A1 LevelGreek Grammar

Greek Cases Explained: A Complete Beginner’s Guide

Greek Grammar

Greek cases power up your grammar game, bending nouns, pronouns, and adjectives to fit their roles in a sentence. Whether you’re chatting about people or places, cases—nominative, genitive, accusative, and vocative—are your foundation. This guide walks you through them step-by-step, from singular to plural forms, and into prepositions, with examples and tables to seal the deal. Let’s dive in!

What Are Greek Cases?

Cases tweak a word’s ending to show its job: who’s acting, owning, receiving, or being called. Greek has four:

  1. Nominative: The subject.
  2. Genitive: Possession or “of.”
  3. Accusative: The object.
  4. Vocative: Direct address.

Definite Articles and Cases

The definite article (opens in a new window) clues you into a noun’s case, gender, and number:

Masculine

CaseArticleExampleTransliterationMeaning
NominativeΟΟ άνθρωποςO ánthroposThe man (subject)
GenitiveΤουΤου ανθρώπουTou anthrópouOf the man
AccusativeΤονΤον άνθρωποTon ánthropoThe man (object)
VocativeΩΆνθρωπεÁnthropeMan!

Feminine

CaseArticleExampleTransliterationMeaning
NominativeΗΗ γυναίκαI gynaíkaThe woman (subject)
GenitiveΤηςΤης γυναίκαςTis gynaíkasOf the woman
AccusativeΤηνΤην γυναίκαTin gynaíkaThe woman (object)
VocativeΩΓυναίκαGynaíkaWoman!

Neuter

CaseArticleExampleTransliterationMeaning
NominativeΤοΤο σπίτιTo spítiThe house (subject)
GenitiveΤουΤου σπιτιούTou spitioúOf the house
AccusativeΤοΤο σπίτιTo spítiThe house (object)
VocativeΩΣπίτιSpítiHouse!

The Four Cases in Action

Nominative: The Subject

  • Ο Νίκος γράφει. (O Níkos gráfei.) – Nikos writes.

Genitive: Possession

  • Το βιβλίο του Νίκου. (To vivlío tou Níkou.) – Nikos’ book.

Accusative: The Object

  • Βλέπω το Νίκο. (Vlépo ton Níko.) – I see Nikos.

Vocative: Direct Address

  • Νίκο, έλα! (Níko, éla!) – Nikos, come!

Note

In the Vocative case, the definite article is generally dropped, and the noun itself often undergoes a slight change. In more formal or poetic contexts, the letter Omega (Ω) is used as an exclamatory article, irrespective of the noun's gender. This practice has its roots in Ancient Greek.

Cases in Plural Forms

Cases stretch into plural nouns too (e.g., “άνθρωπος” – man).

For instance: Οι άνθρωποι φωνάζουν. (Oi ánthropoi fonázoun.) – The men shout.

CaseArticleExampleTransliterationMeaning
NominativeΟιΟι άνθρωποιOi ánthropoiThe men (subject)
GenitiveΤωνΤων ανθρώπωνTon anthróponOf the men
AccusativeΤουςΤους ανθρώπουςTous anthrópousThe men (object)
VocativeΩΆνθρωποιÁnthropoiMen!

Cases with Prepositions

Prepositions team up with cases to pinpoint location, direction, or time.

Note

"The preposition 'σε,' when placed before the accusative and genitive forms of the article, combines with it to form a single word, e.g., σε + τον = στον, σε + τις = στις, σε + της = στης etc."

Common Prepositions

PrepositionCaseExampleMeaning
σεAccusativeΠάω στην ΑθήναI go to Athens
απόGenitiveΈρχομαι από τον σταθμόI come from the station
μεAccusativeΜιλάω με την ΜαρίαI talk with Maria

Examples

  • Examples with σε:
    • Πηγαίνω στο σχολείο. (Pigaino sto scholeío.) – I go to school.
    • Μιλάω στον Αντρέα. (Milao ston Andrea.) – I am talking to Andreas.
  • Examples with από:
    • Φεύγω από το σπίτι. (Févgo apó to spíti.) – I leave from the house.
  • Examples with με:
    • Γράφω με το στυλό. (Gráfo me to styló.) – I write with the pen.
  • Examples with για:
    • Μιλάω για το ταξίδι. (Miláo gia to taxídi.) – I'm talking about the trip.

Advanced Prepositions

PrepositionCaseExampleMeaning
πάνω σεAccusativeΠάνω στο τραπέζιOn the table
πάνω απόGenitiveΠάνω από τη θάλασσαAbove the sea
κάτω απόGenitiveΚάτω από το κρεβάτιUnder the bed

πάνω Examples

  • Το βιβλίο είναι πάνω στο τραπέζι. (To vivlío eínai páno sto trapézi.) – The book is on the table.
  • Το αεροπλάνο είναι πάνω από τη θάλασσα. (To aeropláno eínai páno apó ti thálassa.) – The plane is above the sea.

κάτω Example

  • Η γάτα είναι κάτω από το κρεβάτι. (I gáta eínai káto apó to kreváti.) – The cat is under the bed.

Practice Sentences

  1. [Nominative]: Η γυναίκα βλέπει. (I gynaíka vlépei.) – The woman sees.
  2. [Genitive]: Το σπίτι των ανθρώπων. (To spíti ton anthrópon.) – The men’s house.
  3. [Accusative + Preposition]: Πάω στην Αθήνα. (Páo stin Athína.) – I go to Athens.
  4. [Vocative]: Μαρία! (María!) – Maria!
  5. [Genitive + Preposition]: Έρχομαι από το σπίτι. (Érchomai apó to spíti.) – I come from the house.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

  • Wrong Case: Σε του φίλου (wrong) vs. στον φίλο (correct accusative).
  • Preposition Mix: Από τον σταθμό (colloquial) vs. από του σταθμού (formal genitive).

Conclusion

Greek cases—nominative, genitive, accusative, vocative—shine in singular, plural, and with prepositions. Master them here, test yourself with our quiz, and check out time in greek (opens in a new window) or suffixes (opens in a new window) next!

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Which phrase would you use to directly address someone named Νίκος in Greek?

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