i do not...

understand the first declension.

Greek is getting harder and harder...

and i need to get this stuff down because we'll be going into new territory after our QUIZ next class...

let me think out loud about it...

The first declension is a grouping of nouns that all resemble each other in their inflectional forms.

Greek words then do not have to go in the order that the thought process should go in their sentence. English words go in order. Greek sentences indicate the object, subject...etc by the word form... NOT location.

This means we need to learn the word forms if we want to be capable of translating the sentence correctly.

The endings are now very important as they tell us who is doing the action and who is having it done to them.

Greek Nouns have Case Number and Gender.

Gender: feminine, masculine, and plural/neuter.

Number: singular and plural.

Case: this is the most important for syntax.

the FIVE CASES

nominative: (subject)

1.a noun used as the subject of a verb.

ex. The children went to school. We shall buy it.

2.a noun used to complete the predicate and to explain the subject.

ex. He became a preacher. We are students. It is I.

3. a noun or pronoun used in an exclamation without a verb.

ex. You poor fellow!

genitive: (possessive noun)

ex. the boy's hair; john's aunt; the horses' heads

in greek the genitive is mostly expressed by the preposition "of" so they would change to...

ex. the hair of the boy; aunt of john; the head of the horse.

dative: (indirect object of a verb)

what the action of the object happens to.

ex. he gave the money to his father, or

he gave his father the money.

accusative: (direct object of a verb)

the object used in an action

ex. he gave him the money or

he gave it to him.

vocative: (a pronoun used independently as the name of the person or thing addressed)

ex. Charles, open the door!