LESSON 6
DECLENSION OF FEMININE A-STEM NOUNS

Feminine alpha-stems

1. Feminine alpha-stems in the singular are created according to the following pattern:

   	Singular
   	ε, ι, ρ	λλ/σ	standard
   NOM	ἡμέρα	δόξα	ἀγάπη
   GEN	ἡμέρας	δόξης	ἀγάπης
   DAT	ἡμέρᾳ	δόξῃ	ἀγάπῃ
   ACC	ἡμέραν	δόξαν	ἀγάπην

   
   
2. Notice that the feminine alpha-stems in the singular (not plural) are formed according to the following rules:
   1. Determine the stem by knocking off the last letter of the vocabulary word—either α or η.
   2. Add the appropriate case ending vowel to the stem—either α or η.
      1. ε, ι, ρ: After knocking off the α or η, if the stem ends in one of the following letters ε, ι, or ρ then the appropriate case ending vowel is always α.
      2. Sibilant: If the stem ends in λλ or one of the sibilants (σ, ξ, ψ, or ζ) then the appropriate case ending vowel will be α,η,η,α in the NOM, GEN, DAT, ACC cases respectively.
      3. Standard or "all the rest": If the stem does not fit conditions one and two above (i.e., it does not end in ε, ι, ρ, λλ, σ, ξ, ψ, or ζ), then the appropriate case ending vowel is always η.
   3. Add case endings to the word.
      1. Memorize the following: "blank, sigma, iota subscript, nu"
      2. As you go from NOM to ACC, add the case endings:
         1. to the NOM add nothing (a blank)
         2. to the GEN add a sigma
         3. to the DAT add an iota subscript
         4. to the ACC add a nu.
   4. Suppose you wanted to make the NOM, GEN, DAT, ACC singular forms of the following:
      1. ἀλήθεια:
         1. Knock off the final vowel to get the stem.
         2. The stem ends in ι, thus we need to add alpha to each of the four cases.
         3. Then we add blank, sigma, iota subscript, and nu.
         4. Thus the endings are -α, -ας, -ᾳ, -αν.
         5. As a result we have ἀλήθεια, ἀλήθειας, ἀλήθειᾳ, ἀλήθειαν.
      2. γλῶσσα:
         1. The stem ends in σ, thus the endings are -α, -ης, -ῃ, -αν.
         2. As a result we have γλῶσσα, γλῶσσης, γλῶσσῃ, γλῶσσαν.
      3. γραφή:
         1. The stem ends in φ, thus the endings are -η, -ης, -ῃ, -ην.
         2. As a result we have γραφή, γραφής, γραφῄ, γραφήν.
3. Feminine alpha-stems in the plural are formed according to the following rules:
   1. For the plural endings, it does not matter if the stem ends in any of the categories mentioned for the singular.
   2. To the stem add -αι, -ων, -αις, -ας in the NOM, GEN, DAT, ACC cases.
   3. Observe the pattern for the plural

      	Plural
      	ε, ι, ρ	λλ/σ	standard
      NOM	ἡμέραι	δόξαι	ἀγάπαι
      GEN	ἡμερῶν	δοξῶν	ἀγαπῶν
      DAT	ἡμέραις	δόξαις	ἀγάπαις
      ACC	ἡμέρας	δόξας	ἀγάπας

      
      
   4. The pattern is the same throughout:
      1. NOM -αι
      2. GEN -ων
      3. DAT -αις
      4. ACC -ας

Feminine stems that end in -ησις

-ησις

	SINGULAR	PLURAL
NOM	-ησις	-ησεις
GEN	-ηεως	-ησεων
DAT	-ησει	-ησεσι
ACC	-ησιν	-ησεις




Translate the following:

1. τὸ τέκνον φεύγει ἀπὸ [from] τῆν ἐκκλησίαν.
2. ἀκούετε τῆν θάλασσαν τῇ κώμῃ;
3. ὁ ἀδελφὸς καὶ ἡ παρθένος βάλλουσι λίθους.
4. βασιλεία γινώσκει ἀλήθειαν.
5. ἄνθρωποι γράφουσιν ἐντολὰς καὶ νόμους.
6. υἱοὶ δούλου λέγουσι παραβολὴν ἐκκλησίᾳ.
7. Give the singular endings of the following:
   1. e.g., ἡμέρα: -α, -ας, -ᾳ, -αν
   2. διδαχή
   3. δικαιοσύνη
   4. ἐκκλησία
   5. ἐντολή
   6. θάλασσα
   7. κώμη
   8. παραβολή
   9. εἰρήνη
   10. ἁμαρτία
   11. βασιλεία