Weeks 7–8: Adjective Forms and Agreement with Nouns

Introduction

You’ve already learned how nouns decline (first and second declensions), and you’ve started working with verbs. Now it’s time to add another important piece: adjectives.

Adjectives describe or modify nouns. In English, we say things like:

• the good man

• the holy Scripture

• the faithful disciple

Greek adjectives work the same way—except they must always agree with the noun they describe in case, number, and gender.

Step 1: What Does “Agreement” Mean?

Agreement means that the adjective “matches” the noun in three ways:

1. Case – nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, vocative.

2. Number – singular or plural.

3. Gender – masculine, feminine, neuter.

👉 The noun and adjective must “line up.”

Example:

• ὁ ἀγαθὸς ἀνθρωπος (ho agathos anthrōpos) → “the good man.”

  • ἀνθρωπος = masculine, nominative, singular.

  • ἀγαθος = masculine, nominative, singular.

If the noun changes, the adjective must change with it:

• τὸν ἀγαθὸν ἀνθρωπον (ton agathon anthrōpon) → “the good man” (accusative singular).

• οἱ ἀγαθοὶ ἀνθρωποι (hoi agathoi anthrōpoi) → “the good men” (nominative plural).

Step 2: Adjective Endings

Most adjectives follow the same endings as nouns in the first and second declensions.

Example: ἀγαθός (agathos, “good”)

👉 Notice how masculine and neuter share many forms, while feminine follows first declension patterns.

Step 3: Examples in Sentences

1. ὁ ἀγαθὸς ἀνθρωπος βλέπει τὸν κυριον.

• “The good man sees the Lord.”

2. αἱ ἁγιαὶ γραφαί εἰσιν ἀληθεῖς.

• “The holy Scriptures are true.”

3. τὸ πιστὸν δῶρον ἐστὶν καλόν.

• “The faithful gift is good.”

Step 4: Key Observations

• The article, adjective, and noun all agree.

• Word order is flexible, but endings keep everything connected.

For example, these all mean the same thing:

• ὁ ἀγαθὸς ἀνθρωπος

• ἀγαθὸς ὁ ἀνθρωπος

• ὁ ἀνθρωπος ἀγαθός

👉 The article “locks together” the noun and adjective as a single phrase.

Practice Assignments

1. Paradigm Practice
Decline the adjective ἀγαθός (agathos, “good”) with:

• ἀνθρωπος (anthrōpos, “man”) → masculine.

• γραφή (graphē, “Scripture”) → feminine.

• δῶρον (dōron, “gift”) → neuter.

2. Agreement Drill
Match the adjective to the noun:

1. ἀνθρωπος (nom. sing. masc.) + ἀγαθός → ?

2. γραφαί (nom. pl. fem.) + ἅγιος (hagios, “holy”) → ?

3. δῶρα (acc. pl. neut.) + πιστός (pistos, “faithful”) → ?

3. Translation Practice
Translate into English:

1. ὁ πιστὸς μαθητης.

2. αἱ ἀγαθαὶ γραφαί.

3. τὸ καλὸν δῶρον.

4. Sentence Composition
Write 3 original Greek sentences using adjectives and nouns. Example: “The good disciples believe the word.”

Encouragement

At first, it may feel overwhelming to match case, number, and gender all at once. But remember—this is the strength of Greek. Once you see the patterns, you’ll never be confused about which words belong together in a sentence.

The more you practice, the more natural agreement will feel. Soon, you’ll see an adjective and know immediately which noun it belongs to.

You’re not just learning forms—you’re learning how to hear the “music” of Greek sentences.