1st, 2nd and 3rd declension nouns

1st, 2nd and 3rd declension nouns

Introduction to Declensions

• In Greek, a Declension is a set of endings that a noun takes to indicate its case, number, and gender.
• Case shows a noun’s function, number tells us if it’s singular or plural, and gender is a grammatical category.
• There are mainly three declensions in Greek: first, second, and third.
• Greek declensions dictate the ending of a noun, depending on its role in the sentence.

1st Declension Nouns

• The 1st declension nouns are usually feminine, but can sometimes also be masculine.
• The first declension mainly uses -ᾱ/-η in the nominative singular for feminine and -ᾰς/-ης for masculine.
• In the genitive singular, these nouns end with -ας/ης or -ου.
• The nominative plural ends usually in -αι with genitive plural in -ῶν.

2nd Declension Nouns

• Second declension nouns are masculine or neuter.
• Masculine nouns in second declension usually end in -ος in the nominative singular, and -ον for the neuter.
• In the genitive singular, it is typically -ου with the plural being -οι for masculine and -α for neuter nouns.
• The genitive plural ending is -ων for both masculine and neuter.

3rd Declension Nouns

• Nouns of the third declension can be of all three genders: masculine, feminine, and neuter.
• The third declension features a wide variety of different noun endings in the nominative singular, but common ones include -ς, -ις, -υς.
• The genitive singular always ends in -ος.
• The nominative plural typically ends in -ες or -ις for masculine/feminine, and -α/-η for neuter. Genitive plural is -ῶν.

Note

• A declension is a set of endings, nothing more. The stem of the noun, to which these endings are attached, could be anything.
• Practice is key to building familiarity with these endings and determining the appropriate declension.
• Your goal is to understand when and where to use these various declensions.