Lesson 2 | Greek Nouns: The First Noun Pattern

Review

During this lesson, you learned:
  1. Greek nouns have four parts: stem, case, gender, and number.
  2. A noun’s case–not word order–tells us its role in the sentence.
  3. There are five Greek cases that communicate particular roles:
  4. Nominative: The verb’s subject
  5. Genitive: A noun’s possessor (key word: “of”)
  6. Dative: The verb’s indirect object (key words: “to” or “for”)
  7. Accusative: The verb’s direct object
  8. Vocative: Direct address (when the author is speaking directly to someone or something)
  9. The First Noun Pattern
  10. Most first pattern nouns have stems that end in η or α
  11. Most first pattern nouns are feminine
  12. A few important first pattern nouns are masculine and end in ης (like μαθητής and προφήτης)
  13. If an α-stem’s second to last letter is anything other than ε, ι, or ρ, then the α will change to an η in the genitive and dative singular.
  14. For an α-stem whose second to last letter is ε, ι, or ρ (like καρδία), only context determines whether an -ας ending (like καρδίας) is genitive, feminine, singular or accusative, feminine, plural.
5. 18 New Words
Lesson 2 Vocabulary
Word
Definition
ἀγάπη, -ης, ἡ
love (noun)
ἀλήθεια, -ας, ἡ
truth (noun)
ἁμαρτία, -ας, ἡ
sin (noun)
ἀπό (+ genitive)
away from (preposition)
βασιλεία, -ας, ἡ
kingdom (noun)
γῆ, -ῆς, ἡ
earth; land; region (noun)
διά (+ genitive)
through (preposition)
διά (+ accusative)
because of; on account of (preposition)
δόξα, -ης, ἡ
glory; majesty; fame (noun)
ἐκκλησία, -ας, ἡ
church; assembly (noun)
ἐξουσία, -ας, ἡ
power; authority (noun)
ζωή, -ῆς, ἡ
life (noun)
ἡμέρα, -ας, ἡ
day (noun)
καρδία, -ας, ἡ
heart (noun)
μαθητής, -οῦ, ὁ
disciple (noun)
προφήτης, -ου, ὁ
prophet (noun)
φωνή, -ῆς, ἡ
sound; voice (noun)
ψυχή, -ῆς, ἡ
soul; life (noun)
ὥρα, -ας, ἡ
hour (noun)
Loading...

Quiz

Here is a brief quiz that will help you see how well you learned these concepts. If you find that you are struggling to answer certain questions, go back and review that information before moving on to the next lesson.

What tells us a noun's role in the sentence?

Log in / create an account to enroll or continue where you left off.

True or False: A noun's case cannot change.

Log in / create an account to enroll or continue where you left off.

What is the case, gender, and number of ἀγάπῃ?

Log in / create an account to enroll or continue where you left off.

What role does a noun in the accusative case usually play?

Log in / create an account to enroll or continue where you left off.

Which key word(s) help us translate the dative case?

Log in / create an account to enroll or continue where you left off.

Which key word(s) help us translate the genitive case?

Log in / create an account to enroll or continue where you left off.

First pattern nouns have stems that end in which vowels?

Log in / create an account to enroll or continue where you left off.

Parse and Translate: γῆς

Log in / create an account to enroll or continue where you left off.

Parse and Translate: ἀλήθειαν

Log in / create an account to enroll or continue where you left off.

Parse and Translate: φωναῖς

Log in / create an account to enroll or continue where you left off.

Greek 1 (retired)