Third-Declension Nouns

In this chapter, we return to nouns, this time considering the third declension. (Remember that “declension” is just a term for a grammatical pattern.) Just as with first and second declension nouns, we will see how endings added to the stems of third declension nouns communicate how those nouns are functioning in the sentence, i.e., whether the nouns are nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, or vocative. Because this declension has a wide variety of stems, it also has a wide variety of patterns compared to first and second declension nouns.

It is not uncommon for one particular anti-Trinitarian cult to claim that the Holy Spirit should not be understood as a person because the gender of the noun πνεῦμα (“Spirit,” a third declension noun) is neuter. Hopefully, even by this early stage in your Greek studies, you know enough not to base your theological reflections on the gender of nouns. Indeed, should we conclude that a human child (τέκνον, a neuter noun) is not really a person? (Granted, some parents of young children could be tempted to conclude that on particularly challenging nights!)

Yes, the noun πνεῦμα is neuter, but we know who the Spirit is not by the gender of the noun, but by the description of him in the Scriptures. He is God (Acts 5:3–4; 1 Cor 3:16–17), yet he is distinguished from the Father and the Son (Matt 28:19; 2 Cor 13:13). He is not a force, but personal and communicative (Acts 13:2).

With the faithful Christian church of all ages, let us agree with the words of the First Council of Constantinople (AD 381): “I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life, who proceeds from the Father, who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified, who spoke by the prophets.”

Whereas most first declension nouns are feminine and most second declension nouns are masculine or neuter, third declension nouns are regularly found in all three genders. Because it is difficult to know the gender of a third declension noun, pay attention to the article (if one is present) since it is consistent and does not change based on the declension of the noun. In fact, we strongly recommend that you memorize the article along with the lexical forms of third declension nouns.

The cases of third declension nouns function identically as first and second declension nouns. That is, the nominative is frequently the subject, genitive expresses possession, dative functions as the indirect object, and accusative is the direct object.

From a historical morphological standpoint, the stem of first declension nouns ends in an alpha (α) or eta (η) while the stem of second declension nouns ends in an omicron (ο). The stem of third declension nouns, however, ends in a consonant. Thus, nouns whose stems end in a consonant follow the third declension pattern.

Below is the basic pattern followed by third declension nouns. Note that they are two slightly different patterns—a masculine/feminine set of endings and a neuter set of endings. The masculine and feminine forms follow the same pattern. The slashes (/) below separate alternate endings, though any Greek word will only follow one of those two endings.

The basic stem for the third declension is not found in the nominative singular form because it has experienced a spelling change. Often, part of the original noun stem has dropped off or combined in the nominative form. The genitive singular form, however, usually contains the unaltered noun stem along with the case ending. Consequently, it is crucial to memorize both the lexical (nominative) form and the genitive singular form of third declension nouns. So, with third declension nouns, we are recommending that you memorize (1) the nominative form with the article, and (2) the genitive form. For the purposes of parallelism, it is advisable to recite the article with the genitive form also. Thus, when we say the word “spirit,” we advise that you be able to recite from memory: τὸ πνεῦμα, τοῦ πνεύματος.

When third declension endings are added to the stem, changes occur.

Notice several items based on the third declension pattern:

1. The dative forms have the usual iota (ι), though the singular form is not subscripted as with the first and second declension (φωνῇ, λόγῳ). The dative plural forms have a “movable nu,” which is usually present but may drop out in certain situations. The changes to the stem that occur in the nominative singular also happen in the dative plural.

2. The genitive plural forms are the same as the first and second declension forms (-ων). You need to own (-ων) these endings. (Note that the genitive often communicates possession—owning.)

3. The neuter nominative and accusative forms have the same forms (consistent with all neuter nouns).

4. Liquid nouns (i.e., nouns ending with λ, μ, ν, or ρ), which are also classified as third declension nouns since they end in a consonant, drop the sigma off the endings and sometimes drop or lengthen the previous vowel (πατερ + σ → πατήρ).

5. Some third declension noun stems originally ended with a digamma (ϝ) or a consonantal iota (ι̭), archaic letters (or pronunciations) that mostly dropped out of use in Koine Greek. Although these letters are no longer used, their former presence continues to affect the word. In fact, as you continue in your study of Greek, you will see that a word’s odd spelling changes can often be explained by a morphological history that includes the dropping out of archaic letters. As you learn more third declension nouns, you will also notice that all nouns whose stems originally ended in a consonantal iota are feminine (e.g., πίστις, πόλις).

6. Nouns ending in -μα are always neuter (ὄνομα, πνεῦμα, σῶμα). Neuter nouns represent the largest group of third declension nouns.

7. Be careful of endings that look the same but are actually different forms. Pay attention to the article if it is provided since it is the easiest way to identify the gender, case, and number of the noun.

In chapter 10, you were introduced to the idea of consonant families (labials, palatals/velars, dentals) and how related consonants combined in similar ways when a sigma was added after them. These same rules apply to third declension noun endings that begin with a sigma and combine with a consonant on the end of the third declension stems.

The related consonants that you learned previously can loosely be labeled “consonantal stops.” Mounce calls the square chart that speaks of their possible combinations “the square of stops.” A “stop” is a consonant whose sound is made by stopping the air flow through the mouth. As we saw previously, these consonants can be further divided into three types: labials (formed by using the lips), palatals/velars (formed by using the palate or roof of the mouth), and dentals (formed by using the teeth).

Reviewing this chart will prove helpful in understanding how the added sigma will alter the spellings of certain words.

Third declension nouns have more variation than other declensions. Below is a chart with six different third declension representative nouns. Although there are some differences, many of the endings are the same or similar. After memorizing both third declension memory paradigms in this chapter, focus on recognizing the forms in the other paradigms.

A. Paradigms: Memorize the paradigms for σάρξ and πνεῦμά (see section 14.4). Then write out each paradigm ten times from memory (including the article).

B. Declensions: Circle the third declension nouns and then parse them.

C. Translation: Translate the following sentences.

1. τῷ δὲ θεῷ καὶ πατρὶ ἡμῶν ἡ δόξα εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων, ἀμήν (Phil 4:20).

2. ἀπεκρίθη ἡ γυνὴ καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ, Οὐκ ἔχω ἄνδρα (John 4:17).

3. ἔχομεν ἀρχιερέα, ὃς ἐκάθισεν (sat) ἐν δεξιᾷ (right hand) τοῦ θρόνου τῆς μεγαλωσύνης (most high) ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς (Heb 8:1).

4. σὺ εἶ ὁ βασιλεὺς τῶν Ἰουδαίων; (Mark 15:2).

5. οὐ γάρ ἐστιν ἀνὴρ ἐκ γυναικὸς ἀλλὰ γυνὴ ἐξ ἀνδρός (1 Cor 11:8).

6. τίμα (honor, verb, imp) τὸν πατέρα σου καὶ τὴν μητέρα, ἥτις ἐστὶν ἐντολὴ πρώτη (first) ἐν ἐπαγγελίᾳ (Eph 6:2).

7. ὃ οὐκ ἐκ πίστεως ἁμαρτία ἐστίν (Rom 14:23).

8. ἡ γυνὴ … ἀπῆλθεν εἰς τὴν πόλιν καὶ λέγει τοῖς ἀνθρώποις (John 4:28).

9. ὑμεῖς δὲ οὐκ ἐστὲ ἐν σαρκὶ ἀλλὰ ἐν πνεύματι, εἴπερ (if) πνεῦμα θεοῦ οἰκεῖ (dwells/lives) ἐν ὑμῖν (Rom 8:9).

10. εἰ δὲ χάριτι, οὐκέτι ἐξ ἔργων, ἐπεὶ (since) ἡ χάρις οὐκέτι γίνεται χάρις (Rom 11:6).

11. κρίσιν (judgment) τοῖς ἔθνεσιν ἀπαγγελεῖ (Matt 12:18).

12. ἐπίστευσαν τῷ Φιλίππῳ … περὶ τῆς βασιλείας τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τοῦ ὀνόματος Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἐβαπτίζοντο ἄνδρες τε καὶ γυναῖκες (Acts 8:12).

13. ἡμεῖς δὲ οὐ τὸ πνεῦμα τοῦ κόσμου ἐλάβομεν ἀλλὰ τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ (1 Cor 2:12).

14. καὶ αὐτός ἐστιν ἡ κεφαλὴ τοῦ σώματος τῆς ἐκκλησίας· (Col 1:18).

D. Translation: Translate the following sentences into Greek.

1. The mother of the high priest believed in the name of the Lord.

2. The man of faith knows the Spirit of God.

3. The king of the city will judge the nations.

4. The woman came to the father and prayed over the body of the child.

5. The grace of Christ will kill the flesh into the ages of ages.