Notes On Koine Greek: Part 23

www.MichaelHalcomb.com

1. The Case-Number Suffix Morpheme Of The Definite Article: In

previous installations of these “Notes”, I have talked about the definite article a
little bit. At this point, it is necessary and worth looking at the case-number suffix
morphemes of the definite article. The next several portions of my “Notes” will
also look at the “article” and its different uses / functions.
2. The Case-Number Suffix Morpheme Paradigm: Here, I am going to
deviate from the traditional “table” that is often used in grammars and offer my
own. This table works just like the table I’ve created to work with noun
declensions (see previous installations of my “Notes” for more on this). For me,
creating this table and using it is quite a bit easier than the traditional tables. This
is because the table is in alphabetical order in terms of the suffixes. If I can
remember that there are basically only four Greek letter families, it is a lot less
overwhelming to think about remember these suffix morphemes. Give it a try!

Definite Article Case-Number Suffix Morphemes Table

1st Letter Family Case-Number Result
Feminine a ai = Pl. – Nom. 1
*Tip: I use
h h` = Sg. – Nom. 1 numbers as a
Masculine
o o` = Sg. – Nom. mnemonic
2
oi` = Pl. - Nom. device here
to help
t ta, = Pl. – Nom. / Acc. remember
12
tai/j = Pl. – Dat. the table
structure and
Feminine or Neuter ta,j = Pl. – Acc. or how many
th/| = Sg. – Dat. suffixes in
Feminine th,n = Sg. – Acc. 3, 3, 5,
each section!
th/j = Sg. – Gen. 1
Masculine or Neuter to, = Sg. - Acc.
toi/j = Pl. – Dat.
to,n = Sg. – Acc.
to/u = Sg. – Gen.
tou,j = Pl. – Acc.
All Genders tw/n = Pl. – Gen.
w w- = Sg. – Voc. 1
= Pl. – Voc.
© 2009, T. Michael W. Halcomb | www.MichaelHalcomb.com

*Note that the vocative is

typically not included in
most grammars.