The Greek Noun Declensions
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:
- 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 […]