THE DECLENSIONS OF IRREGULAR NOUNS

Many nouns don't decline according to the rules which the declensions follow. These nouns are called irregular nouns.

Some nouns remain with the same ending throughout all the cases. The case can be determined by the accompanying article. These are called indeclinable nouns. These indeclinable nouns are words of foreign origin; names of the letters of the alphabet; titles of names, which are attached by a hyphen; names of foreign places and surnames, which are in the genitive case.

Some nouns don't exist in certain cases in the singular and plural. Usually it is the genitive case and the adjective of the noun is usually a substitute. These are called elliptic nouns.

Some nouns decline with their own endings and not according to the tables of the masculine, feminine, or neuter declensions. Some masculine nouns ending in "έας" decline like ταμίας in the singular, while in the plural, they decline like the ancient Greek nouns as σκεψή does. An example is γραμματέας (secretary) below:

• Nouns occasionally show the old endings -ευς and -εως in the nominative and genitive singular.  That is γραμματεύς instead of γραμματέας and γραμματέως instead of γραμματέα.
• Always stressed on the second to last syllable in their singular form and the genitive case in the plural.
• The stress falls on the last syllable in the other plural cases.
• Nouns in -εας may also occur with the feminine article when indicating profession.

 

Several neuter nouns ending in "-ον," "-αν," "-εν, and "-υ." These are:

1) "-ον"-ον (being), παρόν (present), παρελθόν (past), καθήκον (duty), ενδιαφέρον (interest), συμφέρον (benefit), μέλλον (past)
2) "-αν"-παν (all, everything), σύμπαν (universe)
3) "-εν"-μηδέν (zero), φωνήεν (vowel)
4) "-υ"-οξύ (acid), δόρυ (spear)

 

 

• Neuter nouns in -ον are nominalised participles.
• Nouns which are stressed on the last syllable in the nominative singular show the stress on the second to last syllable in the genitive singular and all plural cases.
• Nouns which are stressed on the second to last syllable are stressed on the second to last syllable show the stress on the third to last syllable in the genitive singular and all plural cases.

 

 

• These notes are for παν, φωνήεν, σύμπαν and μηδέν.
• Neuter nouns in -αν and -εν are a few nominalised participle and adjectives.
• Except for παν and μηδέν, which are stressed on the last syllable in the genitive singular, all other nouns in -αν and -εν retain the stress on the same thematic vowel.

 

 

 

 

• Μηδέν has no plural.
• It forms its plural using the plural of its adjective
• Its adjective is το μηδενικό in the neuter singular and in the plural; it is τα μηδενικά.
• Μηδενικό declines as the word βουνό.

 

 

 

 

 

 

NOUNS WITH TWO GENDERS

Some nouns have two genders, which have a different ending and sometimes a different accentuation.  Such nouns are ο κρίνος-το κρίνο (lilly) and ο σκύλος-το σκυλί (dog).

Many nouns have two genders, but not with the exact same meaning: τραπέζι (table) and τράπεζα (bank), χώρα (country) and χώρος (room, space).

Several masculine nouns form the plural with the neuter gender, for example, ο πλούτος-τα πλούτη (wealth); or form the plural in two genders, for example, ο βράχος, οι βράχοι, τα βράχια (boulder).  The different plurals follow two declension patterns.  The two types of plural sometimes differ and in meaning, for example, ο λόγος, οι λόγοι (cause, purpose), τα λόγια (word).

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