I’m having some doubts relating to the following two sentences (particularly the marked passages).
The allies have fewer horsemen than the king.
οἱ σύμμαχοι ἔχουσιν ἐλάττονας ἱππέας ἢ βασιλεύς.
2)There were more sacred offerings in the Delphic temple than in the rest of the temples of Greece.
ἐν τῷ Δελφικῷ ναῷ (ἐν τῷ ναῷ τῷ ἐν Δελφοῖς) πλείονα άναθήματα ἦν ἢ ἐν λοιποῖς τῶν Ἑλλήνων ναοῖς.
I wonder, is that correct to make an accord with the noun, or would it be better to use an adverb? I would be thankful for any advice, correction, or comment. The sentences are taken from the exercise of translating into Greek. As a reference, I can cite § 1074 in H.W. Smyth, A Greek Grammar for Colleges (perseus.tufts.edu: Smyth grammar 4.38.67.75). From what is written there it seems that the adjective with the accord is an option.
In these examples it’s definitely the plural adjective (agreeing with the noun) that’s called for, not the adverb. They have fewer horsemen, i.e. a smaller number of them. The verb itself needs no modification.
Similarly with πλείονα (neut.pl.) vs. πλεῖον (adverb) in the second sentence. There were more offerings, i.e. a greater number of them.
If they had faster horsemen, say, or the offerings were bigger, that too would call for a comparative adjective.
But if you wanted to say horsemen go faster than pedestrians, then you’d use a comparative adverb. (A comparative adverb has the same form as the neuter singular of the comparative adjective, ending in -ον, but that’s a different matter,)
As a reference, I can cite § 1074 in H.W. Smyth, A Greek Grammar for Colleges (perseus.tufts.edu: Smyth grammar 4.38.67.75). From what is written there it seems that the adjective with the accord is an option.
Possible point of confusion in reading Smyth section 1074, that I think I see.
Section 1074 considers only the case of number + measure. In statements of number and measure …
In these cases, the comparative adverbs, πλέον and ἔλαττον, could be used, but this case of counting does not apply to your two sentences.
Hi, mwh. Thank you very much for taking time to have a look and to explain it to me in such a clear manner. Your clarifications helped a lot, now I’m much more confident about my choice. Of course, we use adverb to modify verbs and adjectives - to modify substantives, and in both exemples it is the noun which is modified. Thank you so much indeed!
I completely agree the cited explanation seemed to me a bit confusing. Notably, Smyth uses two examples 1) “τοξότας πλεῖν ἢ εἴκοσι μυριάδας” more bowmen than 20 myriads” X. C. 2.1.6. and 2) “τοξότας πλείους ἢ τετρακισχιλίους” more bowmen than 4000” X. C. 2.1.5. If I understand correctly, in the 1) there is an adverb, and in the 2) an adjective. Both examples look relevant for my phrases, as both use comparative of measure. That’s why I was rather puzzled.
I think section 1074 of Smyth has to do with the fact that all cardinal numerals are adjectives (Smyth section 347).
So in the first Smyth example that you give,
τοξότας πλεῖν ἢ εἴκοσι μυριάδας
the adverb is modifying an adjective (εἴκοσι).
Smyth says that this use of the adverb occurs “even when ἤ is kept”, From this I take it that the adjacency of the adverbial comparative and the numeral is the key, and that this still applies even when the intervening ἤ weakens the adjacency.
Hmmm. I wonder. πλείους ἢ τετρακισχιλίους in 2.1.5 is “more than 4000,” the count being adjectival, in inflectional agreement with τοξότας. This is grammatically different from the shortly following πλεῖν(=πλέον=πλεῖον) ἢ εἴκοσι μυριάδας “200K+,” the count now being just a number, with no adjectival agreement. But I’m not sure how much significance the difference has, if any.
I may say I’m not altogether comfortable seeing πλεῖν as adverbial here. It’s not like ἅπαξ or εἰκοσακισμυριάκις (if I’ve got that right!), but is a neuter singular, and I’m inclined to see it as meaning “more” in the sense of “a greater amount,” syntactically on a par with εἴκοσι, as the intervening ἢ suggests; this brings it that much closer to πλείους ἢ τετρακισχιλίους. Smyth seems to me to fudge the issue. But I won’t press the point, and I’m happy to defer to more expert grammarians.
Yes, I noticed that. The adverbial example was with an uninflected adjective, whereas the adjectival example was with an inflected adjective. Smyth does not specifically say that that is relevant. He just says that you could go either way.
The CGL seems to agree with Smyth in this.
–πλεῖον, πλέον, Att. πλεῖν, nt. sg. compar. adv. meaning 2 (in counting)
This entry appears under the headword πλείων πλεῖον, compar. adj.