The First Declension

§47

All nouns of the first declension ending in α or η are feminine.

§48

The declension of ὥρα, ἡ, an hour, is as follows:

§49

The stem of ὥρα is ὧρα-, and the first declension is sometimes called the α-declension, because its stems end in α. Since, however, the final vowel of the stem enters into various combinations with the endings it is more convenient for the beginner to regard ὡρ- as the stem and -α, -ας, etc., as the endings. It should be noticed that α is characteristic of this declension as ο is of the second declension.

§50

It should be observed that the α in the nominative, genitive, and accusative singular, and in the accusative plural is long.

§51

The genitive plural shows an exception to the rule of noun accent. The rule of noun accent would require the © accent to remain on the same syllable as in the nominative singular. But nouns of the first declension have a circumflex on the ultima in the genitive plural no matter where the accent was in the nominative singular.

§52

The declension of βασιλεία, ἡ, a kingdom, is exactly like that of ὥρα, since here also there is a long accented penult in the nominative singular followed by a long α in the ultima.

The declension of ἀλήθεια, ἡ, truth, is as follows:

This noun has a short a in the ultima in the nominative singular, and when in the first declension the a is short in the nominative singular it is also short in the accusative singular. In the accusative plural the a is long in all firstdeclension nouns. The accent follows the noun rule everywhere except in the genitive plural (see $51).

§55

The α in the nominative singular of first-declension nouns is changed to η in the genitive and dative singular except after ε, ι, or ρ.

§56

The declension of γραφή, ἡ, a writing, a Scripture, is as follows:

§57

When a first-declension noun ends in 7 in the nominative singular, the 7 is retained throughout the singular. But the plurals of all first-declension nouns are alike.

§58

In the first declension (exactly as in the second, see §40), when the ultima is accented at all, it has the circumflex in the genitives and datives of both numbers, elsewhere the acute.