1.19: Second Declension Nouns

Module 16

© 2021 Philip S. Peek, CC BY 4.0 https://doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0264.19

Nouns

Nouns in Greek are defined just like nouns are in English; but the way they create meaning is different. As in English, Greek nouns (ὀνόματα) refer to people, places, things, and ideas. Greek nouns have endings. English nouns can change form when they show possession, as in Jada’s book, where the ’s is added as a suffix and indicates that the book belongs to Jada. English nouns also change form when expressing the plural: two suns, three oxen, four mice. The endings on Greek nouns, as we have seen previously, create the same meanings that English does through form change, word order, and the use of prepositional phrases.

Second Declension Nouns

The nominative singular of nouns of the second declension ends in -ος or –ον. Most second declension nouns whose nominative ends in -ος are masculine in gender and a few are feminine. Second declension nouns whose nominative ending is –ον are neuter in gender. Memorize these endings, know how to obtain the noun’s stem, and know how to decline the nouns.

Declining Second Declension Nouns in -ος or -ον

To decline second declension noun endings in -ος or –ον, first get the stem by removing the genitive singular ending. For sets 7 and 8, the genitive singular ending is -ου. For sets 9 and 10, the genitive singular ending is -ος. For sets 1 and 2, the genitive singular is -ης or -ᾱς. What remains is the stem. To the stem add the following endings:

Masculine/Feminine Set 7   S Pl Nominative -ος -οι Accusative -ον -ους Genitive -ου -ων Dative -ῳ -οις Vocative -ε -οι	Neuter Set 8   S Pl Nominative -ον -α Accusative -ον -α Genitive -ου -ων Dative -ῳ -οις Vocative -ον -α
Masculine/Feminine Set 7   S Pl Nominative -ος -οι Genitive -ου -ων Dative -ῳ -οις Accusative -ον -ους Vocative -ε -οι	Neuter Set 8   S Pl Nominative -ον -α Genitive -ου -ων Dative -ῳ -οις Accusative -ον -α Vocative -ον -α

ἥλιος, ἡλίου, ἀδελφός, ἀδελφοῦ, ἔργον, ἔργου

To decline the noun ἥλιος, ἡλίου ὁ sun, take the genitive singular ἡλίου, remove the genitive singular ending -ου to get the stem: ἡλί-, and add the masculine/feminine endings from above.

To decline ἀδελφός, ἀδελφοῦ ὁ brother, take the genitive singular ἀδελφοῦ, remove the genitive singular ending -ου to get the stem: ἀδελφ-, and add the masculine/feminine endings from above.

To decline ἔργον, ἔργου τό work, take the genitive singular ἔργου, remove the genitive singular ending -ου to get the stem: ἔργ-, and add the neuter endings from above.

	Singular
N	ἥλιος	ἀδελφός	ἔργον
A	ἥλιον	ἀδελφόν	ἔργον
G	ἡλίου	ἀδελφοῦ	ἔργου
D	ἡλίῳ	ἀδελφῷ	ἔργῳ
V	ἥλιε	ἄδελφε	ἔργον

	Plural
N	ἥλιοι	ἀδελφοί	ἔργα
A	ἡλίους	ἀδελφούς	ἔργα
G	ἡλίων	ἀδελφῶν	ἔργων
D	ἡλίοις	ἀδελφοῖς	ἔργοις
V	ἥλιοι	ἀδελφοί	ἔργα

	Singular
N	ἥλιος	ἀδελφός	ἔργον
G	ἡλίου	ἀδελφοῦ	ἔργου
D	ἡλίῳ	ἀδελφῷ	ἔργῳ
A	ἥλιον	ἀδελφόν	ἔργον
V	ἥλιε	ἄδελφε	ἔργον

	Plural
N	ἥλιοι	ἀδελφοί	ἔργα
G	ἡλίων	ἀδελφῶν	ἔργων
D	ἡλίοις	ἀδελφοῖς	ἔργοις
A	ἡλίους	ἀδελφούς	ἔργα
V	ἥλιοι	ἀδελφοί	ἔργα

ἥλιος:

1. Note that the vocative singular is different from the nominative singular. As in all nouns, the vocative plural is the same as the nominative plural.
2. The accent does not shift to the ultima in the genitive plural as it does in the first declension.
3. Final -αι and -οι count as short for purposes of accentuation except in the optative, a mood that you’ll learn in Part II of the 21st-Century series. Thus the accent remains on the antepenult in ἥλιοι.

ἀδελφός:

1. When first and second declension nouns have an acute accent on the ultima in the nominative singular, the accent changes to a circumflex in the genitive and dative, singular and plural.
2. ἄδελφε is an exception for the rules of accent.

ἔργον:

1. In all neuter nouns, the accusative and vocative are the same as the nominative, both in the singular and in the plural.
2. The nominative and vocative plural ending of all neuter nouns is -α.

Practice Translating. Translate the sentences below adapted from the prologue of Euripides’ Bakkhai (Βάκχαι). Remember the meanings and functions of the cases presented in Module 7. Nominative case endings are bolded; genitive endings are italicized; dative endings are highlighted; and accusative endings are underlined. Note that the third declension increases the number of possible endings for the nominative singular. Check your understanding with the translations in the Answer Key. Now go back and read each sentence two or three times, noticing with each rereading how much better your understanding of the sentence becomes. Make this a habit and you will improve quickly.

Case	Ending	Function
Nominative	-α, -η, -ης, ις, -ξ, -ο, -ον, -ος, -ρ, -ς, -ων	subject of the verb
Genitive	-ας, -ης, -ος, -ου, -ων	dependence; object of preposition; possession
Dative	-οις, -σι	dative with adjective
Accusative	-α, -αν, -ας, -ε, -εις, -η, -ην, -ν, -ο, -ον, -ος	motion toward; object of verb or preposition

ἥκω Διὸς παῖς τὴν Θηβαίων χθόνα, Διόνυσος. ἐμὲ μὲν τίκτει ποθ’ ἡ Κάδμου κόρη, Σεμέλη· ἐμὲ δὲ ἀστραπηφόρον λοχεύει πῦρ. μορφὴν δʼ ἀμείβω ἐκ θεοῦ βροτείαν· ὁράω δὲ μητρὸς μνῆμα καὶ δόμων ἐρείπια. τὰ δὲ ἔτι τύφεται, Δίου πυρὸς φλόξ, ἀθάνατος Ἥρας μητέρα εἰς ἐμὴν ὕβρις. αἰνέω δὲ Κάδμον. ὁ δὲ γὰρ ἄβατον τὸ πέδον τίθησι, θυγατρὸς σηκόν. λείπω δὲ ἐγὼ Λυδῶν γύας Φρυγῶν τε, Περσῶν τε πλάκας Βάκτριά τε τείχη τήν τε χθόνα Μήδων. καὶ δὲ ἐπέρχομαι Ἀραβίαν τ’ Ἀσίαν τε. ἡ δὲ Ἀσία παρ’ ἅλα κεῖται καὶ ἔχει μιγάδας Ἕλλησι βαρβάροις θʼ ὁμοῦ πόλεις. ἐκεῖ μὲν ἤδη χορεύω καὶ καθίστημι τὰς τελετάς. ἐγὼ δὲ νῦν ἔρχομαι εἰς Ἑλλήνων πόλιν ὅτι εἰμὶ ἐμφανὴς δαίμων βροτοῖς. πρώτας δὲ θήβας τῆς γῆς Ἑλληνίδος ἀνολολύζω, καὶ νεβρίδα ἐξάπτω χροὸς θύρσον τε δίδωμι ἐς χεῖρα, κίσσινον βέλος.

Adverbs and Verbs

αἰνέω praise, approve, promise	*καθίστημι appoint, establish, put into a state; (intrans.) be established, be appointed
ἀμείβω answer; change, exchange	*κεῖμαι lie
ἀνολολύζω cry aloud, shout; excite	λείπω leave
*δίδωμι give; δίκην δίδωμι I pay the penalty; δίδωμι χάριν I give thanks	λοχεύω bring forth, bear; deliver
*εἰμί be	*ὁράω see
ἐκεῖ there	*τίθημι put, place
ἐξάπτω fasten to or from	τίκτω bear, give birth
ἐπέρχομαι come upon; approach; attack	τύφω raise a smoke, smoke; (pass.) smolder
*ἔρχομαι come, go	χορεύω dance
*ἥκω have come, be present

Adjectives, Nouns, Pronouns

Νοminative	Genitive	Dative	Accusative	English Equivalent
ἄβατον	ἀβάτου	ἀβάτῳ	ἄβατον	untrodden, impassable
ἀθάνατος	ἀθανάτου	ἀθανάτῳ	ἀθάνατον	immortal, deathless
ἅλς	ἁλός	ἁλί	ἅλα	sea
Ἀραβία	Ἀραβίας	Ἀραβίᾳ	Ἀραβίαν	Arabia
Ἀσία	Ἀσίας	Ἀσίᾳ	Ἀσίαν	Asia
ἀστραπηφόρον	-φόρου	-φόρῳ	-φόρον	lightning-bearing
Βάκτρια	Βακτρίων	Βακτρίοις	Βάκτρια	Baktria
βάρβαροι	βαρβάρων	βαρβάροις	βαρβάρους	barbarians
βέλος	βέλεος (-ους)	βέλει	βέλος	missile, arrow, dart
βροτεία	βροτείας	βροτείᾳ	βροτείαν	mortal
βροτοί	βροτῶν	βροτοῖς	βροτούς	mortals
*γῆ	γῆς	γῇ	γῆν	land, earth
γύαι	γυῶν	γύαις	γύας	lands
δαίμων	δαίμονος	δαίμονι	δαίμονα	god, deity
Διόνυσος	Διονύσου	Διονύσῳ	Διόνυσον	Dionysos
δόμοι	δόμων	δόμοις	δόμους	house, houses
*ἐγώ	ἐμοῦ	ἐμοί	ἐμέ	I, me, mine
*Ἕλληνες	Ἑλλήνων	Ἕλλησι (ν)	Ἕλληνας	Greeks
Ἑλληνίς	Ἑλληνίδος	Ἑλληνίδι	Ἑλληνίδα	Greek
*ἐμή	ἐμῆς	ἐμῇ	ἐμήν	my
ἐμφανής	ἐμφανέος (-οῦς)	ἐμφανεῖ	ἐμφανέα (-ῆ)	clear, manifest
ἐρείπιον	ἐρειπίου	ἐρειπίῳ	ἐρείπιον	ruin, wreck
*Ζεύς	Διός (Ζηνός)	Διί (Ζηνί)	Δία (Ζῆνα)	Zeus
Ἥρα	Ἥρας	Ἥρᾳ	Ἥραν	Hera
*θεός	θεοῦ	θεῷ	θεόν	god, goddess
θῆβαι	θηβῶν	θήβαις	θήβας	Thebes
Θηβαῖοι	Θηβαίων	Θηβαίοις	Θηβαίους	Theban
θυγάτηρ	θυγατρός	θυγατρί	θυγατέρα	daughter
θύρσος	θύρσου	θύρσῳ	θύρσον	thyrsos
Κάδμος	Κάδμου	Κάδμῳ	Κάδμον	Kadmos
κίσσινος	κισσίνου	κισσίνῳ	κίσσινον	of ivy
κόρη	κόρης	κόρῃ	κόρην	girl; daughter
Λυδοί	Λυδῶν	Λυδοῖς	Λυδούς	Lydian
Μῆδοι	Μήδων	Μήδοις	Μήδους	Mede, Persian
*μήτηρ	μητρός	μητρί	μητέρα	mother
μιγάδες	μιγάδων	μιγάσι (ν)	μιγάδας	mixed
μνῆμα	μνήματος	μνήματι	μνῆμα	memorial, record, tomb
μορφή	μορφῆς	μορφῇ	μορφήν	form, appearance
νεβρίς	νεβρίδος	νεβρίδι	νεβρίδα	fawnskin
*παῖς	παιδός	παιδί	παῖδα	child
πέδον	πέδου	πέδῳ	πέδον	earth, ground
Πέρσαι	Περσέων (-ῶν)	Πέρσαις	Πέρσας	Persians
πλάκες	πλακῶν	πλαξί (ν)	πλάκας	plains, fields
*πόλις	πόλεως	πόλει	πόλιν	city
πρῶται	πρώτων	πρώταις	πρώτας	first
πῦρ	πυρός	πυρί	πῦρ	fire
Σεμέλη	Σεμέλης	Σεμέλῃ	Σεμέλην	Semele
σηκός	σηκοῦ	σηκῷ	σηκόν	pen, fold, precinct
τά δέ	τῶν δέ	τοῖς δέ	τά δέ	they, them, theirs
τείχη	τειχῶν	τείχεσι (ν)	τείχη	walls
τελεταί	τελετῶν	τελεταῖς	τελετάς	rites, mysteries
ὕβρις	ὕβρεως	ὕβρει	ὕβριν	hybris, brutality
φλόξ	φλογός	φλογί	φλόγα	flame, fire, blaze
Φρύγες	Φρυγῶν	Φρυξί (ν)	Φρύγας	Phrygian
*χείρ	χειρός	χειρί	χεῖρα	hand; force, army
χθών	χθονός	χθονί	χθόνα	earth, ground
χρώς	χρωτός (χροός)	χρωτί (χροΐ)	χρῶτα (χρόα)	skin

1. The asterisk indicates the top 250 most frequently occurring vocabulary, which you are to memorize.

Practice Parsing Greek Sentences. Parse each word of the sentence found below. For nouns and pronouns, give case and function. For verbs, give person, number, tense, mood, and voice. For adverbs and conjunctions, identify them. For prepositional phrases, give the preposition and the preposition’s object. For adjectives, tell what noun they agree with in gender, number, and case.

καὶ νεβρίδα ἐξάπτω χροὸς θύρσον τε δίδωμι ἐς χεῖρα, κίσσινον βέλος.

Check your answers with those in the Answer Key.

Classics and Our Modern World: Tom Palaima

In his article “Songs of the ‘Hard Traveler’ from Odysseus to the Never-Ending Tourist,” Classicist and professor Tom Palaima studies themes connected with traveling and existing away from home from the Iliad and Odyssey of Homer through the modern folk song tradition as performed and transformed by Bob Dylan, including songs by the Stanley Brothers, Charley Patton, Skip James, Muddy Waters, Stephen F. Foster, Martin Carthy and Dionysis Savvopoulos. Ancient Greek serves as the first recorded examples of songs exploring these experiences.

To read the article, follow this link:

Songs of the Hard Traveler.1

Module 16 Top 250 Vocabulary to be Memorized. Like learning the alphabet and endings, memorizing vocabulary is essential to acquiring language. The better you memorize the top 250 most frequently occurring words, the greater mastery of the language you will have.

Nouns

ἄνθρωπος, ἀνθρώπου ἡ ὁ human, person

ἔργον, ἔργου τό deed, task, work; building; ἔργον in truth, in deed

θεός, θεοῦ ἡ ὁ god, goddess, deity

λόγος, λόγου ὁ word, speech, story; reason, account

νόμος, νόμου ὁ law, custom

πόλεμος, πολέμου ὁ war

χρόνος, χρόνου ὁ time

Verb

νομίζω believe, think, have the custom of, hold as custom

Etymology Corner XVI by Dr. E. Del Chrol

Technical Terms 12, Parts of Speech

Nouns, Pronouns, and Cases, cont. We met the root of nominative in the previous section on nouns, because a nomen is a name (ὄνομα). The nominative case names the subject of the sentence. One specific type of nominative that we meet frequently when translating is the predicate nominative, or the naming of the thing that you are talking about, from the Latin prefix prae before and verb dicere to say (like dictation the taking down of what someone says or dictator whose statements are law). In addition to the frequently occurring predicate nominative, we will often meet predicate adjectives, which also name the thing you are talking about. In Greek grammar ὄνομα was used to refer to the parts of speech of both nouns and adjectives because both name what you are talking about. Greek for the nominative case was called ὀρθὴ πτῶσις the upright, standing or not falling case. Remember the hands of the clock.

What to Study and Do 16. Before moving on to the next module, make sure that you have memorized ending sets 7 and 8 for second declension nouns and that you can decline these nouns from memory.

Learning Tip 16: Learn How to Follow and to Break Rules. During the past 500 years our world has seen rapid technological changes. These changes require us to adapt constantly. Constant change is our new normal. Luckily one of our strengths is our ability to learn and to adapt. Learning new information requires basic rule-based thinking (continuous or algorithmic) and deep thinking (discontinuous or creative) that allows us to understand in novel ways. As you learn ancient Greek, think about what you are learning from both perspectives, allowing for an analytical understanding of language and for a conceptual understanding that requires going beyond linking a verb to its subject. Reflect on your learning of accents and the factual information required for you to learn so as to be able to accent correctly and with confidence. As you apply this knowledge and come to understand it at a deeper level, note how the conceptual application of knowledge becomes factual. To facilitate your assimilation of new information, try using your body as a memory palace. In this variation your body serves as the long-term storage facility for remembering new information. Let’s imagine that we wish to remember the eight parts of speech and their definitions, nouns, pronouns, adjectives, conjunctions, verbs, prepositions, adverbs, interjections.

We will begin at our feet and move up to our head. Our feet stand on a house, which represents nouns. Our house is filled with people, with maps of many different places, and the people in it are discussing many things and ideas. The house our feet are standing upon represents the definition person, place, thing, idea. On our knees a wide variety of people—he, she, they—are jostling each other, trying to take their place in line. The hes and shes of the people represent pronouns and the trying to take their place in line represents the definition of pronouns taking the place of nouns. On our thighs are oodles of crayons. The crayons speak colorfully and are describing the people on our knees, giving us information on the wide variety of different complexions and eye and hair colors among the people taking their place in line on our knees—beige, black, brown, green, pale, red, white, yellow. The crayons remind us that adjectives describe nouns. On our hips is a belt made out of safety pins. Each safety pin connects to the next, reminding us that conjunctions join one item to another. The pins make a belt that keeps our pants secure to our hips. Conjunctions join our thoughts, keeping them connected. Next is our stomach. Our stomach is our core. Our core is the foundation of movement and existence, enabling us to rise, jump, turn, and twist. Our stomach represents the qualities of action and existence that define verbs. In our right hand we hold an open umbrella. We stand under the umbrella. Our position of standing under the umbrella reminds us that prepositions are small words that require an object to complete their meaning. We are positioned under the object umbrella. Under is the preposition. The umbrella completes the meaning of a prepositional phrase by serving as the object of the preposition under. Our mouth exclaims delight at our ability to move outside into the rain without getting wet. Our mouth expresses satisfaction, by exclaiming, “ah,” as we dance in the rain and are kept dry by standing under our amazingly effective umbrella. The word ah is what we interject to express our delight. Ah is called an interjection. As we interject “ah,” our eyes look over our body parts, noticing the people standing in line on our knees. Some are standing quietly. Some are standing really quietly. Others are very loud. Our eyes take note that adverbs give additional information about verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. This body palace is just one more technique that you can apply the SEE principle to so as to place items quickly into your medium term memory. Remember that you will still have to review this information so as to remember it for the long term. Also remember to have fun using your imagination to create memorable information that you wish to make a part of your identity.

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1 http://sites.utexas.edu/tpalaima/files/2017/11/SONGS_OF_THE_HARD_TRAVELER_FROM_ODYSSEUS.pdf.