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Declensions

Class Notes Download Second Declension

In linguistic terms, declension refers to the way nouns, pronouns, and adjectives in languages, particularly inflected ones like Greek, Latin, or Hebrew, change their form to express different grammatical categories such as case (nominative, genitive, etc.), number (singular, plural), and gender (masculine, feminine, neuter). In Greek and Hebrew, declensions are crucial because they help to indicate the function of a word in a sentence, such as whether it is the subject, object, or shows possession, among other roles.

First Declension: The first declension is characterized by long vowel endings like -η and -α in the nominative singular. Typically includes nouns that are mostly feminine but also some masculine nouns.

Second Declension: The second declension is categorized by o class vowels. Masculine nouns generally have endings in -ος (e.g., λόγος) in the nominative singular, while neuter nouns end in -ον.

Third Declension: This declension is more irregular and diverse, containing nouns of all three genders (masculine, feminine, and neuter). The nouns in the third declension can have various stem endings and exhibit more complex case endings, such as -ς (e.g., βασιλεύς).

Gender refers to a system of noun classification that affects how nouns and related words (such as adjectives, pronouns, and verbs) are inflected in a language. In languages with grammatical gender, nouns are categorized into specific gender classes, which often determine the form of associated words (e.g., adjectives and pronouns) and can sometimes affect the verb conjugation.

In Koine Greek, there are three grammatical genders:

1. Masculine: This gender is often used for nouns referring to males but also includes many inanimate objects and abstract concepts. For example, ἀδελφός (adelphos) means “brother” and is […]
   

The Present Indicative Active

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Class Notes Download The Present Indicative Active

Present Indicative Active Endings:

Singular:

1st Person: -ω

2nd Person: -εις

3rd Person: -ει

Plural:

1st Person: -ομεν

2nd Person: -ετε

3rd Person: -ουσι(ν)

Infinitive λέγειν, to be saying, to say

The Present Indicative Active form in Greek is used to denote an action that is occurring in the present time from the writer’s perspective. It can indicate a continuous, habitual, or general truth.

The indicative is the only mode in which the tenses show absolute time. The main idea of tense is always the kind of action.; therefore, even in the indicative time is secondary. Duration or linear action in a continuous or progressive manner is the action expressed by the tense.

Present Tense: Indicates the time of the action as present.

It can denote a continuous action (e.g., “I am studying”).

It can represent a habitual action (e.g., “I study every day”).

It can also indicate a general truth (e.g., “The earth revolves around the sun”).

Indicative Mood: This mood is used for making factual statements or asking questions that are seen as actual.

Active Voice: In the active voice, the subject of the verb is the one performing the action (e.g., “He writes a letter” – the subject “he” is doing the action of writing).

Parsing a Present Indicative Active Verb

Parsing involves identifying five components of a verb: tense, mood, voice, person, and number.

1. Tense: Present.
2. Mood: Indicative.
3. Voice: Active.
4. Person: Indicates who is performing the action:
   1. 1st person: “I” or “we”
   2. 2nd person: “you” (singular or plural)
   3. 3rd person: “he/she/it” or “they”
5. Number: Singular or Plural.

Parsing Example: λέγω (I say)

λέγω (I say) – ω ending for 1st person singular.

λέγεις (You say) – εις ending for […]