with a present participle is used with simultaneous actions. The independent clause is "αἱ γυναῖκες μόναι οίκοι εἰσίν" ("...the women are at home by themselves"). The dependent clause and genitive absolute in this example is "τῶν ἀνδρῶν πολεμούντων" ("While the men are waging war"). It explains to the reader why the women are home alone, and yet is additional and not required information. Note the usage of the conjunction while, indicating the two facts occurring at the same time.
When translating into English, failure to render the Greek participle into a finite clause often yields a stilted or even ungrammatical result: "The men waging war, the women are at home..." is hardly acceptable.
| (2) | τοῦ δεσπότου κελεύσαντος, οἱ δοῦλοι ἢργαζον toū despótou keleúsantos, hoi doūloi ērgazon After their master has ordered it, the slaves begin to work. |
This example shows a genitive absolute with an aorist participle. The independent clause in this sentence, "οἱ δοῦλοι ἢργαζον", explains what happens ("...the slaves begin to work."). The genitive absolute, being "τοῦ δεσπότου κελεύσαντος", provides the reader with additional information ("After the/their master has ordered (it)..."). Here, note the conjunction after, which indicates the two facts do not happen simultaneously, as they do with the present genitive absolute.
In this case, a more direct rendition, with 'having' as an overt indicator of temporal sequence, is possible if somewhat stilted: "The master having ordered it, the slaves began to work."
Read more about this topic: Genitive Absolute
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