Notes On Koine Greek: Part 14

www.MichaelHalcomb.com

nd
1. Memorizing the 2 Declension Noun Suffix Morphemes: “oj”: As I
noted in the previous set of Notes (#12), I am making installations 12-15 deal
with memorization tips. We’ve already looked at tips for the Present-Active
Indicative Suffix Morpheme and the “eimi” paradigm, so, now, we’re going to
work with the suffix morphemes of 2nd Declension nouns.
2. Mnemonic Tips:

N - Sg oj Tip #1: As I noted in my previous “Notes”, one thing that I am

ou beginning to find helpful for memorizing different paradigms is the way
G - Sg
that I set up my tables. So as to keep from getting my verb & noun
D - Sg w| tables confused, I have started setting up my verb tables in a 3x3 fashion
A - Sg on (see previous notes for examples) whereas my noun tables are built in a
2x9 fashion, as you can see here. It is helpful for me to think: Verb =
V - Sg e 3.x and Noun = 2x9.
N - Pl oi
Tip #2: Remember that all of the suffix morphemes begin with the letter
G - Pl wn
“O” (whether it be omicron or omega) except for the Vocative, which
D - Pl oij begins with an “e” (epsilon).
A - Pl ouj

Tip #3: Remember that of the 9 suffix morphemes, 7 of them have at least 2 letters. In order, those
that have at least 2 letters, the last letters spell “sun inss” or “juninjj” (think of the hair gel “sun
in”). Note that all of the “sigmas” are final-sigmas.

Tip #4: In the singular, place the letter “p” or “p” as the first letter and “t” or “t” as the last letter:
You get: “post”, “pout”, “pot” “pont” and “pet” (pojt, pout, pwt, pont, pet). Yes, I realize “pont”
isn’t a word but realizing that fact alone helps me remember it! In the plural we could use the letter
“n” or “” to begin each word and the letter “e” or “e” to end each word. We’d have another non-
word but again, that helps me remember (e.g. each category has one non-word). We’d have:
“noie”, “none”, “noise” and “nouse” (can mean “intellect”). In Greek it is: noie, nwne, noije,
nouje. So, to reiterate: for the singular put “p” and “t” as fronting and ending letters and for the
plural use “n” and “e” in the same way. I realize this may seem a little unorthodox but if it helps
memorization, then it’s useful!