30.1 You have already learned Greek nouns and pronouns. This lesson introduces a closely related category of words: the ADJECTIVE.
Adjectives describe or further define nouns (and pronouns). An adjective must agree with its noun in GENDER, NUMBER, and CASE. Like definite articles and pronouns, therefore, adjectives must have forms to represent each possible combination of gender, number and case.
Greek adjectives are formed using the SAME THREE DECLENSIONS – and the SAME PERSISTENT ACCENT RULES – that are used by Greek nouns. Like most of the pronouns we have studied, each adjective belongs to a specific declension family or grouping. There are four main declension families:
- Three-Ending 1st and 2nd Declension Adjectives (2-1-2)
- Two-Ending 2nd Declension Adjectives (2-2)
- Two-Ending 3rd Declension Adjectives (3-3)
- Three-Ending 1st and 3rd Declension Adjectives (3-1-3)
If an adjective belongs to a three-ending declension family, then all three genders have distinct endings. If an adjective belongs to a two-ending declension family, then one set of endings is for both masculine and feminine, the other for neuter.
30.2 In order to make clear the declension family to which a given adjective belongs, an adjective's lemma consists of all of its NOMINATIVE SINGULAR forms:
- Nominative singular forms ending in –ος, –η (-ᾱ), –ον
- Three-Ending 1st and 2nd Declension Adjective (2-1-2)
- Nominative singular forms ending in –ος, –ον
- Two-Ending 2nd Declension Adjective (2-2)
- Nominative singular forms ending in –ς, —
- Two-Ending 3rd Declension Adjective (3-3)
- Nominative singular forms ending in –ς, –α, —
- Three-Ending 1st and 3rd Declension Adjectives (3-1-3)
In this lesson, we review the most common adjective declension family: Three-Ending 1st and 2nd Declension (2-1-2).