Week 14: First Declension
In the last two weeks you were introduced to the Second Declension. This involves masculine and neuter nouns. This week you will examine First Declension, which involves feminine nouns. We covered Second Declension first because it has regular endings with no changes. First Declension will be a bit different because it has some changes, which I will call irregular endings (instead of regular endings).
Day 1: The definite article: Feminine
| Case | Singular | Plural | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative N |
ἡ | αἱ | the |
| Genitive/Ablative G/A |
τῆς | τῶν | of/from the |
| Dative/Locative/Instrumental D/L/I |
τῇ | ταῖς | to/in/with the |
| Accusative A |
τήν | τάς | the |
Day 2: New word: love
- ἀγάπη, ἡ
- Pronounced like this: a (short a)(like ah)-ga (short a)-pay (long a)
- It has endings like the definite article.
- This is the standard feminine form of a noun.
| Case | Singular | Translation | Plural | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| N | ἀγάπη | love | ἀγάπαι | loves |
| G/A | ἀγάπης | of/from love | ἀγάπηων | of/from loves |
| D/L/I | ἀγάπῃ | to/in/with love | ἀγάπαις | to/in/with loves |
| A | ἀγάπην | love | ἀγάπας | loves |
- Note, whenever I present the case endings, I will give all possibilities. Some of the translations may sound odd, like "to/in/with loves," but I will still include it.
Day 3: New word: kingdom
- βασιλεία, ἡ
- Pronounced like this: ba (short a)(like bah)- si (short i)(like the si in "simple)-lie-a (short a)(like ah)
- It uses First Declension endings.
- It is different than the standard way above in one way: in the singular it uses α instead of η.
- Use this ending whenever the stem ends in ε, ι, or ρ.
| Case | Singular | Translation | Plural | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| N | βασιλεία | kingdom | βασιλεῖαι | kingdoms |
| G/A | βασιλείας | of/from kingdom | βασιλειῶν | of/from kingdoms |
| D/L/I | βασιλείᾳ | to/in/with kingdom | βασιλείαις | to/in/with kingdoms |
| A | βασιλείαν | kingdom | βασιλείας | kingdoms |
- Note: the singular form changes but the plural form does not change.
- Note: the accent changed in the nominative plural and genitive/ablative plural. I suggest you never think about the changing accent marks because they will rarely help in translation.
- Note: I suggest you don't worry about remembering if the singular ending uses α or η. Instead I suggest you remember the following:
| Case | Singular |
|---|---|
| N | no special ending (use the ending of the form you memorize) |
| G/A | add ς to the end |
| D/L/I | change the last vowel from α or η to ᾳ or ῃ |
| A | add ν to the end |
- This example will work with the next word because it also has an irregular ending.
Day 4: New word: tongue
- γλῶσσα, ἡ
- Pronounced like this: glow (long o)-sa (short a)(rhymes with "ma")
- It uses First Declension endings.
- It is different than the standard way from Day 2 in two ways: In the Nominative and Accusative singular it uses η instead of α.
| Case | Singular | Translation | Plural | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| N | γλῶσσα | tongue | γλῶσσαι | tongues |
| G/A | γλώσσης | of/from tongue | γλωσσῶν | of/from tongues |
| D/L/I | γλῶσσῃ | to/in/with tongue | γλώσσαις | to/in/with tongues |
| A | γλῶσσαν | tongue | γλώσσας | tongues |
- Note: the nominative singular and accusative singular both use α, whereas the genative/ablative singular and dative/locative/instrumental singular use η.
Day 5: New word: prophet
- προφήτης, ὁ
- Pronounced like this: pro-fa (long a)-tas (long a)
- This is a masculine noun, but it has a feminine ending and so will use the First Declension (feminine) endings, but it will use the masculine form of the definite article.
| Case | Singular | Translation | Plural | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| N | προφήτης | prophet | προφήται | prophets |
| G/A | προφήτου | of/from prophet | προφήτῶν | of/from prophets |
| D/L/I | προφήτῃ | to/in/with prophet | προφήταις | to/in/with prophets |
| A | προφήτην | prophet | προφήτας | prophets |
| Vocative (The vocative is a form of address or command.) |
προφήτα | prophet (For example: Prophet, I see your house.) |
Day 6: Weekly Exercises
1. Ἡ ἀγάπη Θέου
2. Προφήτης καί ὁ δοῦλος προφήτου λαμβάνουσι λογόν Θέου.
3. Τό τέκνον βλέπει δῶρον τῷ ἱερῷ.
4. Χριστός λέγεις ἀγάπην ἂνθρωπαις.
5. Ὁ πατήρ καί ὁ υἱός καί Ἰησοῦς ἔχουσιν ἀγάπην.
6. Ὁ ἂγγελος οὐ βλέπει τῷ ἱερῷ.
7. Θεος κρίνει τόν προφήτην.
8. Ὁ πατήρ ἢ ὁ υἱός λαμβάνει τόν καρπόν.
9. Spell: λαμβανει
10. Spell: ανθρωπαις
Answers
1. The love of God
- The definite article uses a capital letter.
2. A prophet and the servant (or slave) of a prophet receive a word from God.
3. The child sees a gift in the temple.
4. Christ speaks love to the men (people).
5. The father and the son and Jesus have love.
- The verb ends with a moveable nu since the next word starts with a vowel.
6. The messenger does not see the temple.
7. God judges the prophet.
- "Prophet" uses a masculine definite article and a feminine ending (First Declension)
8. The father or the son takes (receives) the fruit.
9. Spell: lambda-alpha-mu-beta-alpha-nu-epsilon-iota
10. Spell: alpha-nu-theta-rho-omega-pi-alpha-iota-final sigma
What you have learned so far
1. Alphabet
| Greek small | Greek capital | English | |
|---|---|---|---|
| α | Α | alpha | short a |
| β | Β | beta | b |
| γ | Γ | gamma | g |
| δ | Δ | delta | d |
| ε | Ε | epsilon | short e |
| ζ | Ζ | zeta | z |
| η | Η | eta | ay |
| θ | Θ | theta | th |
| ι | Ι | iota | i/ee |
| κ | Κ | kappa | k |
| λ | Λ | lambda | l |
| μ | Μ | mu | m |
| ν | Ν | nu | n |
| ξ | Ξ | xi | x |
| ο | Ο | omicron | o |
| π | Π | pi | p |
| ρ | Ρ | rho | r |
| σ ς | Σ | sigma | s |
| τ | Τ | tau | t |
| υ | Υ | upsilon | u |
| φ | Φ | phi | ph |
| χ | Χ | chi | ch |
| ψ | Ψ | psi | ps |
| ω | Ω | omega | long o |
2. Breathing marks and "h" sound: week 2
3. Accents: week 2
4. Diphthongs from letters we have covered so far:
- ει οι ου υι
- You can memorize them if you want. Or you can wait and I will tell you if each new word has a diphthong or not.
5. Definite article
- ὁ This is the masculine definite article and will be in front of masculine nouns.
- ἡ This is the feminine definite article and will be in front of feminine nouns.
- τό This is the neuter definite article and will be in front of neuter nouns.
6. "A"
- Greek does not have a word for "a."
7. Present Active Indicative endings
| PIA | singular | plural |
|---|---|---|
| first person |
ἔχωI have I am having |
ἔχομενwe have we are having |
| second person |
ἔχειςyou (singular) have you are having |
ἔχετεyou (plural) have you are having |
| third person |
ἔχειhe/she/it has he/she/it is having |
ἔχουσι(ν)they have they are having |
| infinitive => | ἔχεινto have |
8. Present active indicative of εἰμί.
| PIA | singular | plural |
|---|---|---|
| first person |
εἰμίI am | ἐσμένwe are |
| second person |
εἶyou (singular) are | ἐστέyou (plural) are |
| third person |
ἐστί(ν)he/she/it is | εἰσί(ν)they are |
| infinitive => | εἶναιto be |
9. Masculine definite article: The endings of nouns will be similar
| Case | Singular | Plural | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | ὁ | οἱ | the |
| Genitive/Ablative | τοῦ | τῶν | of/from the |
| Dative/Locative/Instrumental | τῷ | τοῖς | to/in/with the |
| Accusative | τόν | τούς | the |
10. Neuter definite article: The endings of nouns will be similar
| Case | Singular | Plural | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative N |
τό | τά | the |
| Genitive/Ablative G/A |
τοῦ(same as masculine) | τῶν(same as masculine) | of/from the |
| Dative/Locative/Instrumental D/L/I |
τῷ(same as masculine) | τοῖς(same as masculine) | to/in/with the |
| Accusative A |
τό(same as nominative) | τά(same as nominative) | the |
11. Feminine definite article: the endings of nouns will be similar.
| Case | Singular | Plural | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative N |
ἡ | αἱ | the |
| Genitive/Ablative G/A |
τῆς | τῶν | of/from the |
| Dative/Locative/Instrumental D/L/I |
τῇ | ταῖς | to/in/with the |
| Accusative A |
τήν | τάς | the |
12. First Declension endings: Feminine
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| N | ἀγάπη | ἀγάπαι |
| G/A | ἀγάπης | ἀγάπηων |
| D/L/I | ἀγάπῃ | ἀγάπαις |
| A | ἀγάπην | ἀγάπας |
13. Second Declension Endings: Masculine
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| N | ἂνθρωπος | ἂνθρωποι(same ending as the definite article) |
| G/A | ἀνθρώπου | ἀνθρώπων(same ending as the definite article) |
| D/L/I | ἀνθρώπῳ | ἀνθρώποις(same ending as the definite article) |
| A | ἂνθρωπον | ἀνθρώπους(same ending as the definite article) |
14. Second Declension Endings: Neuter
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| N | ἱερόν | ἱερά |
| G/A | ἱεροῦ | ἱερῶν |
| D/L/I | ἱερῷ | ἱεροῖς |
| A | ἱερόν | ἱερά |
Vocabulary
| ἀγάπη, ἡ | love |
| ἀδελφός, ὁ | brother |
| ἂγγελος, ὁ | messenger, angel |
| ἀκούω | I hear |
| ἂνθρωπος, ὁ | man/human/person/human being |
| βασιλεία, ἡ | kingdom |
| βλέπω | I see |
| γλῶσσα, ἡ | tongue |
| δοῦλος, ὁ | servant/slave |
| δῶρον, τό | gift |
| εἰμί | I am |
| ἒχω | I have |
| ἢ | or |
| ἡμέρα, ἡ | day |
| θεός, ὁ | God |
| ἱερόν, τό | temple |
| Ἰησοῦς | Jesus |
| ἰχθύς, ὁ | fish |
| καί | and |
| καρπός, ὁ | fruit |
| κρίνω | I judge |
| λαμβάνω | I take, receive |
| λέγω | I say or I speak |
| λόγος, ὁ | word |
| οὐ, οὐκ, οὐχ | not before a consonant, before smooth breathing, before rough breathing |
| πατήρ, ὁ | father |
| προφήτης, ὁ | prophet |
| σωτήρ, ὁ | savior |
| τέκνον, τό | child |
| υἱός, ὁ | son |
| Χριστός, ὁ | Christ |
© 2024 Mark Nickens