Hellenistic Greek © 2008
What is a Noun?
It is often said that a noun is a word that refers to a person, place, or thing. This traditional definition gives a general idea of the kinds of
things nouns refer to, but it is not clear enough. It covers too many words
and doesn't help us understand what nouns do.
A more consistent definition for Greek nouns can be stated as follows:
Greek nouns are words that meet both of the following criteria:
- Nouns may function as subjects of a verb or objects of either a verb or a preposition; and
- Nouns have non-varying grammatical gender.
This
definition will become clearer to you as you see more examples of Greek
nouns and learn more about the functions they can serve.
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