Noun: Genitive

MorphologyNoun – Genitive singular

• The defining characteristic of the gen is usually an o-vowel of some kind (except the final σ of the fem).
• The masc and neut endings are identical for both the gen and dat.
• The final vowel of the gen is long, so the accent-shifting rules apply (see 3.1.3).

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MorphologyNoun – 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)

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SyntaxNoun – Genitive case (1 – Relational; 2 – Argument)

Like the dative, the genitive case (abbreviated gen) is also notorious for being exceptionally broad in its functions, but the nature of the surrounding nouns and verbs usually disambiguate it. Two main functions of the genitive are introduced here: it can relate two nouns (similar to of and –‘ s) and it can be marked as the argument of some verbs. The relationship between the two nouns can receive various interpretations:

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SemanticsNoun – Genitive (3 – Possession)

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

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