Greek Cases Made Simple: Nominative, Accusative, Genitive and Vocative
What the four cases of Modern Greek do, how a masculine noun like φίλος changes, and how to start recognising cases without memorising every table.
Greek nouns, articles and adjectives change form depending on their role in the sentence. Modern Greek has four cases, fewer than Ancient Greek (which also had a dative), and they follow patterns that you can learn step by step.
What the cases do
- Nominative: the subject, the one doing the action. Ο φίλος έρχεται. — The friend is coming.
- Accusative: the direct object, and the case after most prepositions. Βλέπω τον φίλο. — I see the friend. Πάω στο σπίτι. — I'm going to the house.
- Genitive: possession and belonging ("of"). Το σπίτι του φίλου. — The friend's house.
- Vocative: direct address. Φίλε! — Friend! Γιάννη! — John!
The masculine pattern: ο φίλος
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | ο φίλος | οι φίλοι |
| Accusative | τον φίλο | τους φίλους |
| Genitive | του φίλου | των φίλων |
| Vocative | φίλε | φίλοι |
The article changes, and so does the ending. Notice that the article often tells you the case even if the noun's ending is unclear.
The feminine pattern: η γυναίκα
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | η γυναίκα | οι γυναίκες |
| Accusative | τη(ν) γυναίκα | τις γυναίκες |
| Genitive | της γυναίκας | των γυναικών |
| Vocative | γυναίκα | γυναίκες |
The neuter pattern: το παιδί
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | το παιδί | τα παιδιά |
| Accusative | το παιδί | τα παιδιά |
| Genitive | του παιδιού | των παιδιών |
| Vocative | παιδί | παιδιά |
For neuter nouns, nominative and accusative are always identical.
Articles at a glance
| Masc. | Fem. | Neut. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nom. sg. | ο | η | το |
| Acc. sg. | τον | την | το |
| Gen. sg. | του | της | του |
| Nom. pl. | οι | οι | τα |
| Acc. pl. | τους | τις | τα |
| Gen. pl. | των | των | των |
The final -ν of τον, την and έναν is kept before vowels and before κ, π, τ, ξ, ψ, γκ, μπ, ντ, τσ, τζ, and often dropped in την/τη before other consonants: τη γυναίκα but την πόλη (before π).
Prepositions take the accusative
Σε (in, at, to), από (from), με (with), για (for), χωρίς (without) all take the accusative: από την Ελλάδα, με τον φίλο, για το παιδί.
The preposition σε merges with the article: στο σπίτι, στη θάλασσα, στον φίλο, στα παιδιά.
Indirect objects
Modern Greek has no dative. Indirect objects use σε + accusative, or the genitive form of a clitic pronoun: Δίνω το βιβλίο στον φίλο. — I give the book to the friend. Του δίνω το βιβλίο. — I give him the book.
Learning strategy
- Learn the articles in all cases. They give you 80 percent of the information.
- Start with the nominative and accusative, which you need first.
- Learn genitive as "of".
- Use the vocative for names: Γιάννη, Μαρία, κύριε.
- Practise with short phrases, not tables.
Common mistakes
- Using the nominative after prepositions.
- Forgetting the article changes.
- Using the wrong genitive ending.
Dictionary tip
Dictionaries list nouns in the nominative singular, with the genitive singular and nominative plural often given, so you can see the pattern.
Look up Greek nouns and their forms with English Greek Dictionary →
English Greek Dictionary
Offline English–Greek dictionary with meanings in proper Greek script
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