Lesson 5: Indefinite Pronoun ⲕⲉ
Indefinite Pronouns
An indefinite pronoun is a pronoun that does not refer to any person, place, or thing in particular. Some examples of indefinite pronouns in English are: "anything" - "something" - "anyone" - "anywhere" - "someone" - "somewhere" - etc.
Infix -ⲕⲉ-
The infix -ⲕⲉ- is a noninflectional word element that is inserted between the noun prefix and the noun. It expresses the meaning "other" and can be used with definite or indefinite articles, demonstrative articles and possessive articles without inflection. It is the only infix used with nouns.
| ⲡⲓⲕⲉⲣⲱⲙⲓ | the other man | Definite Article (m.) |
| ⲛⲓⲕⲉⲣⲱⲙⲓ | the other men | Definite Article (f.) |
| ϯⲕⲉ̀ⲥϩⲓⲙⲓ | the other woman | Definite Article (pl.) |
| ⲕⲉⲣⲱⲙⲓ* | another man | Indefinite Article (s.) |
| ϩⲁⲛⲕⲉⲣⲱⲙⲓ | some other men | Indefinite Article (pl.) |
| ⲡⲁⲓⲕⲉⲣⲱⲙⲓ | this other man | Demonstrative Article (m.) |
| ⲡⲁⲕⲉⲣⲱⲙⲓ | my other man | Possessive Article (1s.) |
| ⲡⲉⲕⲕⲉⲣⲱⲙⲓ | your (m.) other man | Possessive Article (2m.) |
| ⲡⲉⲕⲉⲣⲱⲙⲓ | your (f.) other man | Possessive Article (2f.) |
*Note that for the singular indefinite noun, the singular indefinite article ⲟⲩ is dropped. However, in the case of the plural, the plural indefinite article ϩⲁⲛ is kept.
Application
Biblical Examples
| ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ϩⲓⲧⲉⲛ ⲕⲉⲣⲱⲙⲓ ̀ⲧ̀ⲁⲛⲁⲥⲧⲁⲥⲓⲥ ̀ⲛⲧⲉ ⲛⲓⲣⲉϥⲙⲱⲟⲩⲧ | through another man [came] the resurrection of the dead (1 Cor 15:21) |
Exercises
Exercise 1: Translate to Coptic
Translate the following into Coptic:
Exercise 2: Translate to English
Translate the following phrases into English:
Resources
"A Study in Bohairic Coptic" by Nabil Matar; p162
See Moawad Daoud Lesson 2
See Sameh Younan page 59 in the PDF
ACTS 2990 Introduction to the Coptic Language (Bohairic) with Hany Takla Lesson 3A
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