The third declension holds nouns of every gender and many shapes. Its secret is that the nominative often hides the stem. The genitive singular shows it: take off -ος and what is left is the stem. φύλαξ "guard" has the genitive φύλακος, so its stem is φυλακ-.
That is why dictionaries give two forms and the article: φύλαξ, φύλακος, ὁ. Always learn a third-declension noun with its genitive.
Third declension: φύλαξ
The stem (φυλακ-) shows in the genitive; the nominative hides it (κ + ς = ξ).
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | φύλαξ118 | φύλακες157 |
| genitive | φύλακος12 | φυλάκων144 |
| dative | φύλακι16 | φύλαξι(ν)58 |
| accusative | φύλακα133 | φύλακας312 |
| vocative | φύλαξ3 | φύλακες2 |
Third declension, neuter: σῶμα
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | σῶμα3k | σώματα725 |
| genitive | σώματος7k | σωμάτων2k |
| dative | σώματι3k | σώμασι(ν)1k |
| accusative | σῶμα5k | σώματα2k |
| vocative | σῶμα2 | σώματα· |
Every neuter in -μα declines like σῶμα "body", with a stem in -ματ-: ὄνομα "name", πνεῦμα "breath, spirit", πρᾶγμα "thing, affair".
Third declension, stems in ι/ε: πόλις
The genitive πόλεως comes from an older πόληος: the two vowels exchanged their lengths, and the accent stayed where it was.
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | πόλις3k | πόλεις993 |
| genitive | πόλεως6k | πόλεων2k |
| dative | πόλει4k | πόλεσι(ν)1k |
| accusative | πόλιν10k | πόλεις3k |
| vocative | πόλι9 | πόλεις2 |
πόλις "city, city-state" is a different type, with a stem that ends in ι or ε. It is one of the words you will meet most often in Classical prose, so learn it as it stands.
Unrolling the passage…
σαρκός (genitive, after ἐκ) and σάρξ (nominative) side by side: the genitive shows the stem σαρκ-. In the second half, πνεύματος and πνεῦμα decline like σῶμα.
Greek shown exactly as the source file gives it. Click any word to look it up.
Unrolling the passage…
πόλις is nominative: "a city cannot be hidden". ὄρους is the genitive of ὄρος "mountain", a third-declension neuter of yet another type, after ἐπάνω "on top of".
Greek shown exactly as the source file gives it. Click any word to look it up.
- σάρξ …
- πνεῦμα …
- ὄνομα …
- πόλις …
- χάρις …