From Alpha to Omega - Ancient Greek Practice

Ancient Greek Case Battle Card

BAAG Greek I Study Aid

NOM (Subject)GEN (Of)DAT (To/For)ACC (Object)Participles

1. Three Questions to Ask

1What ending or article is this? (form signal)
2
What job is it doing?
- Who/What
- Of/From
- To/For/With
- Direct Object
3Does it match something nearby in gender / number / case?

4. Participles

-ING Forms

Verb-adjectives. Mark purple and attach them to the noun they describe.

-μενος / -μενη / -μενον

-ᾱσα / -ών / -όντες / -όμενοι

How to Study With This

•Print this or keep it beside your homework.
•Apply exactly the same colors every time.
•Identify the job before you translate.
•Don't chase perfection — chase roles.

2. Article Cheat Grid

Singular

Case	Masc	Fem	Neut
NOM	ὁ	ἡ	τό
GEN	τοῦ	τῆς	τοῦ
DAT	τῷ	τῇ	τῷ
ACC	τόν	τήν	τό

Plural

Case	Masc	Fem	Neut
NOM	οἱ	αἱ	τά
GEN	τῶν
DAT	τοῖς / ταῖς		τοῖς
ACC	τούς	τάς	τά

Nominative

Subject

Who / What
does the verb

Genitive

Possession

Of / From /
Belonging

Dative

Indirect Obj.

To / For / With /
In / On

Accusative

Direct Obj.

What gets
acted on

5. Sentence Routine

1.Circle finite verb(s).
2.Red: Label Nominative subject.
3.Purple: Mark participles matching subject.
4.Orange: Direct Objects.
5.Blue: Genitives.
6.Green: Datives.

Read by role, not by word order.

6. Example Markup

πολλοὶ / διὰ πλεονεξίαν / τοῖς ἄλλοις / ἐποφθαλμιῶντες λανθάνουσι τῶν ἰδίων στερούμενοι .

"Many people, because of greed, while coveting the belongings of others, unknowingly end up deprived of their own."

The Greek Alphabet (24 Letters)

Greek	Name	English	Sounds Like
Α α	ἄλφα (alpha)	A a	ah
Β β	βῆτα (beta)	B b	better
Γ γ	γάμμα (gamma)	G g	gamble
Δ δ	δέλτα (delta)	D d	delete
Ε ε	ἒ ψīλόν (epsilon)	E e	etch
Ζ ζ	ζῆτα (zeta)	Z z	wisdom
Η η	ἦτα (eta)	Ē ē	error
Θ θ	θῆτα (theta)	Th th	sweetheart
Ι ι	ἰῶτα (iota)	I i	pizza
Κ κ	κάππα (kappa)	K k / C c	candy
Λ λ	λάμβδα (lambda)	L l	lantern
Μ μ	μῦ (mu)	M m	music
Ν ν	νῦ (nu)	N n	nuclear
Ξ ξ	ξῖ (xi)	X x	taxi
Ο ο	ὂ μīκρόν (omicron)	O o	off
Π π	πῖ (pi)	P p	pillow
Ρ ρ	ῥῶ (rho)	R r / Rh rh	rolled r
Σ σ/ς	σίγμα (sigma)	S s	signal
Τ τ	ταῦ (tau)	T t	tardy
Υ υ	ὖ ψīλόν (upsilon)	Y y / U u	French u
Φ φ	φῖ (phi)	Ph ph	uphill
Χ χ	χῖ (chi)	Kh kh / Ch ch	backhand
Ψ ψ	ψῖ (psi)	Ps ps	tipsy
Ω ω	ὦ μέγα (omega)	Ō ō	aw

Diphthongs (Two Vowels Combined)

Proper Diphthongs

αιsounds like "aisle"

αυsounds like "ouch"

ειsounds like "eight"

ευsounds like "etch → French u"

ηυsounds like "error → French u"

οιsounds like "oily"

ουsounds like "ooze"

υιsounds like "French u → ee"

Improper Diphthongs (iota subscript)

ᾳsounds like "ah → ee"

ῃsounds like "error → ee"

ῳsounds like "aw → ee"

Breathings

ἑ-

Rough Breathing ( ̔)

Indicates an h-sound (aspiration). Example: ἡ = "hē"

ἐ-

Smooth Breathing ( ̓)

No h-sound. Example: ἐ = "e"

Every vowel beginning a word must have a breathing mark. Words beginning with υ (upsilon) always have rough breathing.

Exercise A: Transliterate Famous Greek Names

Type the English equivalent of each Greek name. 0 of 24 correct.

#1

Ποσειδῶν

#2

Ἀφροδίτη

#3

Ἥφαιστος

#4

Θουκῡδίδης

#5

Ἀχιλλεύς

#6

Τροίᾱ

#7

Βαῦκις

#8

Ξέρξης

#9

Κύκλωψ

#10

Ῥέᾱ

#11

Δίρκη

#12

Ὅμηρος

#13

Σωκράτης

#14

Μοῦσα

#15

Ζεύς

#16

Ἀγαμέμνων

#17

Ὠκεανός

#18

Φειδίᾱς

#19

Λεύκιππος

#20

Ἅιδης

#21

Οἰδίπους

#22

Εἰλείθυια

#23

Γλαύκων

#24

Χάρυβδις

Transliteration Rules

• Rough breathing (῾) is transliterated as h
• Kappa (κ) may be transliterated as k or c
• Chi (χ) may be transliterated as kh or ch
• Rho (ρ) at the beginning of a word is rh, otherwise r
• Upsilon (υ) is u after a vowel, y after a consonant

Exercise B: Aesop's Fable 119

Zeus Cuts the Camel Down to Size

Select a case label, then click words to tag them.

Select a label, then click words:

Sentence 1 of 7

Lesson 1: The Greek Alphabet