The Greek article is a little declinable word which has three genders: masculine, feminine and neuter. There is a definite and an indefinite article which both agree in gender, number and case with the noun they refer to.
Definite article
singular
M F N
o η το (nom.)
του της του (gen)
τον την το (acc.)
plural
MF Ν
οι οι τα (nom.)
των των των (gen)
τους τις τα (acc.)
The definite article is used:
– when the speaker refers to a person, animal or object which is known or has been previously introduced, for example:
Διαβάζω το βιβλίο που μου έδωσες. – I am reading the book you gave me.
– when the speaker speaks generally and refers to a group of similar things or a whole species,
for example:
Το λιοντάρι είναι ο βαζιλιάς των ζώων. – The lion is the king of the animals.
Notice that proper nouns in Greek are always preceded by a definite article.
The subject is always in the nominative case and is written together with its article
Examples:
H Σοφία είναι όμορφη. Sophia is beautiful
Oι γυναίκες δουλεύουν- Women work
O φίλος είναι πολύτιμος- Friend is valuable
To βιβλίο είναι ιστορικό – Τhe book is historic
Τα παιδιά παίζουν- Children play
The object is usually in the accusative case and is usually written together with its article
Examples
Aυτός αγαπάει τις γυναίκες- He loves women
Η Σοφία μαθαίνει την ελληνική γλώσσα– Sophia learns the Greek language
Aυτός σέβεται τους ανθρώπους.- Ηe respects people
Η Μαρία μαθαίνει την ελληνική αλφάβητο– Μaria learns the Greek alphabet
Oι δάσκαλοι φροντίζουν τα παιδιά– Teachers take care of children.
The genitive expresses possession (article+ noun+article (gen)+ noun)
To σπίτι του Νίκου- Νιck’s house
To σχολείο της Σοφίας- Sophia’s school
Τα γράμματα των παιδιών- Children’s letters
The indefinite article
M F N
ένας μια ένα (nom.)
ενός μιας ενός (gen)
έναν μια ένα (acc.)
The indefinite article is used when the speaker refers to a person, animal or object which is indefinite and unknown or is introduced for the first time,
for example, Είδα μια αρκούδα στο βουνό. – I saw a bear on the mountain.
Notice that the indefinite article has no plural form
Exercise
Fill in the correct definite article (ο, η, το) and ending (-ης, -ας, -ος, -η, -α, -ι, -ο) of the nouns below, as in the example:
ο μαθητής
… θάλασσ…
… παιδ..
… βιβλί…
….πατέρ…
….μητέρ…
….σχολεί…
….κορίτσ…
… ποδήλατ…
…αγόρ…
You can also read:Cases and syntactic functions
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