Definite Article
Attic Greek has a definite article, but no indefinite article. The definite article agrees with its associated noun in number, gender and case. Proper names usually take a definite article, as do abstract nouns. Adjectives are either placed between the article and noun or after the noun, in which case the article is repeated before the adjective. Dependent genitive noun phrases are positioned in exactly the same way, even though this frequently results in splitting the article and noun by a long dependent phrase. For example, τὸ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἔργον tò toû anthrṓpou érgon, literally "the (of the man) deed", or "The deed of the man." In earlier Greek, for instance Homeric Greek, there was no definite article as such, the corresponding forms still having their original use as demonstrative pronouns.
The definite article is declined thus:
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Dual | Plural | Singular | Dual | Plural | Singular | Dual | Plural | |
| Nominative | ὁ (ho) | τώ (tṓ) | οἱ (hoi) | ἡ (hē) | τώ (tṓ) | αἱ (hai) | τό (tó) | τώ (tṓ) | τά (tá) |
| Genitive | τοῦ (toû) | τοῖν (toîn) | τῶν (tôn) | τῆς (tês) | τοῖν (toîn) | τῶν (tôn) | τοῦ (toû) | τοῖν (toîn) | τῶν (tôn) |
| Dative | τῷ (tôi) | τοῖν (toîn) | τοῖς (toîs) | τῇ (têi) | τοῖν (toîn) | ταῖς (taîs) | τῷ (tôi) | τοῖν (toîn) | τοῖς (toîs) |
| Accusative | τόν (tón) | τώ (tṓ) | τούς (toús) | τήν (tḗn) | τώ (tṓ) | τάς (tás) | τό (tó) | τώ (tṓ) | τά (tá) |
Read more about this topic: Ancient Greek Grammar
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