Lesson 6 - First Noun Declension

Lesson 6 - First Noun Declension

Masculine:

Singular / Plural
Nominative / -ος / -οι
Genitive / -ου / -ων
Dative / -ῳ / -οις
Accusative / -ον / -ους
Vocative / -ε / -οι

Neuter:

Singular / Plural
Nominative / -ον / -α
Genitive / -ου / -ων
Dative / -ῳ / -οις
Accusative / -ον / -α
Vocative / -ον / -α

Although this is the first declension you are learning, it is common name is the second declension—there are three main declensions in ancient Greek. A declension is a group of nouns, adjectives, or pronouns that all form their gender, number, or case in the same way or in similar ways. The second declension only has two genders, the masculine and neuter. In ancient Greek to change the case, gender, or number all you need to do is change the case ending. So to show that the word “λόγος” is receiver of the action in a sentence you would say “λόγον.” λόγος" is translated: word, reason, or account. So one may say “ἐγὼγράφωλόγον,” meaning “I write a word” —“ἐγώ” is equivalent to the English word “I.” While “ἐγὼγράφωλόγους” would mean “I write words.”

It may seem that “λόγος” should be written in the neuter gender, because it is an inanimate object. Nonetheless in Greek each word has its own gender in which to be decline. In Greek lexicons(i.e. dictionary of a very old language) the gender of a word is shown by writing the definite article that has the same gender as the word after word. So to show that λογός is declined in the masculine gender you would write "λόγός, ὁ."

In the dative singular under the omega(ω) there appears to be a little stroke. This stroke, called "an iota subscript," is written under either α, η, or ω, and helps to identify the function of the word. It is important to note that the iota subscript is not pronounced, but simply helps to identify the words function.

Translation

The nominative case is normally translated into English simply as the word and the indefinite article. Also words in the nominative case are understood to be the subject of the sentence. E.g. λόγος = a word. But when the definite article is present, ὁ λόγος = the word.

The genitive case is normally translated into English with "of." It is similar to the English possessive case or and "of" phrase. E.g. λόγου

The dative case is normally translated into English with "to,""for," or "with." The dative case shows that the word is the reciever of the action in a sentence(i.e. the direct object). E.g. λόγῳ = to or for a word

The accusative case is normally translated into English simply as the word and the indefinite article. Also words in the accusative case are understood to be the receiver of the action in a sentence. E.g. λόγον = a word. But when the definite article is present, τὸνλόγον = the word.

The vocative case is normally translated into English simply as the word itself. It is equivalent to a noun of direct address. As discussed early the vocative case is rare, because ancient Greek is no longer a spoken language. Though you will still see the vocative case in some manuscripts, it is used occasionally in the Greek New Testament. λόγε = word.