In this lesson we will learn the final two major cases: the genitive and the dative.
In Greek, there are three broad families of noun word-patterns. Each of these patterns is called a "declension." What declension a particular noun follows has no bearing on the meaning of the word. The different declensions affect only the form of the case ending.
- Nouns that have a stem ending in an alpha or eta (α or η) are what we are going to call first declension nouns, take first declension endings, and are usually feminine (e.g. γραφή).
- Nouns that have a stem ending in an omicron (ο) are what we are going to call second declension nouns, take second declension endings, and are usually either masculine or neuter (ἀπόστολος or ἔργον).
- If the stem of a word ends in a consonant it is what we are going to call a third declension noun. We will deal with third declension nouns in a later lesson.
- Some words in Greek are indeclinable, such as personal names. Their form, therefore, does not change regardless of their meaning or function in the sentence.
Below are the new case endings for you to memorize.
Declension 2 1 2 Gender masculine feminine neuter Nominative Singular ς - ν Genitive Singular υ ς υ Dative Singular ι ι ι Accusative Singular ν ν ν Nominative Plural ι ι α Genitive Plural ων ων ων Dative Plural ις ις ις Accusative Plural υς ς α In the dative singular, when you add ι to a word that already ends in a vowel, that final vowel lengthens and the iota becomes a subscript.
α + ι becomes ᾳ
hence βασιλεια + ι = βασιλειᾳη + ι becomes ῃ
hence ἀγαπη + ι = ἀγάπῃο + ι becomes ῳ
hence λογο + ι = λογῳWhere you see an underlined ω in the genitive plural, it means that the final vowel of the word stem, ο, combines with another ο to become ω. This is contraction, similar to how in English "can" + "not" can be combined to become "can't". Hence:
ο + ον = ων
When the endings are attached to the final stem vowel they look like this.
Declension 2 1 2 Gender masculine feminine neuter Nominative Singular ος η α ον Genitive Singular ου ης ας ου Dative Singular ῳ ῃ ᾳ ῳ Accusative Singular ον ην αν ον Nominative Plural οι αι α Genitive Plural ων ων ων Dative Plural οις αις οις Accusative Plural ους ας α
Attaching the stem to the ending yields words that look like this.
Declension 2 1 2 Gender masculine feminine neuter Nominative Singular λόγος γραφή ὥρα ἔργον Genitive Singular λόγου γραφῆς ὥρας ἔργου Dative Singular λόγῳ γραφῇ ὥρᾳ ἔργῳ Accusative Singular λόγον γραφήν ὥραν ἔργον Nominative Plural λόγοι γραφαί ὧραι ἔργα Genitive Plural λόγων γραφῶν ὡρῶν ἔργων Dative Plural λόγοις γραφαῖς ὥραις ἔργοις Accusative Plural λόγους γραφάς ὥρας ἔργα
Feminine first declension nouns have identical endings in the plural, regardless of whether the root ends in η or α.
Both the masculine and neuter have the same case endings in the genitive and dative. This is always true.
In the dative an iota is always present for all three genders. In the singular, it is subscripted.
For the dative singular there is an iota subscript, and the plural has ις. The dative plural also has a longer endings (two letters) than the singular (one letter); you can associate "longer" with the plural.
All three genders have ων in the genitive plural. This is always true.
Many feminine nouns ending in ας can be either genitive singular or accusative plural. Look either at the definite article (τῆς/τάς) or the context to decide.
Declension 2 1 2 Gender masculine feminine neuter Nominative Singular ὁ ἡ τό Genitive Singular τοῦ τῆς τοῦ Dative Singular τῷ τῇ τῷ Accusative Singular τόν τήν τό Nominative Plural οἱ αἱ τά Genitive Plural τῶν τῶν τῶν Dative Plural τοῖς ταῖς τοῖς Accusative Plural τούς τάς τά These articles do not change with the declension of the noun. ἡ will modify a feminine noun whether it is first or second declension. You may have already noticed this in your translation work. You are not sure what the noun is...but it is connected with a definite article which tells you the case and number.
Here is the noun paradigm with the definite article.
Declension 2 1 2 Gender masculine feminine neuter Nominative Singular ὁ λόγος ἡ γραφή ἡ ὥρα τό ἔργον Genitive Singular τοῦ λόγου τῆς γραφῆς τῆς ὥρας τοῦ ἔργου Dative Singular τῷ λόγῳ τῇ γραφῇ τῇ ὥρᾳ τῷ ἔργῳ Accusative Singular τόν λόγον τήν γραφήν τήν ὥραν τό ἔργον Nominative Plural οἱ λόγοι αἱ γραφαί αἱ ὧραι τά ἔργα Genitive Plural τῶν λόγων τῶν γραφῶν τῶν ὡρῶν τῶν ἔργων Dative Plural τοῖς λόγοις ταῖς γραφαῖς ταῖς ὥραις τοῖς ἔργοις Accusative Plural τούς λόγους τάς γραφάς τάς ὥρας τά ἔργα
- In the dative singular, the iota subscripts if possible.
γραφη + ι = γραφῇ. This rule explains what happens to the dative singular case endings in the first and second declension. A vowel can only subscript under a long vowel.
- Vowels often change their length.
λογο + ι = λόγῳ. By "change their length" we mean they can shorten (e.g. from omega to omicron), lengthen (omicron to omega) as in the dative singular, or disappear entirely.
- In the genitive and dative, the masculine and neuter will always be the same.
Names
Some words are irregular. This is especially true of proper nouns (i.e. names). You will learn these as you run into them. An extremely common, and irregular, name is "Jesus". Proper names are usually preceded by the definite article.
Nominative Singular ὁ Ἰησοῦς Genitive Singular τοῦ Ἰησοῦ Dative Singular τῷ Ἰησοῦ Accusative Singular τόν Ἰησοῦν The definite article that precedes the name is the tip off between the dative and genitive.
Alternate First Declension Pattern
There are 26 nouns in the New Testament that shift their final stem vowel, in the genitive and dative singular, from α to η. Here is a sample:
Nominative Singular δόξα Genitive Singular δόξης Dative Singular δόξῃ Accusative Singular δόξαν Nominative Plural δόξαι Genitive Plural δοξῶν Dative Plural δόξαις Accusative Plural δόξα Here is the rule for the α to η shift:
If a first declension word has a stem ending in α, where the preceding letter is ε, ι, or ρ, it will form the genitive and dative singular with α.
Typical words here would include ἀλήθεια (truth) and ἡμέρα (day).
Otherwise, the α will shift to η.
Words where this occurs include, of course, δόξα ("glory", as indicated above) and θάλασσα (sea).
Click for a brief summary of the things you need to memorize.