The Indefinite Article
The indefinite article in English is a or an
(depending upon whether the word begins with a vowel sound
or not). The indefinite article in Greek is shown below,
and, as with the definite article, it comes in three genders to
match its noun:
| a, an |
| Masculine | Fem. | Neuter |
|---|
| ένας | μία | ένα |
Let’s take the words from the last page and put them
with the proper indefinite article:
| Masculine: |
ένας άντρας,
a man, |
ένας ράφτης,
a tailor, |
ένας κύκλος
a circle |
|
| Feminine: |
μία μητέρα,
a mother, |
μία βασίλισσα,
a queen, |
μία στέγη
a roof |
|
| Neuter: |
ένα μολύβι,
a pencil, |
ένα λεφτό,
a minute, |
ένα κορίτσι
a girl |
|
Bonus! The indefinite article
ένας/μία/ένα also means the number one. So, for
example, you could render the last part of that table into English
as “one pencil, one minute, one girl”. In conversation
or in written Greek,
the context will always make it clear which meaning is correct.
Before proceeding, let’s practice what we’ve learned about
gender and articles.