Elision

Word combination in discourse may produce sound sequences which are either unpleasant to the ear or difficult to pronounce. One of these cases is known as hiatus, i.e.: the collision of a short final vowel (ᾰ, ε, ο, ῐ) with the initial vowel or diphthong of the next word. Greek authors devised various methods for avoiding hiatus, ranging from careful syntax changes to the insertion of a particle between words, so that vowel collision was prevented. However, hiatus was frequently avoided by means of elision, which consists in dropping the final vowel of the first word. In writing, elision is marked by an apostrophe, exactly as we do in our languages. E.g.: διὰ ἀσθένειαν > δι' ἀσθένειαν, for weakness.

Keep in mind the following remarks about elision:

• a voiceless stop consonant (π, κ, τ) preceding an elided vowel becomes aspirated (φ, χ, θ respectively) if the next word starts with an aspirated vowel; some examples:
  
  

Final consonant	Aspirated	Example	Elision outcome	Translation
π	φ	ἀπὸ ἑαυτῶν	ἀφ' ἑαυτῶν	by themselves
		ἐπὶ ἅρματος	ἐφ' ἅρματος	on a chariot
		ἐπὶ ὅσον	ἐφ' ὅσον	as long as
		ὑπὸ ἡμῶν	ὑφ' ἡμῶν	by us
κ	χ	δέκα ἡμέραι	δέχ' ἡμέραι	ten days
		ἔτεκε Ἕκτορα	ἔτεχ' Ἕκτορα	he fathered Hector
τ	θ	κατὰ ἡμέραν	καθ' ἡμέραν	every day
		μετὰ ὅπλων	μεθ' ὅπλων	with arms
		νύκτα ὅλην	νύχθ' ὅλην	all night



• if the elided word is oxytone, then the accent is retracted onto the preceding syllable. E.g.: καλὰ ἔλεγον > κάλ' ἔλεγον, they said nice things. However, the accent is lost if the oxytone word is either a conjunction or a preposition. E.g.: ἀλλὰ ἐγώ > ἀλλ' ἐγώ, but I; κατ' ὀλίγον, little by little;
• a final diphthong is hardly ever elided when the next word starts with a vowel. E.g.: βούλομαι ἐγώ > βούλομ' ἐγώ, I wish.
• elision does not occur in the following cases:

1. monosyllables ending with α and ο;
2. words ending with υ;
3. prepositions περί, about, ἄχρι and μέχρι, until;
4. ὅτι, both as a conjunction = that, because, and as a relative or interrogative pronoun, that, what. Consequently, remember that the forms ὅτ' and ὅθ' are always elisions of the time conjunction ὅτε, when.
5. the dative plural of the third declension in -σι and the third person plural of some verb tenses and moods. In these cases, when the next word starts with a vowel, the hiatus is generally avoided by adding a movable -ν. E.g.: πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις, to all men; οὐκ ἴσασιν ὅτι, they do not know that;

• in compound words, which are very frequent in the Greek language, elision occurs when the first word ends with a short vowel and the next begins with a vowel; the same rules stated above apply, but elision is not marked by an apostrophe. E.g.: ἀπό + αἱρέω > ἀφαιρέω, I remove, I eliminate, I take away.