The Accidence.

By accidence we mean the changes which words undergo i order to show their relation to other words in a sentence.

Such changes are called inflections, and affect both nouns and verbs.

The noun is the name of a thing (nomen); the verb is th word which says of a thing what it does. It is the action-word

Besides these there are a number of a words called particles not subject to inflection, but useful to define, qualify, or restric the meaning of other words.

The parts of speech may therefore be divided into1. Inflected, (a) Nouns and (B) Verbs;

2. Uninflected, Particles.

NOUNS.

The inflections of nouns are called case-endings.

In the singular they are as follows:

(1) If we want to say a thing does or is so and so (nominative case) the ending is either s, v, or nothing: the second in neuters, the last in some feminines and neuters.

(2) If the thing is the object of an action (objective or accusative case) the ending is v, a[v] (masculine, feminine, and neuter) or nothing (neuter).

(3) If we want to express the relation of or from (genitive or possessive case) the ending is v (shortened from σɩo) or os, masculine (sometimes feminine) and neuter, or s, feminine; in a few (chiefly modern) masculines nothing.

(4) If we want to express the relation to, at, on, or by (dative,

locative or instrumental case) by a mere ending that ending is

elation is more usually expressed in Modern Greek by with an objective or other case. See Prepositions. = thing be addressed, the stem itself is used without cept that o is modified to e. This is called the

Oc., masc. and fem.

and Voc., neuter.

all genders genders

ort scheme we have given a summary and rationale e of Greek declension. There are no exceptions, ing irregularities arise from the way in which these are combined with the stem of the word to which ed.

est division of all nouns is that into nouns withConsonantal stems, and stems in and Vowel stems in a (n) and o.

endings s, a[v], for v, os, , and es, as, wv, σi (masc. -, OS, 4, and a, wv, σi (neut.) are simply added on but be it observed

s ps cannot end a word, ηρε and ερς become ηρ, the hened for the sake of compensation; similarly ops κ.τ.λ. For like reasons ηrs and evs become ην, ονς me wv, as do also OVTS and ωντς, while becomes

ν

v falls away before r, as s after v; e. g. πρᾶγμα[τ], πράγμα[τ]σι νεανι[δ]ς, νεάνι[δ]σιν, ποιμήν for ποιμένς, ποιμέ[ν]σι, κ.τ.λ.

(3) γ, κ, χ all combine with s, σ to form ξ, while β, π, combine with s, σ to form ψ.

(4) σ falls out between two vowels, eo, εϊ, εα, έων contract ου, ει, η, and ὢν respectively, σσ is avoided, and the neuter ste es is written in substantive nouns as os in the nominative only 0.8. τέλος, τέλεος shortened to τέλους for τέλεσος, τέλει f τέλεσι, τέλη for τέλεσα, τελῶν for τελέσων, τέλεσι for τέλεσα ἀληθής for ἀληθέας (neut. ἀληθές). A few do not contract the genitive plural, as ἀνθέων, ὀρέων.

(5) v between two vowels (=F) falls out, and if short modified before a vowel to e; e. g. βαθὺ, βαθέος, βαθέων, co tracting before e, i, and as, βαθέϊ, βαθεῖ; βαθέες, βαθεῖς; βαθέα βαθεῖς.

In a few words it is long, and suffers neither modificatio nor contraction, e. g. ἰχθύς, ' a fish, ἰχθύος, ἰχθύι, but swallow up a in accusative plural, ἰχθύας, ἰχθύς.

Stems in, or v unaccented, also in ev (ef), lengthen the o os, and form their cases as follows: tv and ea, εως, ει; εις, and eas, εων, εσι, and εῦσιν for έσιν.

Πειραιεὺς, the harbour of that name, for obvious phonet reasons, contracts as follows: Πειραιᾶ for έα, ως for έως, εἰ f éel. In all these cases various ancient dialects present form more strictly regular.

Stems in v and, though they present the general features consonantal stems, are in strictness vowel stems, and, save the case of ev = eF, form their objective in ν, not in a; e. g. βου ναῦν, πόλιν. Unaccented stems in δ have an optional objecti in v for δν ; e. g. πολύπουν or -ποδα, εὔελπιν oι εὐέλπιδα.

ν

(6) If the word be a monosyllable, the endings ós, í, ŵv, are (thus) accented, except πάντων, πᾶσι, ‘all, παίδων, ‘boy φώτων, • lights, τίνος, τίνι, τίνων, τίσι, interrogative, ὄντος, ὄντ

tracted from a dissyllabic one, e. g. φωτ- for φαοτ-, , or, in the case of τίνος, κ.τ.λ., the accent is a mark 1: τινὸς = some one's, τίνος, whose ?' in p and or are circumflexed in the oblique cases: · ἀγὼν, τῶνος.

mis in ep (nominative

= ηρ eps) throw back their vocative, and drop the e in the genitive and dative; πάτερ, πατρός, πατρὶ; ἀνὴρ, ἀνδρὸς (for ἀκρός), κ.τ.λ. τέρα, not πάτρα ; but ἄνδρα, not ἀνέρα. The reason ntly that the originally euphonic and parasitic d together they and the p, that they cannot again be μήτηρ and θυγάτηρ, declined generally like πατὴρ, sare respectively μήτερ and θύγατερ, observα these words, as well as ἀστερ- (ἀστὴρ) *a star, ve plural in ράσι οι ρασι, τον έρσι οι ερσι. -llowing apparent irregularities should be noted:

stem and vocative "Αρες, accusative ̓́Αρην οι "Αρη Άρεσα], Αρεος οι -ως, Ἄρει.

άλακτα.

γόνατος, γόνατι του γόνατος, γόνατι; also δόρυ, κ.τ.λ.

ναικ-), vocative γύναι [γυναικ], γυναῖκα -ός -ί. Ζεύ, Δία, Διός, Δι

X, to avoid two aspirates.

stem Kvor-), contracts to κύνα, κύνα, κυνός, κ.τ.λ.

τυρος, also μάρτυρ, which is stem.

(Gothie Nahts), νύκτα, νυκτός, κ.τ.λ.

αὖτ, ὦτ, ωτός, τί ; ὦτα, ὤτων, ὦσίν, κ.τ.λ.

-, ὕδατος του ὕδαρτος, κ.τ.λ.

I. A-stems.

1. These are preponderatingly feminine. The feminine en ings are , v, s, (subscript), , , s, wv, is. Wherev the stem ends in ía or pa these endings require to be simpl added on, and the declension is complete.

In other cases the vowel a is modified (by a preference of th Ionic dialect) to η before s and 4, e. g. τράπεζα, τραπέζης, δόξ dóέns, K.T.λ.; not however in the popular speech. The geniti áwv in all these words necessarily contracts to ŵv, though eve this is sometimes ignored in the vernacular.

The genitive and dative singular of these words, if oxyton are circumfexed, σκιᾶς, σκιᾷ.

A large majority of stems whose vowel is preceded by a consonant except σ and the double consonants έ and , ado the vowel ʼn for a throughout the singular. This makes difference in the plural; e. g. τιμὴ, στήλη, φιάλη, ψυχὴ, plur τιμαὶ, τιμὰς, τιμῶν, τιμαῖς, κ.τ.λ.

2. Masculines in a and ŋ have the endings, −, v, 0 (= when combined with a), ɩ, and in the plural are identical wi feminines. The vocative is always the stem vowel, viz. a (n η), e. g. νεανίας, genitive νεανίου, vocative νεανία; στρατιώτ genitive στρατιώτου, vocative στρατιῶτα ; but here be it observ that all masculines in -, likewise all compounds of μerp πúλŋ-, άρxη-, have the a short, and consequently where admissi circumflex the foregoing vowel, e. g. στρατιῶτα, βιβλιοπῶλ κ.τ.λ.

3. A number of masculines in a, signifying an agent, and few others, with most proper names of this form, as well many in in the vernacular, simplify this declension by mere leaving the stem bare in the genitive and vocative, e.g. тoû чnoń τοῦ βοῤῥᾶ, τοῦ φαγᾶ, τοῦ Θωμᾶ, τοῦ Μανόλη, ὦ Μανόλη, κ.τ.λ.

η

4. If e precedes 7 (a) in the stem, ea becomes, and € swallowed up in all other cases, causing circumflexion of 1 syllable eσ χρυσέα χρυσή χρυσέη. χρυση κ.τ.λ.