The declension of nouns in Ancient Greek, while it seem complicated, it is relatively straight forward.
There are five cases
nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, and vocative.
Three genders
masculine, feminine and neutral
Two numbers
singular and plural.
Furthermore there are 3 ways of declension:
There are five cases
nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, and vocative.
Three genders
masculine, feminine and neutral
Two numbers
singular and plural.
Furthermore there are 3 ways of declension:
The first declension
The first declension does not contain the neutral gender.
This means there are only masculine and feminine nouns:
For example "Ο στρατιώτης" (the soldier)
The suffixes in nominative are:
-ης and -ας for masculine
-η and -α for feminine
This means there are only masculine and feminine nouns:
For example "Ο στρατιώτης" (the soldier)
The suffixes in nominative are:
-ης and -ας for masculine
-η and -α for feminine
The second declension
The second declension has all the three genders but is simpler than the first one.
As you will see in the table bellow both the masculine and feminine have the same suffixes.
This makes it simple to conjugate but difficult to differentiate between feminine and masculine.
If there is an article before the noun, it will always provide the answer regarding the gender.
As you will see in the table bellow both the masculine and feminine have the same suffixes.
This makes it simple to conjugate but difficult to differentiate between feminine and masculine.
If there is an article before the noun, it will always provide the answer regarding the gender.
The third declension
The third declension contains a big amount of nouns and has numerous sub-rules that cannot be learned through an introductory lesson.
The nouns of the third declensions end with either a vowel -α -ι -υ -ω or a consonant -v -ρ -ς -ξ -ψ.
You will need a grammar textbook to study the vast array of tables that are included in the third declension, but, for now, all you have to do is compare the differences between the endings of the three declensions.
The following table contains the endings of each form.
The "dual" number is a special number used only in a smaller period of the language's history.
Tip: Don't try and memorize the conjugation of these nouns. It will be gradual process through the years. Instead try to learn how to differentiate between nouns of the three declensions.
The nouns of the third declensions end with either a vowel -α -ι -υ -ω or a consonant -v -ρ -ς -ξ -ψ.
You will need a grammar textbook to study the vast array of tables that are included in the third declension, but, for now, all you have to do is compare the differences between the endings of the three declensions.
The following table contains the endings of each form.
The "dual" number is a special number used only in a smaller period of the language's history.
Tip: Don't try and memorize the conjugation of these nouns. It will be gradual process through the years. Instead try to learn how to differentiate between nouns of the three declensions.