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Chapter 7 · Lesson 7.2 · Noun

Noun – Genitive plural

1 min read3-question quiz

ObjectivesLearning objectives

  • The morphology of the genitive pl
  • The semantics of the genitive case and marking possession

VocabularyVocabulary

GreekGlossPart of speechParadigm
ἡ ἀλήθεια, -αςthe truthnounB.a.α.ii
ἡ χώρα, -αςthe landnounB.a.α.ii
εἷς, μία, ἕνonenumber26.4.3.1
λούω τήν(I) bathe the (acc)verbC.a.α
ἅπτομαι τῆς(I) touch the (gen)verbC.a.η
ἡ ὥρα, -αςthe hournounB.a.α.ii

1 You can see a remnant of -αι in the 2nd person form in the iota subscript. The form used to be -εσαι with the characteristic σ for 2nd person. However, the middle σα dropped out and made the initial ε lengthen to η. The ι was then incorporated as an iota subscript, so you end up with ἔρχῃ. Some verbs will keep the original -σαι in the 2nd person, as you will see later on.

MorphologyMorphology: Noun – Genitive plural

  • Both the ending and the article are the same for every gender: -ων and τῶν.
  • 1st declension nouns in the gen pl are always accented with a circumflex on the ultima:
  • 1st declension νύμφη becomes νυμφῶν
  • 2nd declension κλάδος does not become κλαδῶν but remains κλάδων (as expected)
Morphology: Noun – Genitive plural
MasculineFeminineNeuter
Nominative pluralοἱ ἄνθρωπ-οιαἱ ἀδελφ-αίτὰ τέκν-α
Genitive pluralτῶνἀνθρώπ-ωντῶνἀδελφ-ῶντῶντέκν-ων
Accusative pluralτοὺς ἀνθρώπ-ουςτὰς ἀδελφ-άςτὰ τέκν-α

SemanticsSemantics: Noun – Genitive (3 – Possession)

Noun – Genitive: all 5 parts on one page →Also in Lesson 3.2, Lesson 26.3, Lesson 28.4, Lesson 40.2

One of the most common functions of the genitive is to mark possession.

Example 59Possession

The son of man will be delivered into the hands ἀνθρώπων [of men] (Luke 9:44)

The Greek ἀνθρώπων can be rendered into English either as ‘(hands) of men’ or ‘men’s (hands).’ Whereas a language like English has two forms for marking the genitive (both of and -‘ s, the latter of which is more natural for marking possession), Greek has a single genitive form.

Lesson 7.2 quiz

Check your understanding

3 questions · self-graded

  1. 1Which article is used with genitive plural nouns of every gender?
  2. 2What is the genitive plural of the first-declension noun νύμφη?
  3. 3In Luke 9:44, 'delivered into the hands ἀνθρώπων', which English renderings of ἀνθρώπων fit its possessive genitive use?Select all that apply

Grammar concept free in the Koine Greek Wiki

Noun: Genitive

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New Testament text shown on hover: Greek from the SBLGNT, © 2010 Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, CC BY 4.0; English from the Berean Standard Bible (public domain).