Language/Modern-greek-1453/Grammar/Noun-Gender-and-Plurals

Modern Greek (1453-) Grammar → Nouns and Articles → Noun Gender and Plurals

As a Greek language teacher, I have noticed that many beginners learning Modern Greek struggle with the concept of gender in nouns and forming plurals. In this lesson, I will explain these concepts in a clear and concise way and provide cultural information and interesting facts to make the learning process more engaging. By the end of this lesson, you will be able to understand the concept of noun gender and how to form plurals in Modern Greek.

Noun Gender

Like many languages, nouns in Modern Greek have gender: masculine, feminine, or neuter. There are no hard and fast rules to determine the gender of a noun, but there are some common patterns that we can use:

• Masculine nouns often end in -ος or -ης. For example, άντρας (ánt-ras, man), δάσκαλος (dás-ka-los, teacher), and πατέρας (pa-té-ras, father) are all masculine.
• Feminine nouns often end in -α or -η. For example, γυναίκα (gi-né-ka, woman), καρδιά (kar-ði-á, heart), and βιβλιοθήκη (viv-li-o-θí-ki, library) are all feminine.
• Neuter nouns often end in -ο or -ι. For example, παιδί (pe-thí, child), σπίτι (spí-ti, house), and κρασί (kra-sí, wine) are all neuter.

However, there are many exceptions to these patterns, and the best way to learn the gender of a noun is to memorize it along with its article (more on articles later).

Forming Plurals

In Modern Greek, we form plurals by adding suffixes to the end of nouns. There are several different plural forms, but the most common is formed by adding -οι for masculine nouns, -ες for feminine nouns, and -α for neuter nouns. Here are some examples:

Modern Greek (1453-)	Pronunciation	English
άντρας (masculine)	ánt-ras	man
άντρες (masculine plural)	án-tres	men
γυναίκα (feminine)	gi-né-ka	woman
γυναίκες (feminine plural)	gi-né-kes	women
παιδί (neuter)	pe-thí	child
παιδιά (neuter plural)	pe-thiá	children

Note that the accent placement changes when we add the plural suffix: for example, in the masculine form, the stress moves from the final syllable (antRAS) to the penultimate syllable (ANtres).

There are also some irregular plural forms, which you will need to memorize. Here are some examples:

• Masculine nouns ending in -ης: replace -ης with -εις. For example, παππούς (pa-poús, grandfather) becomes παππούδες (pa-poú-des, grandfathers).
• Masculine nouns ending in -ας: replace -ας with -άδες. For example, γιατρός (gia-trós, doctor) becomes γιατροί (gia-troi, doctors).
• Some masculine nouns ending in -ος: drop the -ος and add -ων. For example, δάσκαλος (dás-ka-los, teacher) becomes δάσκαλοι (dás-ka-loi, teachers).
• Some feminine nouns ending in -α: change -α to -ες. For example, μάνα (má-na, mother) becomes μητέρες (mi-té-res, mothers).

Articles

In Modern Greek, like in many other languages, articles are used to indicate the gender, number, and case of a noun. They are divided into definite and indefinite articles.

Definite Articles

The definite article in Modern Greek is "ο" (masculine), "η" (feminine), and "το" (neuter). In the singular form, the article indicates a specific noun, as in English "the". For example:

• ο άντρας (o ánt-ras) = "the man"
• η γυναίκα (i gi-né-ka) = "the woman"
• το παιδί (to pe-thí) = "the child"

In the plural form, the definite article indicates a group of items, as in English "the":

• οι άντρες (i án-tres) = "the men"
• οι γυναίκες (i gi-né-kes) = "the women"
• τα παιδιά (ta pe-thiá) = "the children"

Indefinite Articles

The indefinite article is "ένας" (masculine singular), "μία" (feminine singular), and "ένα" (neuter singular). They correspond to English "a" or "an". For example:

• ένας άντρας (énas ánt-ras) = "a man"
• μία γυναίκα (mía gi-né-ka) = "a woman"
• ένα παιδί (éna pe-thí) = "a child"

In the plural form, there is no indefinite article in Modern Greek.

Cultural Highlights and Interesting Facts

Greek nouns and their genders often reflect cultural attitudes and traditions. For example:

• The word for "ship" (πλοίο, plói-o) is neuter, which reflects the ancient Greek belief that ships were female and were blessed by the goddess Athena.
• The word for "truth" (αλήθεια, a-lí-thei-a) is feminine, which reflects the idea that truth is a nurturing and comforting force in Greek culture.
• The word for "war" (πόλεμος, pó-lem-os) is masculine, which reflects the ancient Greek belief that war requires strength and aggression.

In addition, the gender of a noun can affect its pronunciation and spelling in certain situations. For example, when the definite article is added to a masculine noun that ends in -ος, the -ος changes to -οςτ (e.g., ο δάσκαλος, o dás-ka-los or "the teacher" becomes ο δάσκαλοστ, o dás-ka-los-t).

Learning Greek nouns and their genders can be challenging, but it is an essential part of mastering the language. Remember to practice as much as you can and don't be afraid to make mistakes. In the next lesson, we will learn about numbers and time in Modern Greek.

Table of Contents - Modern Greek (1453-) Course - 0 to A1

• Course Presentation

  ---

Introduction to Greek Alphabet

• Greek Letters and Pronunciation
• Diphthongs and Special Combinations

  ---

Basic Greetings and Phrases

• Greetings and Introductions
• Common Everyday Phrases

  ---

Nouns and Articles

• Definite and Indefinite Articles
• Noun Gender and Plurals

  ---

Numbers and Time

• Numbers 1-100
• Telling Time

  ---

Adjectives and Adverbs

• Adjective Agreement
• Comparative and Superlative Adjectives
• Adverbs and Adverbial Phrases

  ---

Food and Dining

• Common Foods and Drinks
• Ordering in a Restaurant

  ---

Verbs and Tenses

• Present Tense
• Past Tense
• Future Tense

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Travel and Transportation

• Modes of Transportation
• Asking for Directions

  ---

Prepositions and Conjunctions

• Common Prepositions
• Coordinating and Subordinating Conjunctions

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Family and Relationships

• Family Members
• Describing Relationships

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Greek Traditions and Customs

• Holidays and Celebrations
• Greek Cuisine

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Greek History and Geography

• Historical Overview
• Geographical Regions

Related Lessons

• Reflective pronouns Αυτοπαθείς αντωνυμίες
• The final v
• Various Greek linguistic terms
• Future Tense
• The degrees of the adjective
• Relative Pronouns
• Indefinite pronouns
• Homonyms and homophones
• Passive voice
• Definite and Indefinite Article