Lesson 3 – Number, Case, Gender, Nouns of the 2nd Declension, Definite Article, Copulative, Enclitics & Proclitics
Number
Distinctions between singular and plural nouns are familiar to us. We say toy (singular) and toys (plural). We say child(singular) and children (plural).
Similarly, in Greek we will see different forms to distinguish between singular nouns and plural nouns.
As in English, the Greek verb must agree in number with its subject. That is, if the subject of the sentence is plural, the verb must be plural. (There is an exception which we will note later.)
Case
Case is also familiar to us, although we do not make form distinctions to the same degree that Greek does. As a beginning point, we can say case refers to the function of a noun, pronoun or adjective in a sentence. If a word functions as a subject, it will be in one case. If it functions as a direct object it will be in a different case, and may have a different form. So for example, in English, the 1st person singular pronoun is “I” when it is the subject:
“I saw the man.”
But it becomes “me” when it is the object:
“The man saw me.”
The number of cases in Greek depends upon whether case means function or form.
If we use case to mean function then we can count 8 cases that share 5 forms. (A. T. Robertson took this approach.)
If we use case to mean form, then we can count 5 cases used in 8 ways (This is the approach used in your text book, and also in the descriptive grammar by Blass & Debrunner)
Although there is no need to learn all of these distinctions at this point in your study, the following table of cases is given for your future reference:
| Form name | Function name | Description of use |
| Nominative | Nominative | subject, predicate nominative, predicate adjective |
| Genitive | Ablative Genitive | source, origin kind, possession |
| Dative | Dative Instrumental Locative | indirect object means, agency, especially impersonal location |
| Accusative | Accusative | direct object, and various other uses |
| Vocative | Vocative | direct address |
Throughout this introductory course, we will have in mind form when we say case. We will begin with a simplistic approach to the significance of each case. Learn the following:
| Nominative | Subject |
| Genitive | often translate using “of…” |
| Dative | Indirect Object, often translate using “to…” or “for …” |
| Accusative | Direct Object |
| Vocative | Direct Address |
Nominative Case
This one is easy. If the word is the subject of the sentence, it must be in the nominative case.
Genitive Case
The English prepositional phrase beginning with “of…” is often useful for translating various ideas represented by the Genitive case. For example,
ὁ λόγος θεοῦ (genitive case) = the word of God
ὁ νόμος ἄνθρώπου (genitive case) = the law of man
ὁ υἱὸς ἀδελφοῦ (genitive case) = the son of a brother
Dative & Accusative Cases
In English, we talk about a direct object and an indirect object. Consider the sentence, “I gave Dad the newspaper.”
| I | gave | Dad | the | newspaper | |
| syntax | subj. | verb | indirect object | direct object | |
| case | Nom. | Dative | Accusative |
In English, when a sentence has both a direct object and an indirect object, the indirect object always comes first.
| I wrote | him | a | letter |
| i.o. | d.o. |
| I sold the | woman | a | vase |
| i.o. | d.o. |
| The man told | me | a | story |
| i.o. | d.o. |
| The children bought their | mother | some | flowers |
| i.o. | d.o. |
We have the alternative of using a prepositional phrase instead of an indirect object:
I wrote a letter to him
I sold a vase to the woman.
The man told a story to me.
The children bought some flowers for their mother.
When translating a Greek noun in the dative case, you will often find it convenient to use a prepositional phrase beginning with “to…” or “for…”
The accusative case will usually be translated as a direct object.
Vocative Case
This is the case of direct address. In the following sentence, “Son” would be in vocative.
“Son, give me the newspaper.”
Because word order in Greek can vary, case becomes the primary means of identifying the function of a noun in a sentence, e.g., the subject as opposed to the direct object. In English, “The car hit the truck” and “The truck hit the car” mean two very different things. Word order is the key. Not so in Greek. Both word orders could mean exactly the same thing. Then how do we know which is the subject and which is the direct object? In other words, how do we know who hit whom? The case endings are the key! The subject is the word in the nominative case and the direct object is the word in the accusative case.
Gender
Generally, a given noun is either masculine, feminine, or neuter. It will not be masculine in one context, and feminine in another context. There are some exceptions with which we will not concern ourselves in this course.
A neuter plural subject may have a singular verb. Earlier, we noted that there is an exception to the rule requiring that the subject and verb agree in number. This is it.
2nd Declension
A Declension is an inflection pattern for nouns and adjectives. Verbs are conjugated, nouns are declined.
The 2nd declension is often introduced first because it is the easiest to learn. Most 2nd declension nouns are masculine or neuter. The case endings are as follows:
| masculine | masculine | neuter | neuter | |
| sing. | plur. | sing. | plur. | |
| nom. | ος | οι | ον | α |
| gen. | ου | ων | ου | ων |
| dat. | ῳ | οις | ῳ | οις |
| acc. | ον | ους | ον | α |
| voc. | ε | οι | ον | α |
Strictly speaking, the ο in the endings above belongs to the stem. So for example, the stem of θεός (masc. nom. sing.) is θεο- and the ending is ς, not ος. Because all 2nd declension noun stems end in ο, the 2nd declension is sometimes called the ο declension. However, because the ο in the stem and the true endings undergo various modifications when combined, for now it will be easiest to simply memorize the endings as given above. Learn the masculine and then use the Click-Thru Tutor to learn the neuter.
The true endings for masculine nouns of the 2nd declension are given below along with explanations of the modifications that result when combined with the final ο in the stem.
True 2nd declension masculine SINGULAR endings in combination with final ο in stem
| true ending | modifications to final o in stem or to ending | combination forms… | |
| nom. | ς | none | ος |
| gen. | ο | final ο in stem and ο in ending combine according to standard rules for vowel contraction | ου |
| dat. | ι | the ι becomes subscripted to lengthened final vowel in stem | ῳ |
| acc. | ν | none | ον |
| voc. | none | final ο in stem changes to ε | ε |
True 2nd declension masculine PLURAL endings in combination with final ο in stem
| true ending | modifications to final ο in stem or to ending | combination forms… | |
| nom. | ι | none | οι |
| gen. | ων | final ο in stem and ω in ending combine according to standard rules for vowel contraction | ων |
| dat. | ις | none | οις |
| acc. | νς | ν drops out and final vowel in stem is lengthened to ου to compensate for the loss of ν | ους |
| voc. | ι | none | οι |
Convention for giving nouns
If you look at the vocabulary list on page 35 in your text book (p. 15 in the 1986 edition), you will notice a few letters after each noun. For example, the first entry in the vocabulary list looks like this:
ἄγγελος, -ου, ὁ
The word is ἄγγελος. Following that is the ending for the genitive singular form, -ου. This is given to help you identify the inflection pattern. Even within a single declension, there are various inflection patterns. Knowing the genitive singular ending is part of the key to knowing which pattern a particular word follows. The other piece of information you need is the gender, and that is indicated by the definite article, which in this case is the masculine ὁ. (You will learn the definite article later in this lesson.) Notice that we have identified two inflection patterns for the 2nd declension, one for masculine nouns and one for neuter nouns, but the genitive singular ending is the same for both. So you need some more information to know what pattern to follow. If in addition to knowing the genitive singular ending, you also know the gender, you can identify the inflection pattern for the various case/number combinations. This is the conventional method for listing nouns not only in your text book, but also in standard lexicons.
Noun Accent Rules
- As nouns are declined, the accent stays as close to the syllable accented in the nominative singular as permitted by general rules
Notice how the general rules force the accent to migrate in the three syllable word κύριος as it is declined:
| sing. | plur. | |||
| nom. | κύριος | κύριοι | an exception to diphthong rule, final οι is short; accent returns to its position in nom. sing. | |
| gen. | κυρίου | long ultima (diphthongs are long) forces accent to penult (antepenult can only be accented if ultima is short) | κυρίων | long ultima forces accent to penult (antepenult can only be accented if ultima is short) |
| dat. | κυρίῳ | long ultima (diphthongs are long) forces accent to penult (antepenult can only be accented if ultima is short) | κυρίοις | long ultima (diphthongs are long) forces accent to penult (antepenult can only be accented if ultima is short) |
| acc. | κύριον | accent returns to its position in nom. sing. | κυρίους | long ultima (diphthongs are long) forces accent to penult (antepenult can only be accented if ultima is short) |
| voc. | κύριε | accent returns to its position in nom. sing. | κύριοι | an exception to diphthong rule, final οι is short; accent returns to its position in nom. sing. |
- In the genitive and dative, if the ultima is accented, it must be a circumflex.
θεός is accented on the ultima. Notice the accent changes to a circumflex in the genitive and dative for both singular and plural:
Parsing
To parse a word, you identify its grammatical form.
For verbs, identify the tense, voice, mood, person, number, dictionary form, meaning.
λύσομεν is parsed as follows:
future active indicative, 1st person plural of λύω, I loose
For nouns, identify the gender, case, number, dictionary form, meaning.
ἀγγέλων is parsed as follows:
masculine genitive plural of ἄγγελος, angel
The Definite Article
The term definite article refers to the word “the”. In English we also have an indefinite article, “a” (or “an” before words beginning with vowels.)
In Greek there is no indefinite article. You will have to allow the context to tell you whether or not to supply an indefinite article in your English translation.
But Greek does have a definite article. It is declined for number, case, and gender as follows:
| masculine | masculine | neuter | neuter | |
| sing. | plur. | sing. | plur. | |
| nom. | ὁ | οἱ | τό | τά |
| gen. | τοῦ | τῶν | τοῦ | τῶν |
| dat. | τῷ | τοῖς | τῷ | τοῖς |
| acc. | τόν | τούς | τό | τά |
Notice that there is no vocative.
Also notice the similarity between the definite article and the case endings.
Comparison of Masculine Definite Article and Case Endings
Notice that in the oblique cases (those cases other than the nominative) the definite article is simply the case ending with a τ prefixed and an accent mark added.
In the nominative case, there is no τ prefixed nor is there an accent mark, and in the nominative singular, the ς is dropped.
Comparison of Neuter Definite Article and Case Endings
τ is prefixed throughout, and the ν is dropped in the nom. sing. and acc. sing.
Agreement
The definite article must agree in number, case, and gender with the noun it modifies. Therefore, we should write,
τοὺς λόγους
not
τὸν λόγους (number does not agree)
οἱ λόγους (case does not agree)
τὰ λόγους (gender does not agree)
“Articular” vs. “Anarthrous“
We will have occasion to speak of articular constructions (those using the article) and anarthrousconstructions (those not using the article). “Article” and “articular” come to us from the Latin word articulus (although Latin had no definite article). “-arthrous” comes to us from the Greek word, ἄρθρονmeaning “joint” and used in grammar of connecting words such as relative pronouns (who, which) and demonstrative pronouns (this, that). It seems the definite article in Greek evolved from the demonstrative pronoun. (See Robertson, p. 755).
The Verb “to be”
The Present Active Indicative conjugation of the verb “to be” is as follows:
| sing. | sing. | plur. | plur. | |
| 1st p. | εἰμί | I am | ἐσμέν | we are |
| 2nd p. | εἶ | you are | ἐστέ | you (pl.) are |
| 3rd p. | ἐστί(ν) | he, she, it is | εἰσί(ν) | they are |
Note the movable ν in the 3rd person singular and plural.
The verb “to be,” is often referred to as a copula because it joins the Subject and Predicate Nominative or Subject and Predicate Adjective. You may have learned to call such words linking verbs.
Earlier, we discussed direct objects and indirect objects. Although most English nouns do not have different forms when they function as objects rather than subjects, some English pronouns do have different forms.
For example, the 1st person singular pronoun is “I” when it is the subject:”I saw the man.”But it becomes “me” when it is the object:”The man saw me.”Similarly, we say “He saw the man,” but we say, “The man saw him.”We say, “They saw the man,” but we say, “The man saw them.”The forms I, he, and they are in the nominative case. The nominative case is used for the subject of a sentence. The forms Me, him, and them are in the objective case. The objective case is used for a direct object, an indirect object, or for the object of a preposition.
| Nominative case | Objective case |
| I | me |
| he | him |
| she | her |
| we | us |
| they | them |
| who | whom |
Remember that an action verb takes a direct object. But when the verb is a linking verb rather than an action verb, the noun in the predicate portion of the sentence is not the object of the verb, but is instead identified with the subject itself. In the sentence, “I saw the man,” man is the object of the action verb saw. But in the sentence, “I am the man,” I and man refer to the same person. Man is not an object of the verb. Instead, it is a Predicate Nominative. Predicate nominatives must be in the nominative case. For example, when someone says, “Who is it?” The correct response is “It is I,” not “It is me.” I is the predicate nominative and must be in the nominative case.
This will also be true in Greek. When the verb is copulative, e.g., the verb to be, a noun in the predicate portion of the sentence will be a predicate nominative and will be in the nominative case.
We would write,
ὁ ἄνθρωπός ἐστιν ἀδελφός (The man is a brother)
not
ὁ ἄνθρωπός ἐστιν ἀδελφόν
In the first example, ἀδελφός is correctly in the nominative case because it is a predicate nominative. In the second example, it is incorrectly in the accusative case.
Enclitics & Proclitics
Enclitics are words pronounced so closely with the preceding word that they have no accent of their own.
Proclitics are words pronounced so closely with the following word that they have no accent of their own.
Because of the rule that only the last three syllables of a word can be accented, enclitics create special problems. If the preceding word is accented on the antepenult, a one syllable enclitic pronounced with it would have the effect of creating a word with at least four syllables having no accent on any of the last three syllables. The same problem would arise if a two syllable enclitic is pronounced with a preceding word that is accented on the penult. Special rules provide for adding accents in such cases. Refer to your text book, pages 262-263. (See page 23 in the 1986 edition.)
There is one additional rule to which you may need to refer:
If the word before an enclitic is itself a proclitic or an enclitic, the first of the two acquires an acute on the ultima.
In the conjugation of εἰμι given above, all forms except for 2nd person sing. εἶ are enclitics. They are shown with the accent marks they would acquire in accordance with the rules given on pages 262-263 of your text book. (See page 23 in the 1986 edition.)
Summary of Lesson 3
- Nouns have number, case, and gender
- These attributes are indicated by noun endings
- A declension is a pattern of such endings
- Most nouns of the 2nd declension are masculine or neuter
- For nouns, the accent mark stays as close to its position in the nominative singular form as the general rules of accent allow.
- For 2nd declension nouns, if the genitive or dative in either number is accented on the ultima, the accent must be a circumflex.
- Parsing order for nouns is: gender, case, number, dictionary form, meaning
- The definite article is declined for number, case, and gender and must agree with the noun it modifies.
- The pres. act. ind. of the verb “to be” is εἰμι, εἶ, ἐστι, ἐσμεν, ἐστε, εἰσι
- An enclitic is a word pronounced so closely with the preceding word that it has no accent of its own
- A proclitic is a word pronounced so closely with the following word that it has no accent of its own.