26

3rd Declension Nouns Concluded

In this lesson, we conclude our discussion of 3rd Declension nouns. Here we introduce noun stems ending in –ι, and –υ.

Stems Ending in –ι

Most nouns preserve this stem vowel only in the NOMINATIVE and ACCUSATIVE SINGULAR. In the other cases and numbers, –ε replaces –ι as the stem vowel (S 268-271). This class of nouns shares a number of other attributes, including:

• These nouns are usually feminine.
• The genitive singular ending lengthens from –ος to –ως.
• Neither the –εως ending of the genitive singular nor the –εων ending of the genitive plural draw the accent off of an antepenult.
• The accusative singular uses –ν (familiar from the definite article) instead of –α.
• The nominative and accusative plural both end in –εες, which contracts to –εις.

As with nouns with –ερ stems, these changes in the noun stem and accent patterns require memorization. The good news is that all the –ι stem nouns in the vocabulary share the inflection pattern of ἡ πόλις, πόλεως city (S 268; GPH p. 15):

Stems Ending in –υ, –ευ, –αυ, and –ου

1. As with –ι stem nouns, –υ stem nouns preserve the stem vowel only in the NOMINATIVE and ACCUSATIVE SINGULAR. In the other cases and numbers, –ε replaces –υ as the stem vowel (S 268-271). Many –υ stem nouns share a number of other attributes with –ι stem nouns, including:

• The genitive singular ending lengthens from –ος to –ως.
• Neither the –εως ending of the genitive singular (due to transference of quantity) nor the –εων ending of the genitive plural draw the accent off of an antepenult.
• The accusative singular uses –ν instead of –α.
• The nominative and accusative plural both end in –εες, which contracts to –εις.

Note, for example, the inflection of ὁ πρέσβυς -εως old man:

2. Kings, Priests, and Horsemen!

Noun stems ending in –ευ exhibit more irregularities than stems that end in just –υ. The inflection patterns of these nouns must be memorized, though some observations may help. Note the following changes that occur in the inflection of ὁ βασιλεύς -έως “king” (S 275; GPH p. 16):

• The noun stem –ευ drops the –υ before another vowel, leaving just an –ε for its stem vowel.
• The genitive singular ending lengthens from –ος to –ως, due to transference of quantity.
• The accent persists on the stem vowel, –ευ or –ε. Note that for the dative singular, the original form was βασιλέ–ι, the noun stem plus the case ending. These two vowels form a diphthong, and the resulting accent, as expected, forms a circumflex.
• The nominative plural lengthens the –ε to an –η (-έὲς = –ῆς).
• The endings for the accusative singular and plural do not contract (the α of both endings is long).

Not long after the Classical period, the NOMINATIVE and ACCUSATIVE PLURALS of these –ευ nouns change to –εῖς, in parallel with the endings shared by –ι stem nouns and –υ stem nouns such as ὁ πρέσβυς –εως. The rest of the noun inflects as it did in the Classical period.

βασιλεύς -έως ὁ king (post-Classical forms in parentheses)

Also inflected on this pattern are the following two nouns:

• ἱερεύς -έως ὁ priest
• ἱππεύς -έως ὁ horseman, charioteer

3. Ships!

The noun ἡ ναῦς, νεώς “ship” is a common word in Greek, as might be expected for a people closely associated with seafaring. The stem for this noun ends in –αυ. Like noun stems ending in –ευ, –αυ nouns exhibit more irregularities than stems that end in just –υ. The inflection pattern of ἡ ναῦς, νεώς must be memorized, though some observations may help (S 275; GPH p. 16).

• The vowel stem –αυ drops the –υ before another vowel, resulting in a vowel stem of either –ε or –η.
• The genitive singular ending lengthens from –ος to –ως, due to transference of quantity.
• The accent pattern follows that of a monosyllabic nouns of the 3rd Declension.
• The accusative singular uses –ν instead of –α.
• The nominative singular and accusative plural are identical in form.

ναῦς, νεώς ἡ ship

4. Bulls!

The noun βοῦς, βοός bull or cow, is also a common word in Greek. These animals were important not only for farming and animal husbandry, but for sacrifices.

The stem for this noun ends in –ου (S 275; GPH p. 17). Like noun stems ending in –ευ and –αυ, –ου nouns exhibit irregularities. The inflection pattern of βοῦς, βοός must be memorized, though some observations may help (S 275-278).

• The vowel stem –ου drops the –υ before another vowel, resulting in a vowel stem of –ο.
• The genitive singular remains –ος. No transference of quantity can occur, since the stem vowel –ο is short.
• The accent pattern follows that of a monosyllabic nouns of the 3rd Declension.
• The genitive singular and nominative plural endings do not contract.
• The accusative singular uses –ν instead of –α.
• The nominative singular and accusative plural are identical in form.

βοῦς, βοός ὁ bull, ox; ἡ cow

More 3rd Declension Vocatives

Now that we have learned the rest of the third declension nouns, here is another way of forming the vocative that involves using the stem where the stem is different from the nominative.

Remember that for many third declension nouns the stem will be identical to the nominative. For example:

• χαῖρε, ὦ φῶς!
  • Hello, light!

Using the stem of 3rd declension 

Some masculine and feminine nouns – e.g., those whose stems end in –ερ, –εσ, –ι, and –υ – use just their STEM for the vocative singular.

• παραδίδως, ὦ πάτερ, τὴν πατρίδα.
  • Father, you are betraying your country.
  • πατήρ (stem = πατερ) → πάτερ (voc.)
• παραδίδως, ὦ μῆτερ, τὴν πατρίδα.
  • Mother, you are betraying your country.
  • μήτηρ (stem = μητερ) → μῆτερ (voc.)
• παραδίδως, ὦ θύγατερ, τὴν πατρίδα.
  • Daughter, you are betraying your country.
  • θυγάτηρ (stem = θυγατερ) → θύγατερ (voc.)
• παραδίδως, ὦ ἄνερ, τὴν πατρίδα.
  • Man, you are betraying your country.
  • ἀνήρ (stem = ἀνερ) → ἄνερ (voc.)
• παραδίδως, ὦ Σώκρατες, τὴν πατρίδα.
  • Socrates, you are betraying your country.
  • Σωκράτης (stem = Σωκρατες) → Σώκρατες (voc.)
• παραδίδως, ὦ βασιλεῦ, τὴν πατρίδα.
  • King, you are betraying your country.
  • βασιλεύς (stem = βασιλευ) → βασιλεῦ (voc.)

– τὸ τέλος –