αἱ κλίσεις - Declensions

Declension is a fancy word that simply refers to the pattern of a nominal. In Greek there are three declensions, or patterns, that a noun can follow. The root of some nouns end in an -α- or an -η-. We call those 1st declension nouns. The root of some other nouns end in -ο-. We call those 2nd declension nouns. Some noun roots do not end in either one of those vowels, but rather end in a consonant. That 3rd declension, or 3rd pattern, is not one that we are dealing with today.

There is no grammatical meaning associated with declensions. They are simply patterns. However, it is helpful to know the patterns so we can more readily recognize what case a word is in. And the case does have meaning.

The following charts show all the variations in the 1st and 2nd declensions. The pattern for words whose stems end in an -α- or -η- is called the 1st declension. The pattern for words whose stems end in -ο- is called the 2nd declension.

Noun Patterns Ending In Vowels

Noun Patterns Ending In Vowels

ἡ πρώτη κλίσις – 1st Declension

	bag -α-	sound -η-	table -α- / -η-	endings		thief -η-1
nominative accusative genitive dative	ἡ πήρα τὴν πήραν τῆς πήρας τῇ πήρᾳ	ἡ φωνή τὴν φωνήν τῆς φωνῆς τῇ φωνῇ	ἡ τράπεζα τὴν τράπεζαν τῆς τραπέζης τῇ τραπέζῃ	-α / -η -αν / -ην -ας / -ης -ᾳ / -ῃ		ὁ κλέπτης τὸν κλέπτην τοῦ κλέπτου τῷ κλέπτῃ
nominative accusative genitive dative	αἱ πήραι τὰς πήρας τῶν πηρῶν ταῖς πήραις	αἱ φωναί τὰς φωνάς τῶν φωνῶν ταῖς φωναῖς	αἱ τράπεζαι τὰς τραπέζας τῶν τραπεζῶν ταῖς τραπέζαις	-αι -ας -ων -αις		οἱ κλέπται τοὺς κλέπτας τῶν κλεπτῶν τοῖς κλέπτοις

ἡ δευτέρα κλίσις – 2nd Declension

	man -ο-	road -ο-	endings		sheep -ο-	endings
nominative accusative genitive dative	ὁ ἄνθρωπος τὸν ἄνθρωπον τοῦ ἀνθρώπου τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ	ἡ ὁδός τὴν ὁδόν τῆς ὁδοῦ τῇ ὁδῷ	-ος -ον -ου -ῳ		τὸ πρόβατον τὸ πρόβατον τοῦ προβάτου τῷ προβάτῳ	-ον -ον -ου -ῳ
nominative accusative genitive dative	οἱ ἄνθρωποι τοὺς ἀνθρώπους τῶν ἀνθρώπων τοῖς ἀνθρώποις	αἱ ὁδοί τὰς ὁδούς τῶν ὁδῶν ταῖς ὁδοῖς	-οι -ους -ων -οις		τὰ πρόβατα τὰ πρόβατα τῶν προβάτων τοῖς προβάτοις	-α -α -ων -οις

Footnotes

1. This category has the “η” look to the endings, therefore making it 1st declension. However, this category is “trying” to become 2nd declension. That is why it has the -ς in the singular nominative and the -ου in the singular genitive like the 2nd declension. ↩

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