Lesson 2 | Greek Nouns: The First Noun Pattern
Review
During this lesson, you learned:
Greek nouns have four parts: stem, case, gender, and number.
A noun’s case–not word order–tells us its role in the sentence.
There are five Greek cases that communicate particular roles:
Nominative: The verb’s subject
Genitive: A noun’s possessor (key word: “of”)
Dative: The verb’s indirect object (key words: “to” or “for”)
Accusative: The verb’s direct object
Vocative: Direct address (when the author is speaking directly to someone or something)
The First Noun Pattern
Most first pattern nouns have stems that end in η or α
Most first pattern nouns are feminine
A few important first pattern nouns are masculine and end in ης (like μαθητής and προφήτης)
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.
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.
earth; land; region (noun)
because of; on account of (preposition)
glory; majesty; fame (noun)
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?
True or False: A noun's case cannot change.
What is the case, gender, and number of ἀγάπῃ?
What role does a noun in the accusative case usually play?
Which key word(s) help us translate the dative case?
Which key word(s) help us translate the genitive case?
First pattern nouns have stems that end in which vowels?
Parse and Translate: ἀλήθειαν
Parse and Translate: φωναῖς