Adjectives in -ής / -ής / -ές
The third class is the formal one, and it does something none of the others do: the masculine and the feminine are the SAME WORD in every single cell. ασφαλής is “safe” for a man, a woman, a road or a decision alike, and only the neuter differs - ασφαλές in the singular, ασφαλή in the plural. The genitive singular is -ούς across all three genders (ασφαλούς), the plural nominative and accusative are -είς for masculine and feminine (ασφαλείς), and the genitive plural is -ών (ασφαλών). Two traps: the neuter plural is -ή, not -ά, so “safe roads” for a neuter noun is ασφαλή and not «ασφαλά»; and this class is the source of the -ώς adverbs you meet in the next lesson (ασφαλής → ασφαλώς, ακριβής → ακριβώς). Most -ής adjectives are learned words - ακριβής “precise”, συνεχής “continuous”, διεθνής “international”, ευγενής “noble” - so you will read them far more often than you say them.
The rule
The -ής / -ής / -ές class is the formal one, and it does something no other class does: the masculine and the feminine are the same word in every cell. ασφαλής is “safe” for a man, a woman or a decision alike, and only the neuter differs - ασφαλές in the singular, ασφαλή in the plural. The genitive singular is -ούς across all three genders (ασφαλούς, ακριβούς); the nominative and accusative plural are -είς for masculine and feminine (ασφαλείς, ακριβείς); the genitive plural is -ών (ασφαλών, ακριβών). Two traps. The neuter plural is -ή, not -ά, so with a neuter plural noun it is ασφαλή, never «ασφαλά». And this class is the source of the -ώς adverbs - ασφαλής → ασφαλώς, ακριβής → ακριβώς - which is where you will meet most of its members, since they are learned words you read far more often than you say.
Paradigm
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | ασφαλής | ασφαλείς |
| Accusative | ασφαλή | ασφαλείς |
| Genitive | ασφαλούς | ασφαλών |
| Vocative | ασφαλή† | ασφαλείς† |
- Vocative singular equals the accusative (-ή); the nominative -ής is also heard.
- Vocative plural equals the nominative plural.
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | ασφαλής | ασφαλείς |
| Accusative | ασφαλή | ασφαλείς |
| Genitive | ασφαλούς | ασφαλών |
| Vocative | ασφαλής† | ασφαλείς† |
- The feminine is identical to the masculine throughout.
- Vocative plural equals the nominative plural.
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | ασφαλές | ασφαλή |
| Accusative | ασφαλές | ασφαλή |
| Genitive | ασφαλούς | ασφαλών |
| Vocative | ασφαλές† | ασφαλή† |
- Vocative equals the nominative.
- Vocative plural equals the nominative plural.