Μάθημα τέσσερα (Mathima Tessera)
Lesson 4
Cases of nouns (plural)
The plural of nouns is formed as follows:
Feminine nouns have the ending -ες:
Η γυναίκ-α (i ginek-a) (the woman) Οι γυναίκ-ες (i ginek-es) (the women)
Η ώρ-α (i or-a) (the hour) Οι ώρ-ες (i or-es) (the hours)
Η αδερφ-ή (i aderf-i) (the sister) Οι αδερφ-ές (i aderf-es) (the sisters)
Η εποχ-ή (i epox-i) (the season) Οι εποχ-ές (i epoh-es) (the seasons)
Neuter nouns have the ending -α:
Tο παιδ-ί (to ped-i) (the child) Τα παιδι-ά (ta pedi-a) (the children)
Το ποτάμ-ι (to potam-i) (the river) Τα ποτάμι-α (ta potami-a) (the rivers)
Το δέντρ-o (to dentr-o) (the tree) Τα δέντρ-α (ta dentr-a) (the trees)
Tο βουν-ό (to vun-o) (the mountain) Τα βουν-ά (ta vun-a) (the mountains)
Masculine nouns ending in -ης and -ας take the ending -ες, while those ending in -ος have the ending -οι:
Ο μαθητ-ής (o mathit-is) (the pupil) Οι μαθητ-ές (i mathit-es) (the pupils)
Ο επιβάτ-ης (o epivat-is) (the passenger) Οι επιβάτ-ες (i epivat-es) (the passengers)
Ο άντρ-ας (o antr-as) (the man) Οι άντρ-ες (i antr-es) (the men)
Ο πατέρ-ας (o pater-as) (the father) Οι πατέρ-ες (i pater-es) (the fathers)
Ο ουραν-ός (o uran-os) (the sky) Oι ουραν-οί (i uran-i) (the skies)
Ο δρόμ-ος (o drom-os) (the road) Οι δρόμ-οι (i drom-i) (the roads)
Conjugation of cases in plural
For feminine and neuter nouns the only changes occur in the definite article.
Feminine
Nom. οι γυναίκες (i ginekes)
Acc. τις γυναίκες (tis ginekes)
Voc. γυναίκες (ginekes)
Neuter
Nom. τα παιδιά (ta pedia)
Acc. τα παιδιά (ta pedia)
Voc. παιδιά (pedia)
For masculine nouns the only change from case to case with nouns ending in -ας and -ης occurs in the article.
Nom. οι άντρες (i antres) οι μαθητές (i mathites)
Acc. τους άντρες (tus antres) τους μαθητές (tus mathites)
Voc. άντρες (antres) μαθητές (mathites)
But a change does occur in the ending of masculine nouns ending in-ος:
Nom. οι δρόμοι (i dromi) οι ουρανοί (i urani)
Acc. τους δρόμους (tus dromus) τους ουρανούς (tus uranus)
Voc. δρόμοι (dromi) ουρανοί (urani)
Also notice the conjugation in the plural of the word άνθρωπος (anthropos):
Nom. οι άνθρωποι (i anthropi)
Acc. τους ανθρώπους* (tus anthropus)
Voc. άνθρωποι (anthropi)
*Notice how the accent has moved from the first to the second syllable. This is not always the case; whether it occurs or not is determined by a number of factors that are difficult to explain right now... We will see this again when we will deal with the genitive case of nouns.
Gender and names
The names for most animals have a masculine form for males, a feminine form for females and a nuter form for those occasions on which the animal's sex is either unknown or irelevant.
Ο σκύλος (o skilos) the dog (male)
Η σκύλα (i skila) the dog (female)
Το σκυλί (to skili) the dog
Ο γάτος (o gatos) the cat (male)
Η γάτα (i gata) the cat (female)
Το γατί (to gati) the cat
It is interesting to note that a neuter noun is used with reference to the young, including boys and girls.
Το αγόρι (to agori) the boy
Το κορίτσι (to koritsi) the girl
Introductions
When introduced to someone the most common response is:
Χαίρω πολύ (xero poli) Glad to meet you
If the person you have been introduced to uses this acknowledgement first, then the response could be:
Κι εγώ (ki ego) Me too (literal translation: And me. Κι (ki) is a form of και (ke) (and), it is used when the next word starts with an ε or an α or an ο, in order to make it sound better.)
or
Επίσης (episis) Also
These are more or less standard formulas; variations are possible, but difficult to predict. What you need to remember is the standard formula χαίρω πολύ.
Vocabulary
Η ησυχία (i isihia) The silence, calm, quiet
Το λάθος (to lathos) The mistake, error
Ο ξένος (o ksenos) The stranger, foreigner
Η ροή (i roi) The flow
Η φύση (i fisi) The nature
Το ψάρι (to psari) The fish
Το ζώο (to zoo) The animal (Also used to describe someone who is stupid = Αυτός είναι ζώο {afto ine zoo})
Ο μήνας (o minas) The month
Το μπουκάλι (to mpukali) The bottle
Η εβδομάδα (i evdomada) The week
Το όνομα (to onoma) The name
Το κρύο (to krio) The cold
Η ζέστη (i zesti) The heat
Ο χυμός (o himos) The juice
Το μάτι (to mati) The eye
Η μύτη (i miti) The nose
Το μάγουλο (to magulo) The cheek
Ο λαιμός (o lemos) The throat
Το αυτί (to afti) The ear
Το ξενοδοχείο (to ksenodohio) The hotel
Το δωμάτιο (to domatio) The room
Το εστιατόριο (to estiatorio) The restaurant
