An adjective describes a noun, and it agrees with it: it takes the same gender, number and case. So an adjective has a full set of forms for each gender.
Good news: you know these endings already. The commonest adjectives use the second declension for the masculine and neuter (like λόγος and δῶρον) and the first declension for the feminine (like ψυχή). Dictionaries list all three: ἀγαθός, ἀγαθή, ἀγαθόν.
Adjective: ἀγαθός, ἀγαθή, ἀγαθόν
| masc. sg | fem. sg | neut. sg | masc. pl | fem. pl | neut. pl | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | ἀγαθός1k | ἀγαθή376 | ἀγαθόν2k | ἀγαθοί602 | ἀγαθαί94 | ἀγαθά487 |
| genitive | ἀγαθοῦ323 | ἀγαθῆς241 | ἀγαθοῦ729 | ἀγαθῶν370 | ἀγαθῶν39 | ἀγαθῶν2k |
| dative | ἀγαθῷ155 | ἀγαθῇ117 | ἀγαθῷ275 | ἀγαθοῖς214 | ἀγαθαῖς40 | ἀγαθοῖς382 |
| accusative | ἀγαθόν584 | ἀγαθήν390 | ἀγαθόν2k | ἀγαθούς622 | ἀγαθάς123 | ἀγαθά1k |
| vocative | ἀγαθέ30 | ἀγαθή3 | ἀγαθόν2 | ἀγαθοί10 | ἀγαθαί· | ἀγαθά· |
Position. With the article, where the adjective stands matters. Inside the article's phrase (between the article and the noun, or after the noun with the article repeated) it simply describes: this is the attributive position, "the good man". Outside it, the adjective makes a statement: this is the predicate position, "the man is good". Greek can leave out ἐστί "is" in a statement like this.
ὁἀγαθὸςἄνθρωπος
attributive “the good person”
ὁἄνθρωποςὁἀγαθός
attributive “the good person”
ἡκαλὴχώρα
attributive “the beautiful land”
Unrolling the passage…
Noun, then the article repeated with the adjective: attributive, "the good shepherd". καλός means "beautiful" and also "good, noble". In τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ, ψυχή means "life".
Greek shown exactly as the source file gives it. Click any word to look it up.
Unrolling the passage…
The opening of the Anabasis. Darius and Parysatis have two sons: "the elder (was) Artaxerxes, the younger Cyrus". There is no article and no verb: the context shows that the adjectives πρεσβύτερος "older" and νεώτερος "younger" say something about each son. μέν… δέ… sets them side by side: "on the one hand… on the other…".
Greek shown exactly as the source file gives it. Click any word to look it up.
- ἀγαθός …
- καλός …
- κακός …
- δίκαιος …
- ἀληθινός …