This practice is for use following sections 5.11, “Direct and indirect objects”
Persistent accent
Study and practice the following basic patterns of persistent accents on nouns.
Persistent accent on the antepenult
Only acute accents can fall on the antepenult; moreover, accents can only fall on the antepenult when the ultima is short. When the ultima is long, the accent has to move forward to the penult. Since accents on the penult are always acute when the ultima is long, the shifted-forward accent will be acute. Remember that final -οι and -αι count as short for accent.
Example: ἄνθρωπος, ἀνθρώπου, ὁ / ἡ “human being, person” (second declension);
| Case and number | “human being, person” |
|---|---|
| Nominative singular | ἄνθρωπος |
| Genitive singular | ἀνθρώπου |
| Dative singular | ἀνθρώπῳ |
| Accusative singular | ἄνθρωπον |
| Vocative singular | ἄνθρωπε |
| Nominative plural | ἄνθρωποι |
| Genitive plural | ἀνθρώπων |
| Dative plural | ἀνθρώποις |
| Accusative plural | ἀνθρώπους |
| Vocative plural | ἄνθρωποι |
Persistent accent on a long penult
Accent will remain on penult (with the exception of genitive plural in first declension). If the ultima is short, the accent will be circumflex; if the ultima is long, accent will be acute.
Examples: γνώμη, γνώμης, ἡ “judgment, opinion” (first declension) and δῶρον, δώρου, τό “gift” (second declension). Notice in the following table that the accent for δῶρον changes from circumflex to acute in exactly the same places where the accent in ἄνθρωπος shifts from antenpenult to penult.
| Case and number | “judgment, opinion” | “gift” |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative singular | γνώμη | δῶρον |
| Genitive singular | γνώμης | δώρου |
| Dative singular | γνώμῃ | δώρῳ |
| Accusative singular | γνώμην | δῶρον |
| Vocative singular | γνώμη | δῶρον |
| Nominative singular | γνῶμαι | δῶρα |
| Genitive plural | γνωμῶν | δώρων |
| Dative plural | γνώμαις | δώροις |
| Accusative plural | γνώμας | δῶρα |
| Vocative plural | γνῶμαι | δῶρα |
Persistent accent on a short penult
The accent will remain on the penult and will remain acute (with the exception of the genitive plural in the first declension). (Recall that circumflex accents are carried only by long vowels and diphthongs.)
Examples: οἰκία, οἰκίας, ἡ “house” (first declension); χρόνος, χρόνου, ὁ “time, time period” (second declension); and ἔργον, ἔργου, τό “work, deed” (second declension).
| Case and number | “house” | “time” | “work, deed” |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative singular | οἰκία | χρόνος | ἔργον |
| Genitive singular | οἰκίας | χρόνου | ἔργου |
| Dative singular | οἰκίᾳ | χρόνῳ | ἔργῳ |
| Accusative singular | οἰκίαν | χρόνον | ἔργον |
| Vocative singular | οἰκία | χρόνε | ἔργον |
| Nominative plural | οἰκίαι | χρόνοι | ἔργα |
| Genitive plural | οἰκιῶν | χρόνων | ἔργων |
| Dative plural | οἰκίαις | χρόνοις | ἔργοις |
| Accusative plural | οἰκίας | χρόνους | ἔργα |
| Vocative plural | οἰκίαι | χρόνοι | ἔργα |
Persistent accent on the ultima
The accent on the ultima will always be circumflex in the genitive and dative cases, and acute in the nominative, accusative and vocative.
| Case and number | Form |
|---|---|
| Nominative singular | ἀγορά |
| Genitive singular | ἀγορᾶς |
| Dative singular | ἀγορᾷ |
| Accusative singular | ἀγοράν |
| Vocative singular | ἀγορά |
| Nominative plural | ἀγοραί |
| Genitive plural | ἀγορῶν |
| Dative plural | ἀγοραῖς |
| Accusative plural | ἀγοράς |
| Vocative | ἀγοραί |
Identify the pattern to which each of the following nouns belongs to, and practice the accent pattern in the full declension of the noun:
παιδίον, παιδίου, τό
ἡμέρα, ἡμέρας, ἡ
λόγος, λόγου, ὁ