A Short Grammar of Classical Greek: Part II: Inflection I: Inflection of Nouns and Adjectives.

1. The only adjectives which admit contraction are: a) adjectives in -εος, denoting material or color. b) multiplicatives in -πλόος (= -fold, -plex, 70, 4).

2. The contraction is the same as in the nouns; the feminine sg. has -α after ρ, otherwise -η (28, 1; 29, 1).

3. Rule of Accent. — All the cases are perispomena. For the compounds of νοῦς and πλοῦς, see 33, 3. Ἀργυροῦς, silver, and χρυσοῦς, golden, are thus declined:

1. It includes substantive and adjective stems in -ω.

2. The ω is retained through all the cases and absorbs the case-endings as far as possible. The ι is always subscript.
3. Ἡ ἕως the dawn is thus declined: ἕως, ἕω, ἕῳ, ἕω (without ν!).
4. Adjectives have -ᾰ in the nom., voc. and acc. plur. neut.
5. Rule of Accent. — The accent of the nom. sing. is retained through all the cases; the ω is counted as short in determining the accent of the barytones, hence Μενέλεως, ἔκπλεώς ἐστιν, ἵλεῴ εἰσιν.

INTRODUCTORY NOTES

1. This declension includes all the stems that end in a consonant, or in -ι, -υ, and diphthongs, with a few in -ω and -ο. It corresponds, therefore, in general to the third and fourth declensions in Latin.
2. For the regular case-endings see the declension of ἅλς, 37.

Note. — -α and -ας, -ι and -σι are short.

As not all successive consonants can remain unchanged (19), and no other consonant except ν, ρ and ς can end a Greek word (23), certain changes must take place in the nom. sing. and in the dat. plur. before the endings -ς and -σι, as well as in the final consonants of the pure stem.

3. The nom. sing. masc. and fem. is formed either with or without -ς. In the latter case the vowel of the stem is lengthened (12).

Neuters show their pure stems in the nom., acc. and voc. sing. as far as the rule for final consonants will allow (23).

4. In the acc. sing. and plur. masc. and fem., consonant stems have, as a rule, -ᾰ and -ᾰς added to them, vowel stems -ν and (-ν)ς.

The acc. plur. masc. and fem. of the -ς, -ι, and the adjective -υ stems is the same as the nom.: οἱ and τοὺς εὐγενεῖς, αἱ and τὰς πόλεις, οἱ and τοὺς ἡδεῖς.

5. The voc. sing. masc. and fem. is either the same as the nom.: ὦ φύλαξ, ὦ Ἄραψ, ὦ ποιμήν, or the same as the pure stem, as far as the rule for consonantal termination allows: ὦ ῥῆτορ, ὦ παῖ (for παιδ), ὦ γέρον (for γέροντ).

6. Rule of Accent. — Monosyllables have the accent on the ending in the gen. and dat. of all three numbers: θηρός, θηρί — θηρῶν, θηρσί(ν).

7. Contrary to this rule, the stem is accented:
a) in all the cases of participles: ὄντος, ὄντι, θέντων, θεῖσι(ν).
b) in the gen. and dat. plur. of the word πᾶς (omnis), hence παντός, παντί, but πάντων, πᾶσι(ν) (41, 3).
c) in the gen. plur. of the words
ὁ παῖς παιδός boy, τὸ οὖς ὠτός ear;
hence παιδός, παιδί, παισί(ν), but παίδων,
ὠτός, ὠτί, and ὠσί(ν), but ὤτων.

(See ὕδωρ 39; ὄναρ, πῦρ 50; ἦρ 60.)

With -σ, any guttural becomes ξ, any labial becomes ψ:
st. φυλακ-, N. S. φύλαξ; comp. Lat. stem duc-, N. S. dux;
st. Ἄραβ-, D. P. Ἄραψι; comp. Lat. scripsi of scribo.

1. Before σ simple dentals are dropped:
ἐσθής, ἐσθῆσι(ν) (for ἐσθητς, ἐσθητ-σι(ν)); cf. Lat. dos, dotis.

Final dentals are also dropped: σῶμα (for σωματ) (23).

2. Barytones with dental stems in -ις and -υς form the acc. sing. (like the -ι and -υ stems, 46 seqq.) in -ιν and -υν.
E.g. ἡ ἐλπίς, hope, ἐλπίδος, ἐλπίδι, ἐλπίδα,
but ἡ χάρις, grace, χάριτος, χάριτι, χάριν,
ἡ ἔρις, strife, ἔριδος, ἔριδι, ἔριν.

3. The following words show an irregularity only in the nom. sing.:
ὁ πούς, ποδός foot,
τὸ οὖς, ὠτός ear (36, 7. c),
τὸ φῶς, φωτός (only sing.) light,
τὸ κέρας, κέρατος horn, wing of an army,
τὸ γόνυ, γόνατος knee,
τὸ δόρυ, δόρατος spear,
τὸ ὕδωρ, ὕδατος water.

4. Adjectives have partly two endings, as ἄχαρις, -ι unpleasant (G. ἀχάριτος, D. ἀχάριτι, A. ἄχαριν, -ι); partly only one, as πένης, -ητος poor; φυγάς, -άδος fugitive, exiled.

1. Before σ, ν is simply dropped: ποιμέσι, δαίμοσι, μέλᾶσι.
2. Adjectives have recessive accent: εὔδαιμον, 6, 6.
3. Besides the forms in -ονα and -ονες, -ονας, the comparatives in -ων, -ον (57 and 58) have also the shorter ones in -ω and -ους.

1. Before σ, ντ is dropped with compensative lengthening (13)
both in the nom. sing.: γίγᾱς for γιγᾰντς, ὀδούς for ὀδοντς,
and in the dat. plur.: γίγᾱσι for γίγαντσι, γέρουσι for γέροντσι.

2. Nouns with stems in -ντ are all masculine.

3. PARADIGMS OF ADJECTIVES AND PARTICIPLES.

4. Adjectives with stems in -εντ, as χαρίεις graceful, agreeable, have some of their forms from a shorter stem in -ετ, to wit:
the dat. plur. masc. and neut.: χαρίεσι(ν) for χαρίετσι(ν),
and the whole of the feminine: χαρίεσσα for χαριετ-ια, 77, 3.

1. Πατήρ, μήτηρ, θυγάτηρ and γαστήρ drop the ε by syncope (14) in the gen. and dat. sing. and in the dat. plur., which ends in -τράσι(ν).
2. Ἀνήρ drops the ε entirely, except in the voc. sing., and inserts δ between ν and ρ.

43

The stem characteristic -σ remains only when final, but it is dropped by elision (17) between vowels, which are then always contracted.

44

NOUNS

1. Neuters in -ος, st. in -ος and -εσ-; e.g. τὸ γένος genus.

γένεσ-ος [gener-is] becomes γένους, etc.; γένεσι stands for γένεσ-σι. Note. — The gen. plur. sometimes remains uncontracted: ὀρέων, κερδέων.

2. Neuters in -ας, stem in -ασ-. The most important are:
τὸ κρέας meat: κρέως, κρέᾳ; plur. κρέα, κρεῶν, κρέασι(ν),
τὸ γῆρας old age: γήρως, γήρᾳ.

3. Ἡ αἰδώς shame, reverence, stem αἰδοσ-, is thus inflected:
ἡ αἰδώς, αἰδοῦς, αἰδοῖ, αἰδῶ (for αἰδοῦος, etc.).

45

ADJECTIVES. — PROPER NAMES.

1. Adjectives with a vowel before the final -εσ contract -έα to -ᾱ instead of to -ῆ. Thus ἐνδεής needy has ἐνδεᾶ, εὐκλεής renowned has εὐκλεᾶ, ὑγιής healthy has ὑγιᾶ.

2. Barytones have recessive accent:
εὔηθες, σύνηθες, αὔταρκες — συνήθων, τῶν τριήρων.

Exceptions to this are the neuters of adjectives in -ώδης and -ήρης:
εὐῶδες fragrant, ζημιῶδες ruinous,
εὐῆρες well-fitted, ποδῆρες reaching to the feet.

3. Proper names in -ης, gen. -ους, have, besides the regular acc. sing. in -η, a form in -ην (after the A-declension).
E.g. Διογένη and Διογένην, Σωκράτη and Σωκράτην,
Κλεομένη and Κλεομένην, Δημοσθένη and Δημοσθένην.

4. Proper names in -κλῆς (from τὸ κλέος glory, stem κλεεσ-) contract twice in the dat. sing., elsewhere but once:
(-κλέης) Περικλῆς, (-κλέεᾱ) Περικλέᾱ,
(κλέεος) Περικλέους, (-κλεες) Περίκλεις.
(-κλέεϊ to -κλέει) Περικλεῖ.