Noun – 3rd Declension -ην

ObjectivesLearning objectives

The morphology of 3rd declension nouns ending in -ην
The syntax of the perspectival use of the dative

VocabularyVocabulary

Greek	Gloss	Part of speech	Paradigm
ὁ ποιμήν, -ένος	the shepherd	noun	B.a.γ.x(a)
ὁ μήν, μηνός	the month	noun	B.a.γ.x(b)
ὁ λιμήν, -ένος	the harbor	noun	B.a.γ.x(a)
ἡ ἑσπέρα, -ας	the evening	noun	B.a.α.ii
εἴκοσι	twenty	number
ἑξήκοντα	sixty	number

Note-εν stem

In the nom sg, the ν causes the -ς to drop, and the final vowel lengthens, e.g. ποιμέν-ς → ποιμήν
In the dat pl, the σ remains instead of the ν, e.g. ποιμέν-σι → ποιμέσι

-εν stem

	Singular	Plural
Nominative	ποιμήν	ποιμέν-ες
Genitive	ποιμέν-ος	ποιμέν-ων
Dative	ποιμέν-ι	ποιμέ-σι(ν)
Accusative	ποιμέν-α	ποιμέν-ας

Note-ην stem

-ην nouns are identical to -εν except that -ην is found throughout the paradigm, and the accenting is different:
In nom sg, the accent is acute
In all gen and dat forms, the accent is on the ultima

-ην stem

	Singular	Plural
Nominative	μήν	μῆν-ες
Genitive	μην-ός	μην-ῶν
Dative	μην-ί	μη-σί(ν)
Accusative	μῆν-α	μῆν-ας

SyntaxSyntax: Noun – Dative (8 – Perspectival)

Noun – Dative: all 3 parts on one page →Also in Lesson 3.1, Lesson 30.1

The perspectival dative is used to introduce someone who believes the statement to be true, such as To Jane, the cliff was very high. The assertion that the cliff was very high is not necessarily reflecting the perspective of the speaker; it is reflecting the perspective of the person introduced by the dative, i.e. Jane.

Example 482A person who believes a statement is true

ἐμοὶ γὰρ τὸ ζῆν Χριστὸς καὶ τὸ ἀποθανεῖν κέρδος (Phil 1:21)

For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain

The initial dative ἐμοί limits the assertion of ‘to live is Christ.’ Other people might not think that living is Christ, but Paul uses the dative to limit the assertion to his perspective. This use is often found with stative verbs.

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