English - Μοdern Greek

• The nouns are divided into three groups of grammatical genders i.e. masculine, feminine and neuter. The gender is recognized by the preceding article. The word endings of the nouns are inflected per case and singular and plural.
• In each group, we also have to make a distinction between nouns in the singular and plural with an equal number of syllables and nouns that are getting an extra syllable in the plural.
• Inflecting a noun is is putting it in an appropriate case. In many cases, the ending of the 1st case is enough to indicate the corresponding inflection. For example, all nouns in the 1st case with the ending «-ο» are neuter. And apart from a few exceptions nouns with the same ending, belonging to the same group, are inflected in the same way. But it is not so straightforward, because nouns ending on «-ος» can be masculine, feminine and neuter, resulting in differences in the way to form the other cases in singular and plural.
• An important aspect of the inflection of the nouns is the accent. We have to deal with accents on the last syllable of a word, on the second last syllable (the penult) or on the third last syllable (antepenult) of a word.

Nouns of natural phenomenon, inanimate objects and materials can have one of the three genders e.g. «αέρας» - wind is masculine, «καρέκλα» - chair is feminine and «κρασί» - wine is neuter.

Most abstract nouns are feminine, apart from a few. «Νόηση» - intelligence f.i. is feminine, but «αφοπλισμός» - disarmament and «γούστο» - desire are respectively masculine and neuter.

With regard to people, there is a mutual relationship between a natural and a grammatical gender.

We can take note the following

«ο άντρας» is masculine (natural)	it is (grammatical), a masculine
«η γυναίκα» is feminine (natural)	it is (grammatical), a feminine word
«το αγόρι» is masculine (natural)	it is (grammatical), a neuter word
«το κόριτσι» is feminine (natural)	it is (grammatical), a neuter word

More natural and grammatical genders:

noun	people	natural	grammatical
- ο άνθρωπος	person	man or woman	masculine
- η προσωπικότητα	personality	man or woman	feminine
- ο/η προέδρος	president	man or woman	general
- ο ποιητής	poet	man or woman	masculine
- η ποιήτρα	poetess	woman	feminine
- το παιδί	child	man or woman	neuter
- τα αδέρφια	brother & sister	man or woman	neuter (plural)

Some basic rules for the inflection of nouns:

• We distinguish in each of the three grammatical genders three cases viz the 1st case (the nominative), the 2nd case (the genitive) and the 4th case (the accusative). MG has also the 5th case (the vocative), which is used when someone or something is accosted.
• Masculine nouns almost always end with a vowel plus «-ς» in the 1st case singular. The 2nd case singular is the same as the 4th case except the nouns ending on «ος», which get the ending «ου» in the 2nd case singular. In the 4th case singular the «-ς» is omitted.
• At the feminine nouns, which have a vowel as word ending in the 1st and 4th case, a «-ς» is added in the 2nd case. An exception on this is the feminine type ending on «-ος», that follows the same pattern as the masculine nouns on «-ος».
• Corresponding types of nouns can be masculine or feminine, depending on the gender of the person. They behave like the analogous masculine nouns ending on «-ας», «-ης», «-ος» or «-έας»
• Neuter nouns have one single form in the 1st and the 4th case, and one single form in the 1st and the 4th case plural. The plural ends typically with an «-α», except for the neuter nouns ending on «-ος».
• The 2nd case plural of all inflections of nouns are ending on «-ων».
• The accent that can shift and other particularities in the endings of specific inflections make it more complicated.

N.B.

The word-endings of the vocative (5th case) are in respectively the feminine and neuter nouns the same as in their nominatives (1st case) and accusatives (4th case), but the masculine nouns have a different form. In the vocative no article is used.

Νouns are found in main names and common names

Common names are defined a.f.:

• things like: «ο πίνακας» - the painting, «η πόρτα» - the door, «το βιβλίο» - the book
• persons like: «ο πατέρας» - the father, «η μητέρα»- the mother, «το παιδί» - the child
• animals like: «ο σκύλος» - the dog, «πεταλούδα» - the nutterfly, «περιστέρι» - the pidgeon, the dove
• plaatsen zoals: «ο κήπος» - the garden, «η αυλή»- the yard, «το λιμάνι» - the port
• abstracte betekenissen zoals: η αγάπη«» - the love, «η αποστολή» - the consignment, «η ασφάλεια» - the safety
• activiteiten zoals: «η φυγή »- the flight,«the τρέξιμο» - the running
• situaties zoals: «ο ύπνος» - the sleep, «η ησυχία» - the kalmte, the rest, the quiet

The main names are names of persons, things, animals, places, days, months and celebrations. They start with a capital letter and have no plural form.

• «Γιώργος», «Ελένη», «Πέτρος Κωνσταντίνου» - George, Helen, Peter Konstantinoe
• «το πλοίο Άνεμος» - De boat «Anemos»
• «η γάτα μας η Χιονάτη» - Our cat Gionati
• «ο ποταμός Νέστος» - The river Nestos
• «η Θεσσαλία» - Thessaly (region in Greece)
• «η Δευτέρα» - Monday
• «ο Αύγουστος» - August
• «η Πρωτοχρονιά» - New Year

From the definite articles we have learned that proper names are always accompanied by a definite article..

When no noun is mentioned the gender of the person in question can be inferred from a form of an accompanying word such as an article, an adjective or an adverb:

ελληνικά	αγγλικά
είναι ωραίος	he is handsome
είναι ωραία	she is handsome
είναι ωραίο	het is handsome (child)

When no noun is mentioned and the gender of the person concerned is irrelevant, the masculine gender is used:

Ποιος θα φύγει αύριο;	Who (which person) will leave tomorrow?
Ποιοι θα φύγουν αύριο;	Who (which persons) are going to leave tomorow?

When no noun is mentioned, but when the speaker thinks he knows that the person in question is a man or a woman:

Ποια θα φύγει αύριο;	Who (which woman) will leave tomorrow?
Ποιες θα φύγουν αύριο;	Who (which women) are going to leave tomorow?

The masculine gender is the appropriate form for an adjective to be used independently:

Ο πλούσιος φροντίζει το(ν) φτωχό	The rich (person) takes care of the poor (person)
Η πλούσια φροντίζει τη φτωχή.	The rich woman is taking care of the poor woman.

When speaking about a mixed group of men and women, then the masculine form is used. The feminine form is only used when there is no doubt about the gender:

Όλοι σας τον αγαπάτε.	You all love him.
Όλες σας τον αγαπάτε.	All you women love him.

The neuter form is used for the inflectable numbers (three and four). Is the number however placed in front a feminine noun it is also inflected in the feminine form: De onzijdige vorm wordt gebruikt voor de verbuigbare getallen (drie en vier). Staat het getal echter voor een vrouwelijk zelfstandig naamwoord dan wordt het ook in de vrouwelijke vorm verbogen:

η σελίδα τέσσερα	page four
τέσσερις σελίδες	four pages

All words which modify the noun appear in the same gender as that noun regardless of the gender of the person in question:

Ο Νίκος (masc.) έγινε μεγάλη προσωπικότητα (fem.).	Nick became a great personality.
Η Ελένη (fem.) είναι το μεγαλύτερο παιδί (neut.).	Helen is the oldest child.

Sentences with nouns that are the opposite of eachother do not necessarily require to be equal in gender:

η γυναίκα (fem.) μοντέλο (neut.)	the female model
ο άντρας (masc.) προσωπικότητα (fem.)	The male personality

The gender of the independent names of animals is not always related to the natural gender of the animal:

 

* Some known animals have three names, one general, one for feminine and one for masculine gender. As a complement to the above three names for sheep there is the word «αρνί» - lamb .

Some pets have two names, a general name which appoints one of the two genders and the another name for the remaining gender:

 

* A diminutive for pussycat or kitten is «γάτι». The word «σκύλα» also means bitch. The noun «σκύλι» can replace the other two words for dog, but it also means puppy or just young dog, although the word «κουτάβι» means the same.

Wild animals have only one name. When the gender of the animal has to be described the word must be accompanied by an adjective for feminine or masculine gender:

- η αλεπού	fox (fem.)
- η αρσενική αλεπού	male fox

- ο ελέφαντας	elephant (masc.)
- ο θηλυκός ελέφαντας	female elephant

Many nouns of people with a particular profession are of a general gender, i.e. they are used in the masculine form to denote a female profession, accompanied by the feminine article (or adjective, adverb, determiners), following the masculine inflection pattern. With a noun of general gender it is necessary or advisable to indicate the gender.

Only with nouns of general gender the words that can modify them are appearing, such as articles, adjectives, personal pronouns and determiners, in masculine or feminine forms in accordance with the gender of the person referred to.

ελληνικά	αγγλικά
Αυτός είναι ένας καλός γραμματέας.	He is a good secretary.
Αυτή είναι μια καλή γραμματέας.	She is a good secretary.

When the gender of the person is not defined or known, the male gender is used:

ο διερμηνέας αυτού του βιβλίου

the translator of this book

When the speaker or writer wants to clarify the real gender of the person he can do this by adding a noun indicating, in no uncertain terms, whether he means a man or a woman:

μια γυναίκα συγγραφέας	a female writer
ένας άντρας συγγραφέας	a male writer
μια γυναίκα διευθύντρια	a female director

 

The last sentence points out that the additional word «γυναίκα»» and «διευθύντρια» both are feminine. In this case, the speaker wants to emphasize that the director is a woman. Partly due to the article «μια» the tendency of the sentence is a director who happens to be a woman. The word «διευθύντρια» is the feminine form of «διευθυντής».

Masculine nouns of general gender with the ending on «-ας»:

Masculine nouns of general gender with the ending on «-ης»:

* Like «συγγενής» these nouns have also two endings in the 2nd case singular, «-ή» en «-ούς», in this cace «-ούς»- is use more often than the «-ή»-form.

** «πρέσβειρα» - ambassadress

Many masculine nouns of professions have also a feminine form, on which a suffix is added as with «καθηγητής» - male proffessor and «καθηγήτρια» - female professor:

• «νοσοκόμος» - nurse / «νοσοκόμα» - nurser
• «νοικοκύρης» - householder / «νοικοκυρά» - housewife
• «φοιτητής» - student / «φοιτήτρια» - female student
• «δάσκαλος» - teacher / «δασκάλα» - schoolmistress
• «εργάτης» - laborer, workingman / «εργάτρια» - workwoman
• «μαθητής» - pupil / «μαθήτρια» - schoolgirl

Masculine nouns of general gender with the ending on «-ος»:

Masculine nouns of general gender with the ending on «-εας»:

Although numerous loanwords from other languages ​follow the Greek inflection patterns there is also an ever-expanding number that has not been adjusted to these patterns. When used in Greek to each of these words one of the three genders is assigned. When there is no compelling reason indicated to do otherwise an indeclinable noun is assigned to the masculine or feminin gender as a human being is concerned, if not then it becomes neuter.

It is true that the allotment to a special gender category of an original non-greek noun can be influenced by the following factors:

• the gender in the language of origin
• the word ending
• the meaning
• the proximity of a Greek noun, whose gender is clear

From the French language words ending on -e are often inflected as greek words ending on «-α». Other words from French are:

• «η πλαζ» (la plage) - beach
• «η πρεμιέρα» (première) - premiere
• «το αλκοόλ» (alcool) alcohol
• «το ασανσέρ» (ascenseur) - elevator, lift
• «το μετρό» (métro) - metro
• «το σινεμά» (cinéma) - cinema
• «το σπορ» (sport) - sport

From the English language

• «το βίντεοτο» (video) - video
• «το κομπιούτερ» (computer) - computer («ο υπολογιστής» with the same meaning is more often used)

From the Italian language nouns ending on -a and -o are mostly inflected as greek feminine words ending on «-α» and neuter words ending on «-ο»:

• «η οίτσα» - pizza
• «το πιάνο» - piano

Opposed to this are relatively many recent geographical names assigned to the feminine «-α»:

• «η Τανζανία» - Tanzania

Some foreign nouns are assigned to the gender of the similar Greek word:

• οι Τάιμς - the Times (newspaper); the masculine plural is used because of similarity with the masculine words «ο χρόνος» and «ο καιρός» which also mean time.

Football teams are often feminine because of the feminine Greek word «η ομάδα» - team

• «η Σέφιλντ» - Sheffield Wednesday, but «το Σέφιλντ» is the name of the city Sheffield

Brand names of products are either masculine or feminine according to the gender of the Greek noun that describes the product:

• «ένας Μάκιντος» - a Mac («ο υπολογιστής» - computer)

There are some feminine car brand names, but most are neuter:

• «η Ρολς-Ρόις» - Rolls Royce
• «το Πεζό» - Peugeot

Names of ships, including the Greek, corresponding to the Greek word «το πλοίο» - ship are mostly neuter and are usually not inflected:

• «το Άνδρος» - the Andros
• «ο καπετάνιος του Άνδρος» -the captain of the Andros

Company names are generally feminine because of the Greek word «η εταιρεία» - bedrijf

• «η Ήλιος» - Ilios (big pasta company)
• «ο πρόεδρος της Ήλιος» - the director of Ilios

Uninflectable nouns have one form for the three gender, masculine, feminine and neuter. As stated above, a large number of nouns from foreign origin are not adjusted to the Greek inflection patterns, especially the place names and proper names. But also the names of the Greek alphabet «το άλφα», «το βήτα», «το γάμα» etc. are indeclinable.

Examples (masculine)

Examples (feminine)

Examples (neuter)

Some masculine nouns have a change in plural to neuter, sometimes in addition to the masculine plural, with a different meaning:

Masc.nouns on «-o»	english	masc.plural on «-οι»		neut.plural on«-τα»
βράχος	rock	βράχοι	rocks	βράχια	rocks
δεσμός	bond	δεσμοί	bonds (figurative)	δεσμά	handcuff (literal)
καπνός	smoke, tabac	καπνοί	dream, fantasy, illusion	καπνά	tabac
λαιμός	throat, neck	λαιμοί	neck	λαιμά	sore throat
λόγος	speech, reason	λόγοι	reasons	λόγια	talking, words
πηλός	clay, mortar	πηλοί	mortar	πηλά	the clay (inform.)
πλούτος	wealth, richness			πλούτη	the rich
σανός	hay			σανά	the hay
σκελετός	carcass, skeleton	σκετελοί	skelettons	σκετελά	(book) shelves
σταθμός	station	σταθμοί	stations	σταθμά	measure, weights
χρόνος	time, year	χρόνοι	times	χρόνια	years