Μάθημα τρία (Mathima Tria)
Lesson 3
Today we'll talk about nouns. In previous lessons we saw that nouns in Greek are of 3 genders: masculine, feminine and neuter. We will now see the most common endings for nouns according to their gender.
Masculine nouns
The most common endings for regular masculine nouns are -ος, -ης, -ας. The following are some examples:
ο άνθρωπος (o anthropos) (the human)
ο ουρανός (o uranos) (the sky, also Ουρανός = Uranus, the planet)
ο δρόμος (o dromos) (the road, the street, the way)
ο γιατρός (o giatros) (the doctor)
ο ναύτης (o naftis) (the sailor)
ο επιβάτης (o epivatis) (the passenger)
ο μαθητής (o mathitis) (the pupil)
ο φοιτητής (o fititis) (the student)
ο βασιλιάς (o vasilias) (the king)
ο πατέρας (o pateras) ( the father)
ο χειμώνας (o himonas) (the winter)
ο μάγειρας (o magiras) (the cook)
Feminine nouns
The most common are: -η, -α.
η νίκη (i niki) (the victory, the win)
η αγάπη (i agapi) (the love)
η αδερφή (i aderfi) (the sister)
η ζάχαρη (i zahari) (the sugar)
η άνοιξη (i aniksi) (the spring)
η ώρα (i ora) (the hour)
η θάλασσα (i thalassa) (the sea)
η χώρα (i hora) (the country)
η ελευθερία (i eleftheria) (the freedom)
Neuter nouns
The most common neuter endings are: -ο, -ι.
το πρόσωπο (to prosopo) (the face)
το βουνό (to vuno) (the mountain)
το δέντρο (to dentro) (the tree)
το φθινόπωρο (to fthinoporo) (the autumn)
το παγωτό (to pagoto) (the ice-cream)
το τραγούδι (to tragudi) (the song)
το ψωμί (to psomi) (the bread)
το καλοκαίρι (to kalokeri) (the summer)
το πουλί (to puli) (the bird)
There are also a few nouns which do not have the endings discussed so far, fo example:
ο καφές (o kafes) (the coffee)
ο παππούς (o pappus) (the grandfather)
These will be dealt with in another lesson.
The endings of nouns and of the definite and indefinite articles change according to the use of the noun within the sentence. In Greek there are four distinct cases in the singular and plural. Here we shall deal with 3 of the 4 cases, both in the singular and the plural. These cases will be the nominative, the accusative and the vocative. The fourth case, the genitive, will be dealt with later.
Cases of the definite article
Singular: Masculine Feminine Neuter
Nominative: ο η το
Accusative: το(ν)* τη(ν)* το
Vocative: - - -
Plural: Masculine Feminine Neuter
Nominative: οι οι τα
Accusative: τους τις τα
Vocative: - - -
*Whether the final ν is present or not is determined by the particular vowel/consonant beginning the word that follows. This need not concern us at this stage but if the following word starts with a vowel we always put an ν at the end of το/τη.
Feminine and neuter nouns
In feminine and neuter nouns all three cases maintain the same ending. The only visible change, where it occurs, is in the definite article which precedes the noun.
Feminine
Nom. η αδερφή (i aderfi) η θάλασσα (i thalassa)
Acc. την αδερφή (tin aderfi) τη θάλασσα (ti thalassa)
Voc. αδερφή (aderfi) θάλασσα (thalassa)
Neuter
Nom. το δέντρο (to dentro) το πουλί (to puli)
Acc. το δέντρο (to dentro) το πουλί (to puli)
Voc. δέντρο (dentro) πουλί (puli)
You will have observed that while the definite article changes in the feminine nouns, it remains the same in the neuter. It also changes from case to case in the masculine nouns.
Masculine nouns
Here the final -ς of the nominative disappears in the other 2 cases.
Nom. ο χειμώνας (o himonas) ο μαθητής (o mathitis)
Acc. το χειμώνα (to himona) το μαθητή (to mathiti)
Voc. χειμώνα (ximona) μαθητή (mathiti)
In the masculine nouns ending in -ος there is an additional change, in that the ending of the vocative also changes.
Nom. ο άνθρωπος (o anthropos)
Acc. τον άνθρωπο (ton anthropo)
Voc. άνθρωπε (anthrope)
Use of cases
The different cases of the nouns are used as follows:
The nominative is used when the noun is the subject of the verb. For example:
Ο Γιώργος είναι άντρας (o Giorgos ine antras) (George is a man)
Η Ελένη είναι γυναίκα (i Eleni ine gineka) (Helen is a woman)
The accusative is used when the noun is the direct object of the verb. For example:
Έχει* (ehi) το ψωμί (He/she has the bread)
*Note the absence of “he, she, it”, as would be necessary in English (i.e. you cannot say “Has bread”; the person must be specified by he, she or it). In Greek however, this is perfectly possible and occurs frequently.
The vocative is used to call or address a person.
Πώς είσαι φίλε; (pos ise file?) (How are you friend?) (Ο φίλος/Η φίλη = friend)
In the next lesson we will deal with the form of cases in the plural.
