Imparisyllabic Nouns
Every noun class you have met so far is PARISYLLABIC: singular and plural have the same number of syllables (δά-σκα-λος → δά-σκα-λοι). A small but very common group is IMPARISYLLABIC - the plural is a syllable LONGER. Two shapes carry almost all of them. Masculines in stressed -άς / -ές / -ούς insert a -δ-: ο ψαράς → οι ψαρά-δες, ο καφές → οι καφέ-δες, ο παππούς → οι παππού-δες; and their singular drops the -ς for every other case, so the accusative, genitive and vocative are all the bare καφέ. Neuters in -ιμο run on a -ματ- stem outside the nominative: το γράψιμο → του γραψίματος, τα γραψίματα, των γραψιμάτων - the same -ματ- stem as the -μα nouns you already know (το γράμμα → του γράμματος), so the two types differ only in the nominative singular. One warning about a rule that is often stated wrongly: it is being OXYTONE in -άς that makes a masculine imparisyllabic, NOT having a -ντ- stem. ο ελέφαντας pluralises ελέφαντες and ο γίγαντας γίγαντες, both perfectly parisyllabic.
The rule
Every class you meet first is parisyllabic: the plural has the same number of syllables as the singular (δά-σκα-λος → δά-σκα-λοι). A small but very common group is imparisyllabic - its plural is one syllable longer. Two shapes carry nearly all of them. Masculines stressed on a final -άς / -ές / -ούς insert a -δ- in the plural: ο ψαράς → οι ψαράδες, ο καφές → οι καφέδες, ο παππούς → οι παππούδες; and in the singular they simply drop the -ς, so accusative, genitive and vocative are all the bare ψαρά, καφέ, παππού. Neuters in -ιμο run on a -ματ- stem outside the nominative: το γράψιμο → του γραψίματος, τα γραψίματα, των γραψιμάτων - the same -ματ- stem as το μάθημα → του μαθήματος, so the two types differ only in the nominative singular. One rule is often stated wrongly: what makes a masculine imparisyllabic is being oxytone in -άς, not having a -ντ- stem.
Paradigm
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | καφές | καφέδες† |
| Accusative | καφέ† | καφέδες |
| Genitive | καφέ† | καφέδων |
| Vocative | καφέ† | καφέδες† |
- The plural inserts -δ- and gains a syllable (imparisyllabic): three against two.
- The singular drops its -ς for every other case: accusative, genitive and vocative are all the same bare form.
- Vocative plural equals the nominative plural.
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | γράψιμο | γραψίματα† |
| Accusative | γράψιμο† | γραψίματα† |
| Genitive | γραψίματος† | γραψιμάτων† |
| Vocative | γράψιμο† | γραψίματα† |
- The plural is a syllable LONGER than the singular - four against three - which is what imparisyllabic means.
- In this class the accusative and vocative equal the nominative, in both numbers.
- The oblique cells run on a -ματ- stem, so the word gains a syllable - but the distance from the ending is unchanged (γρά-ψι-μο, γρα-ψί-μα-τος).
- The genitive plural moves the tonos one further forward again (γραψίματα → γραψιμάτων).