3 The genitive case
The genitive case has a range of uses, but to begin with, think of it as the ‘of’ case. Here are more examples, with the genitive ending highlighted:
- ἄγγελος θεοῦ a messenger of god (or god’s messenger)
- φόβος θανάτου fear of death
- βουλή Ἀφροδίτῆς a plan of Aphrodite (or Aphrodite’s plan)
Note that although Greek possesses a definite article (‘the’), it has no indefinite article (‘a’ or ‘an’). This often needs to be supplied in an English translation.
- Vocabulary
- θάνατος, ὁ death
- φόβος, ὁ fear
Note that it is the word ending, not the order of the words, that affects the meaning. φόβος θανάτου and θανάτου φόβος mean the same thing: ‘fear of death’.
You saw earlier that in English, if the noun is plural the apostrophe and the ‘s’ swap places.
- god’s messenger (singular: one god)
- the gods’ messenger (plural: many gods)
Greek noun endings also vary according to whether they are singular or plural. The genitive plural ending of a noun always ends in -ων.
- φόβος θεῶν fear of gods
Activity 2 Test your learning – genitive case
In Greek, which noun could be expressed using a genitive case?
a.
mother
b.
Achilles
The correct answer is b.
a.
daughter
b.
Zeus
The correct answer is b.
a.
defeat
b.
Athens
The correct answer is b.
a.
Sparta
b.
victory
The correct answer is a.
a.
gods
b.
quarrel
The correct answer is a.