Day 4 of 25. Cases in Greek: the overall logic

Today we look at why Greek needs cases: the nominative, accusative, genitive and vocative. Level A2, with examples from everyday life in Cyprus.

Key idea: the case shows the role of a word in the sentence. Who is acting? Who is the action aimed at? Whose is this thing? Who are we addressing?

1. What you need to learn

The names of the four main cases in English and in Greek.
How the case relates to a word's role in the sentence.
Which articles most often help you spot the case.
The typical endings of masculine, feminine and neuter nouns.
How not to confuse the nominative and the accusative.

Case	In Greek	Main question	What it's for	Example
Nominative	Ονομαστική	Who? What? (subject)	Shows who performs the action	Ο άντρας πίνει καφέ. — The man is drinking coffee.
Accusative	Αιτιατική	Whom? What? Where to? (object / direction)	Shows the object of the action or the direction	Βλέπω τον άντρα. — I see the man.
Genitive	Γενική	Whose? Of whom? Of what? (possession)	Shows possession, connection, part of a whole	Το σπίτι της Μαρίας. — Maria's house.
Vocative	Κλητική	Addressing someone	Used when we address a person directly	Νίκο, έλα εδώ! — Nikos, come here!

2. The nominative case: who is acting

The nominative case answers the questions who? or what?. It's usually the subject — the one doing the action.

Gender	Article	Example	Translation
Masculine	ο	ο φίλος	the friend
Feminine	η	η φίλη	the friend (f.)
Neuter	το	το παιδί	the child

Ο σερβιτόρος φέρνει τον καφέ.
The waiter brings the coffee.

Η Μαρία μένει στη Λευκωσία.
Maria lives in Nicosia.

Το λεωφορείο πάει στη Λάρνακα.
The bus goes to Larnaca.

Remember: if a word answers the question who is doing it?, it's most likely the nominative case.

3. The accusative case: object of the action and direction

The accusative case shows who or what the action is aimed at. It's also often used after prepositions, especially when talking about direction: to the café, to the beach, to Limassol.

Nominative	Accusative	Translation
ο φίλος	τον φίλο	the friend (subject / object)
η φίλη	τη φίλη	the friend, f. (subject / object)
το παιδί	το παιδί	the child (subject / object)

Βλέπω τον φίλο μου στο περίπτερο.
I see my friend at the kiosk.

Περιμένω τη Μαρία έξω από την καφετέρια.
I'm waiting for Maria outside the café.

Αγοράζω το νερό από το περίπτερο.
I'm buying the water at the kiosk.

The accusative after prepositions

Very often the accusative case is used after the prepositions σε, από, με, για.

Preposition	Example	Translation
σε	Πάω στην Πάφο.	I'm going to Paphos.
από	Είμαι από τη Λεμεσό.	I'm from Limassol.
με	Πάω με τον Κώστα.	I'm going with Kostas.
για	Αυτό είναι για τη μητέρα μου.	This is for my mother.

Important: the preposition σε often merges with the article: σε + τον = στον, σε + την = στην, σε + το = στο.

4. The genitive case: possession and connection

The genitive case often answers the question whose?. It shows who something belongs to or what it's connected with.

Nominative	Genitive	Example	Translation
ο Νίκος	του Νίκου	το αυτοκίνητο του Νίκου	Nikos's car
η Μαρία	της Μαρίας	το σπίτι της Μαρίας	Maria's house
το παιδί	του παιδιού	το βιβλίο του παιδιού	the child's book

Το τηλέφωνο του γιατρού είναι εδώ.
The doctor's phone is here.

Η τσάντα της Άννας είναι στο αυτοκίνητο.
Anna's bag is in the car.

Το δωμάτιο του ξενοδοχείου είναι μικρό.
The hotel room is small.

The genitive with short pronouns

Greek very often uses short forms: μου — my, σου — your, του — his, της — her, μας — our, σας — your, τους — their.

Greek	Translation
ο φίλος μου	my friend
η αδερφή σου	your sister
το σπίτι μας	our house
η γειτονιά τους	their neighbourhood

5. The vocative case: addressing someone

The vocative case is used when we address a person directly. In everyday speech in Cyprus you hear it constantly: in the café, the shop, at work, in the family.

Normal form	Address form	Translation
ο Νίκος	Νίκο!	Nikos!
ο κύριος Παπαδόπουλος	κύριε Παπαδόπουλε!	Mr Papadopoulos!
η Μαρία	Μαρία!	Maria!
η κυρία Ελένη	κυρία Ελένη!	Mrs Eleni!

Νίκο, θέλεις καφέ;
Nikos, would you like a coffee?

Κύριε Αντρέα, καλημέρα!
Mr Andreas, good morning!

Μαρία, πάμε στην παραλία;
Maria, shall we go to the beach?

Important: for many masculine names ending in -ος, the address form changes the ending to -ο: Νίκος → Νίκο, Κώστας → Κώστα.

6. The four cases compared in a single example

Case	Phrase	Translation	Logic
Nominative	Ο Νίκος πίνει καφέ.	Nikos is drinking coffee.	Nikos does the action.
Accusative	Βλέπω τον Νίκο.	I see Nikos.	The action is aimed at Nikos.
Genitive	Το αυτοκίνητο του Νίκου είναι έξω.	Nikos's car is outside.	The car belongs to Nikos.
Vocative	Νίκο, έλα εδώ!	Nikos, come here!	We're addressing Nikos.

7. Common mistakes

Mistake	Why it's wrong	Correct
Βλέπω ο φίλος.	After "I see" you need an object, so the accusative.	Βλέπω τον φίλο.
Το σπίτι η Μαρία.	Possession needs the genitive.	Το σπίτι της Μαρίας.
Νίκος, έλα εδώ!	When addressing someone, a masculine name often changes form.	Νίκο, έλα εδώ!
Πάω σε η Λάρνακα.	The preposition "σε" merges with the article.	Πάω στη Λάρνακα.

8. Quick practice

Exercise 1. Identify the case of the highlighted word

1. Η Ελένη δουλεύει στη Λευκωσία.

2. Περιμένω τον γιατρό.

3. Το τηλέφωνο της Άννας είναι καινούριο.

4. Κώστα, πάμε για καφέ;

Answers

1. Η Ελένη — nominative: Eleni performs the action.

2. τον γιατρό — accusative: the doctor is the object of the action.

3. της Άννας — genitive: the phone belongs to Anna.

4. Κώστα — vocative: it's a form of address.

Exercise 2. Choose the correct form

1. Βλέπω ___ φίλο μου. — I see my friend.

a) ο b) τον c) του

2. Το σπίτι ___ Μαρίας είναι κοντά στη θάλασσα. — Maria's house is near the sea.

a) η b) τη c) της

3. ___, θέλεις νερό; — Andreas, would you like some water?

a) Αντρέας b) Αντρέα c) του Αντρέα

Answers

1. b) τον φίλο μου

2. c) της Μαρίας

3. b) Αντρέα

9. Quick summary

If you want to say...	Use	Example
Who does the action	Nominative	Ο φίλος μου είναι εδώ. — My friend is here.
Whom or what you see, wait for, buy	Accusative	Περιμένω τον φίλο μου. — I'm waiting for my friend.
Who owns something	Genitive	Το σπίτι του φίλου μου. — My friend's house.
Who you're addressing	Vocative	Φίλε μου, τι κάνεις; — My friend, how are you?

At A2 level it's important not to memorise the cases as an abstract table, but to link them to questions: who does it?, whom do I see?, whose thing is it?, who am I addressing?