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First Declension Nouns |
The
nouns you have learned so far have all been second declension nouns. In
this lesson you are introduced to nouns that use a different set of
endings called first declension endings. Most first declension nouns are feminine, but a few are masculine. |
Because there is a great deal of similarity between the forms for
masculine and feminine nouns of the first declension,
it is extremely important that you learn the appropriate article with each first declension noun.
In many cases, knowing which article belongs with a given noun will be
the only way for you to identify the noun's gender, and identifying its
gender may be crucial for a correct understanding of many texts.
Nouns of the first declension are used in the same ways as
nouns of the second declension (which you have already studied). The
only difference is their form (endings).
Every form except nominative singular adds something to the end of the noun.
Singular |
The nominative singular adds nothing. It is the form in the vocabulary list: the lexical form. |
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Nominative |
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Genitive |
ς |
Notice that the genitive singular and accusative plural endings are the same. For most first declension nouns this is not a problem since the thematic vowel connecting the stem to the ending is different for singular and plural. | ||
Dative |
ι |
The dative singular adds iota subscript¨a small ι written below the final letter. |
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Accusative |
ν |
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Plural |
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Nominative |
ι |
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Genitive |
(ο)ν |
The ο of the genitive plural ending contracts with the thematic vowel, so you will never see it. What you will see, is the consistent change it causes. |
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Dative |
ις |
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Accusative |
ς |
The endings listed above are the same ones you have already learned for
feminine adjectives. As you saw with those adjectives, most nouns add η for their singular forms and α for the plural forms before the case endings. Nouns that have stems
ending in ε, ι, or ρ, though, add an α before every case ending, both singular and plural.
First declension nouns whose stems end in σσ mix these two systems. They add α for nominative and accusative singular, but η for genitive and dative singular. This results in the pattern below.
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Most Feminine First Declension Nouns |
Stems Ending in ε, ι, or ρ |
Stems ending in σσ | ||
Nominative |
-η |
-α |
Τhe only difference between the endings in the two lists on the left is the thematic vowel. Where the left group has η, the right group has α. | -α |
Nouns with stems ending in σσ use α for nominative and accusative singular, and η for genitive and dative singular. |
Genitive |
-ης |
-ας | -ης | ||
Dative |
-ῃ |
-ᾳ | -ῃ | ||
Accusative |
-ην |
-αν | -αν |
The best strategy for learning to recognize the case and number of first
declension nouns is to learn the bare case endings, not these three
lists of specific spellings. Just remember that there will always be
either an α or an η before the singular case ending.
The same strategy works well for the plural endings, but here your task is
a little easier. The plural endings never us η as the thematic vowel.
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All Feminine First Declension Nouns | ||
Nominative |
-αι |
The thematic vowel (α) contracts with the ο of the genitive plural ending to form ω. |
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Genitive |
-ων |
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Dative |
-αις |
Notice that the accusative plural ending is identical to the genitive singular ending only for nouns with an α thematic vowel in their singular froms. That is, nouns whose stems end in ε, ι, or ρ. |
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Accusative |
-ας |
Memorize the basic endings (in red above).
The two nouns φωνή and ἡμέρα have different thematic vowels (since the stem of ἡμέρα ends with ρ, while the stem of φωνή does not end with ε, ι, or ρ). Compare their forms in the chart below, and notice that while the thematic vowel is different, the case endings are the same. The noun θάλασσα has a stem ending in σσ, so its thematic vowel is α in the nominative and accusative singular, but η in the genitive and dative singular.
Singular |
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Nominative |
φωνή |
ἡμέρα |
| θάλασσα |
Genitive |
φωνῆς |
ἡμέρας |
| θαλάσσης |
Dative |
φωνῇ |
ἡμέρᾳ |
The iota (ι) case ending for the dative singular is written below the thematic vowel. This is called "iota subscript." | θαλάσσῃ |
Accusative |
φωνήν |
ἡμέραν | θάλασσαν | |
Plural |
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Nominative |
φωναί |
ἡμέραι |
| θάλασσαι |
Genitive |
φωνῶν |
ἡμερῶv |
The α thematic vowel contracts with the ο of the genitive plural ending to form ω. | θαλάσσων |
Dative |
φωναῖς |
ἡμέραις | θαλάσσαις | |
Accusative |
φωνάς |
ἡμέρας |
| θάλασσας |
Click here to practice recognizing the case and number of first declension nouns.
Most first declension nouns are feminine. A few,
however, are masculine. Two
masculine first declension nouns are included in the vocabulary list below. Both are shown with the masculine article.
προφήτης, -ου, ὁ
μαθητής, -ου, ὁ
From their form in the vocabulary list, you can immediately
see the only differences between masculine and feminine first
declension nouns: the nominative and genitive singular endings. All of
the rest of their case endings are identical to the ones for feminine
first declension nouns. Here is a graph of the only differences:
|
Masculine |
Feminine |
Nominative singular |
-ς |
- |
Genitive singular |
-ου |
-ς |
The nominative singular ending for masculine first declension nouns looks the same as the genitive singular ending for femininefirst
declension nouns. How will you know whether this ending is
nominative singular or genitive singular when you see it in a
Hellenistic Greek text? The only way you can know is to know the gender
(masculine or feminine) of the noun on which the ending is found. It is
absolutely imperative that you learn the gender of each noun as
you study the vocabulary lists. The article is included with each noun
to help with this.
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Singular |
While νεανίας ("young man") is not in the vocabulary
list for this lesson, it is included here as an example of a noun whose
stem ends with ι. Nouns with stems that end with ε, ι, or ρ have α as
their thematic vowel even in their singular forms. Notice that for masculine first declension nouns
with stems ending in ε, ι, or ρ, the nominative singular and the
accusative plural are identical. You must use context to distinguish
them.
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Nominative |
προφήτης |
μαθητής |
νεανίας |
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Genitive |
προφήτου |
μαθητοῦ |
νεανίου |
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Dative |
προφήτῃ |
μαθητῇ |
νεανίᾳ |
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Accusative |
προφήτην |
μαθητήν |
νεανίαν |
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Plural |
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Nominative |
προφήται |
μαθηταί |
νεανίαι |
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Genitive |
προφητῶν |
μαθητῶν |
νεανιῶν |
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Dative |
προφήταις |
μαθηταῖς |
νεανίαις |
|
Accusative |
προφήτας |
μαθητάς |
νεανίας |
Click here to practice recognizing the forms of masculine first declension nouns.
The vocabulary list for this lesson contains roughly half of the thirty one first declension nouns that occur fifty times or more in the Chistian New Testament. The rest are presented in the next lesson. In addition to their frequent use in the New Testament, most of these words are used widely in other Hellenistic Greek literature as well.
Make a mental note of the location of the accent mark as you view each word. Accents for nouns are not
recessive. They remain on the same syllable unless the general rules
for accents force them to move. To know where to write the accent mark
for a noun, you have to learn its placement on the nominative singular
(lexical) form.
109 |
ἀλήθεια, -ας, ἡ |
truth, truthfulness, faithfulness |
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The alpha is short in the nominative and accusative singular endings of words like ἀλήθεια. In the other cases it is long. This means the accent mark cannot be on the third syllable from the end in the genitive and dative cases. |
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162 |
βασιλεία, -ας, ἡ |
kingdom |
61 |
Γαλιλαία, -ας, ἡ |
Galilee |
50 |
γλῶσσα, -ης, ἡ |
tongue, language |
92 |
δικαιοσύνη, -ης, ἡ |
righteousness, justice |
166 |
δόξα, -ης, ἡ |
brightness, glory, opinion, reputation |
114 |
ἐκκλησία, -ας, ἡ |
assembly, church, congregation |
52 |
ἐπαγγελία, -ας, ἡ |
promise, pledge |
135 |
ζωή, -ής, ἡ |
life, way of living |
91 |
θάλασσα, -ης, ἡ |
sea, lake, ocean |
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Notice that, unlike the other words in this list, the nominative and genitive singular forms of θάλασσα have different thematic vowels. This difference is explaned below. |
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156 |
καρδία, -ας, ἡ |
heart, inner self, mind |
75 |
κεφαλή, -ής, ἡ |
head, origin, starting point |
261 |
μαθητής, -ου, ὁ |
student, disciple |
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Notice
that μαθητής is masculine. It is listed here with the masculine article
(ὁ). Can you find the other first declension noun in this list that is
masculine? |
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50 |
παραβολή, -ής, ἡ |
parable, comparison, proverb, poem |
144 |
προφήτης, -ου, ὁ |
prophet |
103 |
ψυχή, -ής, ἡ |
life, mind, soul |
106 |
ὥρα, -ας, ἡ |
hour, time, occasion |
1. [θεωρέω = I see, observe]
κύριε, θεωρῶ
Lord, I see
Can you explain why there is a circumflex accent over the final ω in θεωρῶ? If not, you should review the section on contraction in lesson 7. |
2. [ὅτι = that; σύ = you]
κύριε, θεωρῶ ὅτι προφήτης εἶ σύ (John 4:19)
Lord, I see that you are a prophet
2. Some priests and Levites once asked John the Baptist,
ὁ προφήτης εἶ σύ; (John 1:21)
Are you the prophet?4. αὐτῶν ἐστιν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν (Matthew 5:3)
Theirs is the kingdom of heaven
The kingdom of heaven is theirs
5. [λέγω = I tell, I speak]
τὴν ἀλήθειαν λέγω (John 8:45)
I tell the truth
I speak the truth
6. [Ἄλλην is the accusative feminine singular form of ἄλλος = another.]
Ἄλλην παραβολὴν έλάλησεν αύτοῖς (Matthew 13:33)
He told them another parable
7. [μετά, when followed by a genitive case noun, is translated as "with."
Ἰησοῦς μετὰ τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ. . . (Mark 3:7)
Jesus, with his disciples. . .
Notice that when a preposition is present (μετά in this example) the usual meanings of the cases may be suspended. The genitive case is usually translated using a phrase with "of" or "from" or as a possessive (his, hers, John's), but the preposition overrides this usual meaning. |
8. [άναχωρέω = I withdraw, go away; πρός = toward]
Ἰησοῦς μετὰ τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ ἀνεχώρησεν πρὸς τὴν θάλασσαν (Mark 3:7)
Jesus, with his disciples, withdrew toward the sea
9. [πολὺ πλῆθος = a great crowd]
πολὺ πλῆθος ήκολούθησεν
a great crowd followed
10. [ἀπό = from]
Ἰησοῦς μετὰ τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ ἀνεχώρησεν πρὸς τὴν θάλασσαν, καὶ πολὺ πλῆθος ἀπὸ τῆς Γαλιλαίας ήκολούθησεν (Mark 3:7)
Jesus, with his disciples, withdrew toward the sea, and a great crowd from Galilee followed
Click here to take the vocabulary practice quiz.
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