Latin declension

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Latin declension is the set of patterns in the Latin language for how nouns and certain other parts of speech (including pronouns and adjectives) change form according to their grammatical case, number and gender. Words that change form in this manner are said to be declined. Declension is a specific type of inflection, and is distinguished from other ways that words change form in the Latin language, such as the conjugation of verbs.

Contents

Declension is normally marked by suffixation: attaching different endings to the declined word.

For nouns, Latin grammar instruction typically distinguishes five main patterns of endings, which are numbered (from first to fifth) and subdivided by grammatical gender. The term "declension" can refer either to the overarching phenomenon, or to one of these specific five patterns. For example, nouns that have a genitive singular form that ends in -ae are said to belong to "the first declension".

Adjectives are of two kinds: those like bonus, bona, bonum 'good' use first-declension endings for the feminine, and second-declension for masculine and neuter. Other adjectives such as celer, celeris, celere belong to the third declension. There are no fourth- or fifth-declension adjectives.

Pronouns are also of two kinds, the personal pronouns such as ego 'I' and 'you (sg.)', which have their own irregular declension, and the third-person pronouns such as hic 'this' and ille 'that' which can generally be used either as pronouns or adjectivally. These latter decline in a similar way to the first and second noun declensions, but there are differences; for example the genitive singular ends in -īus or -ius instead of or -ae and the dative singular ends in .

The cardinal numbers ūnus 'one', duo 'two', and trēs 'three' also have their own declensions (ūnus has genitive -īus and dative like a pronoun). However, numeral adjectives such as bīnī 'a pair, two each' decline like ordinary adjectives.

Grammatical cases

A complete Latin noun declension includes up to seven grammatical cases: nominative, vocative, accusative, genitive, dative, ablative and locative. The locative is limited to a few nouns: generally names of cities, small islands and a few other words.

Syncretism

Different cases commonly share the same form (called syncretism). The patterns of shared endings vary depending on a noun's grammatical number, gender, and declension class. The following are the most notable patterns of syncretism:

Number-based

  • The nominative and vocative are always identical in the plural.
  • The dative, ablative, and locative are always identical in the plural.

Gender-based

  • For neuter nouns, the nominative, vocative, and accusative cases are always identical. The nominative, vocative, and accusative plural almost always ends in -a. (Both of these features are inherited from Proto-Indo-European.)

Declension-based

  • The vocative and nominative singular are identical for all nouns except non-neuter second declension nouns ending in -us (for example, amīcus , vocative amīce) and a few learned borrowings of Greek origin (for example, first-declension Aenēās , vocative Aenēā).
  • The genitive singular is the same as the nominative plural for first-, second-, and fourth-declension non-neuter Latin nouns.
  • The dative singular is the same as the genitive singular for first- and fifth-declension Latin nouns (excluding borrowings).
  • The dative singular is the same as the ablative singular for all second-declension nouns, some third-declension nouns (full i-stems, including most third-declension adjectives), and some fourth-declension nouns (regularly for neuters, e.g. cornŭ "horn", dative and ablative cornū, but usually not for non-neuter nouns, e.g. manŭs, ūs, f. "hand", dative manuī and ablative manū).
  • The locative singular is identical to the genitive in the 1st and 2nd declensions; to the dative or ablative in the 3rd declension; to the ablative in the 5th declension.
  • The non-neuter nominative and accusative plural are identical for all nouns of the 4th declension (in -ūs) and 5th declension (in -ēs), and for many nouns of the 3rd declension (in -ēs; but a distinct accusative plural in -īs can be used in Classical Latin for some i-stem nouns).

Order of cases

The Roman grammarian Aelius Donatus (4th century AD), whose work was used as standard throughout the Middle Ages, placed the cases in this order:

casus sunt sex: nominativus, genetivus, dativus, accusativus, vocativus, ablativus. [1]
"there are six cases: nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, vocative and ablative."

This order was based on the order used by earlier Greek grammarians, with the addition of the ablative, which does not exist in Greek. The names of the cases also were mostly translated from the Greek terms, such as accusativus from the Greek αἰτῐᾱτῐκή .

This traditional order was formerly used in England, such as in The School and University Eton Latin Grammar (1861). [2] That order is still followed in most other European countries. Gildersleeve and Lodge's Latin Grammar (1895) also follow this order. More recent Latin grammars published in the United States, such as Allen and Greenough's New Latin Grammar (1903) and Wheelock's Latin (first published in 1956) follow this order except they list the vocative last.

However, in Britain and countries influenced by Britain other than the United States, the Latin cases are usually given in the following order: nominative, vocative, accusative, genitive, dative, ablative. This order was introduced in Benjamin Hall Kennedy's Latin Primer (1866), with the aim of making tables of declensions easier to recite and memorise (the first three and the last two cases having identical forms in several declensions).[ full citation needed ] It is also used in France [3] and Belgium. In Rosa (1962), a song in French by the Belgian singer Jacques Brel, Brel sings the declension of "rosa" as rosa, rosa, rosam, following the British order of cases.[ full citation needed ]

History of cases

Old Latin had essentially two patterns of endings. One pattern was shared by the first and second declensions, which derived from the Proto-Indo-European thematic declension. The other pattern was used by the third, fourth and fifth declensions, and derived from the athematic PIE declension.

Nouns

Regularly inflected Latin nouns have two principal parts: the nominative singular and the genitive singular. Each declension can be unequivocally identified by the ending of the genitive singular (-ae, -i, -is, -ūs, -ei). This ending can be removed from the genitive singular form to find the noun's oblique stem, which is shared between all inflected forms aside from the nominative singular. (The nominative singular sometimes, but not always has a distinct stem.)

Latin declension is commonly taught in terms of attaching different sets of vowel-initial endings to the oblique stem. For example, the first-declension noun vacca 'cow' has the genitive singular vaccae, with the oblique stem vacc-. Its ablative singular can be formed by combining vacc- with the ending , forming vaccā. The second-declension noun taurus 'bull' has the genitive singular taurī, with the oblique stem taur-. Its ablative singular can be formed by combining taur- with the ending , forming taurō.

There are five declensions (in other words, five such sets of endings) for Latin nouns:

First declension (a stems)

Nouns of this declension usually end in -a in the nominative singular and are mostly feminine, e.g. via, viae f. ('road') and aqua, aquae f. ('water'). There is a small class of masculine exceptions generally referring to occupations, e.g. poēta, poētae m. ('poet'), agricola, agricolae m. ('farmer'), auriga, aurigae m. ('auriga, charioteer'), pīrāta, pīrātae m. ('pirate') and nauta, nautae m. ('sailor').

The predominant letter in the ending forms of this declension is a. The nominative singular form consists of the stem and the ending -a, and the genitive singular form is the stem plus -ae.

First declension paradigm
SingularPlural
Nominative, Vocative-a-ae
Accusative-am-ās
Genitive-ae-ārum
Dative-īs
Ablative
LocativeGen.Dat.
mensa, mensae
table (f.)
poēta, poētae
poet (m.)
SingularPluralSingularPlural
Nominative, Vocativemensamensaepoētapoētae
Accusativemensammensāspoētampoētās
Genitivemensae [i] mensārumpoētaepoētārum
Dativemensīspoētīs
Ablativemensāpoētā
  1. The archaic genitive ending in -ai (as in aquai) occurs occasionally in Virgil and Lucretius, to evoke the style of older writers. Plus, the archaic genitive ending in -ās is used in expressions like pater familiās (also possible in conjunction with māter, fīlius and fīlia).

The locative endings for the first declension are -ae (singular) and -īs (plural), similar to the genitive singular and ablative plural, as in mīlitiae 'in war' and Athēnīs 'at Athens'. [4]

First declension Greek nouns

The first declension also includes three types of Greek loanwords, derived from Ancient Greek's alpha declension. They are declined irregularly in the singular, but sometimes treated as native Latin nouns, e.g. nominative athlēta ('athlete') instead of the original athlētēs. Archaic (Homeric) first declension Greek nouns and adjectives had been formed in exactly the same way as in Latin: nephelēgeréta Zeus ('Zeus the cloud-gatherer') had in classical Greek become nephelēgerétēs.

For full paradigm tables and more detailed information, see the Wiktionary appendix First declension.

Second declension (o stems)

The second declension is a large group of nouns consisting of mostly masculine nouns like equus, equī ('horse') and puer, puerī ('boy') and neuter nouns like castellum, castellī ('fort'). There are several small groups of feminine exceptions, including names of gemstones, plants, trees, and some towns and cities.

In the nominative singular, most masculine nouns consist of the stem and the ending -us, although some end in -er, which is not necessarily attached to the complete stem. Neuter nouns generally have a nominative singular consisting of the stem and the ending -um. However, every second-declension noun has the ending attached as a suffix to the root of the noun in the genitive singular form. The predominant letter in the ending forms of this declension is o.

Second declension paradigm
SingularPlural
MasculineNeuterMasculineNeuter
Nominative-us-um-a
Vocative-e
Accusative-um-ōs
Genitive-ōrum
Dative, Ablative-īs
LocativeGen.Dat.
Masculine
dominus, dominī
master m.
SingularPlural
Nominativedominusdominī
Vocativedomine
Accusativedominumdominōs
Genitivedominīdominōrum
Dative, Ablativedominōdominīs
Neuter
bellum, bellī
war n.
SingularPlural
Nominative, Vocative, Accusativebellumbella
Genitivebellībellōrum
Locativebellīs
Dative, Ablativebellō

The locative endings for the second declension are (singular) and -īs (plural); Corinthī "at Corinth", Mediolānī "at Milan", and Philippīs "at Philippi". [5]

Second-declension -ius and -ium nouns

Nouns ending in -ius and -ium have a genitive singular in in earlier Latin, which was regularized to -iī in the later language. Masculine nouns in -ius have a vocative singular in at all stages. These forms in are stressed on the same syllable as the nominative singular, sometimes in violation of the usual Latin stress rule. For example, the genitive and vocative singular Vergilī (from Vergilius ) is pronounced Vergílī, with stress on the penult, even though it is short. [6] In Old Latin, however, the vocative was declined regularly, using -ie instead, e.g. fīlie "[O] son", archaic vocative of fīlius.

There is no contraction of -iī(s) in plural forms and in the locative.

fīlius, filiī
son m.
auxilium, auxiliī
aid, help n.
SingularPluralSingularPlural
Nominativefīliusfīliīauxiliumauxilia
Vocativefīlī
Accusativefīliumfīliōs
Genitivefīliīfīliōrumauxiliīauxiliōrum
Dative, Ablativefīliōfīliīsauxiliōauxiliīs

In the older language, nouns ending with -vus, -quus and -vum take o rather than u in the nominative and accusative singular. For example, servus, servī ('slave') could be servos, accusative servom.

Second-declension -r nouns

Some masculine nouns of the second declension end in -er or -ir in the nominative singular. The declension of these nouns is identical to that of the regular second declension, except for the lack of suffix in the nominative and vocative singular.

Some (but not all) nouns in -er drop the e in the genitive and other cases. For example, socer, socerī ('father-in-law') keeps its e. However, the noun magister, magistrī ('(school)master') drops its e in the genitive singular.

For declension tables of second-declension nouns, see the corresponding Wiktionary appendix.

puer, puerī
boy m.
ager, agrī
field m.
vir, virī
man m.
SingularPluralSingularPluralSingularPlural
Nominative,Vocativepuerpuerīageragrīvirvirī
Accusativepuerumpuerōsagrumagrōsvirumvirōs
Genitivepuerīpuerōrumagrīagrōrumvirīvirōrum
(virum)
Dative, Ablativepuerōpuerīsagrōagrīsvirōvirīs

The vocative puere is found but only in Plautus. [7] The genitive plural virum is found in poetry. [8]

Second-declension Greek nouns

The second declension contains two types of masculine Greek nouns and one form of neuter Greek noun. These nouns are irregular only in the singular, as are their first-declension counterparts. Greek nouns in the second declension are derived from the Omicron declension.

Some Greek nouns may also be declined as normal Latin nouns. For example, theātron can appear as theātrum.

Irregular forms

Deus

The inflection of deus, deī ('god') is irregular. The vocative singular of deus is not attested in Classical Latin. In Ecclesiastical Latin the vocative of Deus ('God') is Deus.

In poetry, -um may substitute -ōrum as the genitive plural ending.

deus, deī
god m.
SingularPlural
Nominative, Vocativedeusdeī
diī
Accusativedeumdeōs
Genitivedeīdeōrum
deum
Dative, Ablativedeōdeīs
diīs
dīs
Virus

Three words, although second declension neuter, end in -us. These are vulgus "common people, crowd", vīrus "slime, poison", and (borrowed from Greek) pelagus "sea". [9]

The word vīrus means "1. slimy liquid, slime; 2. poison, venom", denoting the venom of a snake. This Latin word is probably related to the Greek ῑ̓ός (ios) meaning "venom" or "rust" and the Sanskrit word विष viṣa meaning "toxic, poison". [10]

Since vīrus in antiquity denoted something uncountable, it was a mass noun. Mass nouns pluralize only under special circumstances, hence the non-existence of plural forms in the texts. [11]

In Neo-Latin, a plural form is necessary in order to express the modern concept of 'viruses', which leads to the following declension: [12] [13] [14]

vīrus, vīrī
poison, venom, virus n.
SingularPlural
Nominative, Vocative, Accusativevīrusvīra
Genitivevīrī [i] vīrōrum
Dative, Ablativevīrōvīrīs
  1. antique, heteroclitic: vīrus[ citation needed ]

Third declension

The third declension is the largest group of nouns. The nominative singular of these nouns may end in -a, -e, , , -y, -c, -l, -n, -r, -s, -t, or -x. This group of nouns includes masculine, feminine, and neuter nouns.

Consonant stems

The stem of a consonant-stem noun may be found from the genitive case by removing the ending -is. For example, the stem of pāx, pācis f. 'peace' is pāc-, the stem of flūmen, flūminis n. 'river' is flūmin-, and the stem of flōs, flōris m. 'flower' is flōr-.

Masculine, feminine and neuter nouns often have their own special nominative singular endings. For instance, many masculine nouns end in -or ( amor, amōris , 'love'). Many feminine nouns end in -īx ( phoenīx, phoenīcis , 'phoenix'), and many neuter nouns end in -us with an r stem in the oblique cases ( onus, oneris 'burden'; tempus, temporis 'time').

Third declension paradigm
(consonant stems)
Masculine &
feminine
Neuter
SingularPluralSingularPlural
Nominative, Vocative(-s)-ēs [i] -a
Accusative-em
Genitive-is-um-is-um
Dative-ibus-ibus
Ablative-e-e
LocativeDat./Abl.Dat.Dat./Abl.Dat.
  1. The nominative and accusative of neuter nouns are always identical.
dux, ducis
leader m.
virtūs, virtūtis
virtue f.
nōmen, nōminis
name n.
SingularPluralSingularPluralSingularPlural
Nominative, Vocativeduxducēsvirtūsvirtūtēsnōmennōmina
Accusativeducemvirtūtem
Genitiveducisducumvirtūtisvirtūtumnōminisnōminum
Dativeducīducibusvirtūtīvirtūtibusnōminīnōminibus
Ablativeducevirtūtenōmine

The locative endings for the third declension are or -e (singular) and -ibus (plural), as in rūrī 'in the country' and Trallibus 'at Tralles'. [15]

Third declension i-stem and mixed nouns

The third declension also has a set of nouns that are declined differently. They are called i-stems. i-stems are broken into two subcategories: pure and mixed. Pure i-stems are indicated by special neuter endings. Mixed i-stems are indicated by the double consonant rule. Stems indicated by the parisyllabic rule are usually mixed, occasionally pure.

Masculine and feminine
Parisyllabic rule: Some masculine and feminine third-declension i-stem nouns have the same number of syllables in the genitive and the nominative. For example: nāvis, nāvis ('ship'); nūbēs, nūbis ('cloud'). The nominative ends in -is or -ēs.
Double consonant rule: The rest of the masculine and feminine third-declension i-stem nouns have two consonants before the -is in the genitive singular. For example: pars, partis ('part').
Neuter
Special neuter ending: Neuter third-declension i-stems have no rule. However, all of them end in -al, -ar or -e. For example: animal, animālis ('animal'); cochlear, cochleāris ('spoon'); mare, maris ('sea').

The mixed declension is distinguished from the consonant type only by having -ium in the genitive plural (and occasionally -īs in the accusative plural). The pure declension is characterized by having in the ablative singular, -ium in the genitive plural, -ia in the nominative and accusative plural neuter, and -im in the accusative singular masculine and feminine (however, adjectives have -em).

The accusative plural ending -īs is found in early Latin up to Virgil, but from the early empire onwards it was replaced by -ēs. [16]

The accusative singular ending -im is found only in a few words: always in tussis 'cough', sitis 'thirst', Tiberis 'River Tiber'; usually in secūris 'axe', turris 'tower', puppis 'poop', febris 'fever'; occasionally in nāvis 'ship'. Most nouns, however, have accusative singular -em. [17] The ending -im is not found in any adjectives, even those that have a separate feminine such as celeris 'swift' or ācris 'keen', [18] or in any masculine common nouns.

The ablative singular is found in nouns which have -im, and also, optionally, in some other nouns, e.g. in ignī or in igne 'in the fire'.

There are two mixed-declension neuter nouns: cor, cordis ('heart') and os, ossis ('bone'). The mixed declension is also used in the plural-only adjective plūrēs, plūra ('most').

Third declension paradigm
(i-stem nouns)
Masculine &
Feminine
Neuter
SingularPluralSingularPlural
Nominative, Vocative-ēs-ia
Accusative-em
-im
-ēs
-īs
Genitive-is-ium-is-ium
Dative-ibus-ibus
Ablative-e
LocativeDat./Abl.Dat.Dat./Abl.Dat.
Third declension paradigm
(mixed nouns)
Masculine &
Feminine
Neuter
SingularPluralSingularPlural
Nominative, Vocative-ēs-a
Accusative-em-ēs
-īs
Genitive-is-ium-is-ium
Dative-ibus-ibus
Ablative-e-e
LocativeDat./Abl.Dat.Dat./Abl.Dat.
turris, turris
tower f. (pure)
pars, partis
part, piece f. (mixed)
animal, animālis
animal, living being n. (pure)
Parisyllabic ruleDouble consonant ruleSpecial neuter ending
SingularPluralSingularPluralSingularPlural
Nominative, Vocativeturristurrēsparspartēsanimalanimālia
Accusativeturrem
turrim
turrēs
turrīs
partempartēs
partīs
Genitiveturristurriumpartispartiumanimālisanimālium
Dativeturrīturribuspartīpartibusanimālīanimālibus
Ablativeturre
turrī
parte
(partī)

The rules for determining i-stems from non-i-stems and mixed i-stems are guidelines rather than rules: many words that might be expected to be i-stems according to the parisyllabic rule actually are not, such as canis ('dog') or iuvenis ('youth'), which have genitive plural canum 'of dogs' and iuvenum 'of young men'. Likewise, pater ('father'), māter ('mother'), frāter ('brother'), and parēns ('parent') violate the double-consonant rule. This fluidity even in Roman times resulted in much more uncertainty in Medieval Latin.

Some nouns in -tāt-, such as cīvitās, cīvitātis 'city, community' can have either consonant-stem or i-stem genitive plural: cīvitātum or cīvitātium 'of the cities'. [16]

Peculiarities

In the third declension, there are four irregular nouns.

Case vīs, vīs
force, power f.
sūs, suis
swine, pig, hog m.f.
bōs, bovis
ox, bullock m.f.
Iuppiter, Iovis
Jupiter m.
SingularPluralSingularPluralSingularPluralSingular
Nominative, Vocativevīsvīrēssūssuēsbōs [i] bovēsIuppiter
Iūpiter [i]
Accusativevimvīrēs
vīrīs
suembovemIovem
Genitivevīs [ii] vīriumsuissuumbovisboum
bovum
Iovis
Dative [ii] vīribussuīsuibus
sūbus
bovībōbus
būbus [i]
Iovī
AblativesueboveIove
  1. 1 2 3 Here ō or ū come from Old Latin ou. Thus bō-/bū- and Iū- before consonant endings are alternate developments of the bov- and Iov- before vowel endings. — The double pp in the preferred form Iu-ppiter "Father Jove" is an alternate way of marking the length of the u in the etymological form Iū-piter (see footnote in Jupiter (mythology)). i is weakened from a in pater (Allen and Greenough, sect. 79 b).
  2. 1 2 Genitive and dative cases are seldom used.

Fourth declension (u stems)

The fourth declension is a group of nouns consisting of mostly masculine words such as flūctus, flūctūs m. ('wave') and portus, portūs m. ('port') with a few feminine exceptions, including manus, manūs f. ('hand') and domus, domūs f. ('house'). The fourth declension also includes several neuter nouns including genū, genūs n. ('knee'). Each noun has the ending -ūs as a suffix attached to the root of the noun in the genitive singular form. The predominant letter in the ending forms of this declension is u, but the declension is otherwise very similar to the third-declension i stems.

Fourth declension paradigm
-us ending nouns ending nouns
SingularPluralSingularPlural
Nominative, Vocative-us-ūs-ua
Accusative-um
Genitive-ūs-uum-ūs-uum
Dative-uī-ibus
-ubus [i]
-ibus
Ablative
LocativeDat.Dat.
  1. used only on bisyllabic words like arcus and artus .
portus, portūs
port m.
genū, genūs
knee n.
SingularPluralSingularPlural
Nominative, Vocativeportusportūsgenūgenua
Accusativeportum
Genitiveportūsportuumgenūsgenuum
Dativeportuīportibusgenūgenibus
Ablativeportū

Domus

Domus ('house, dwelling, building, home, native place, family, household, race') is an irregular noun, mixing fourth and second declension forms at the same time (especially in literature). However, in practice, it is generally declined as a regular -us stem fourth declension noun, except for ablative singular , accusative plural -ōs, and the use of the locative. [19]

domus, domūs/domī f.
All possible declensions
SingularPlural
Nominative, Vocativedomusdomūs
Accusativedomumdomōs
domūs
Genitivedomūsdomuum
domīdomōrum
Dativedomuīdomibus
domō
domō
Ablative
domū
Locativedomī
domus, domūs f.
Most common paradigm
SingularPlural
Nominative, Vocativedomusdomūs
Accusativedomumdomōs
Genitivedomūsdomuum
Dativedomuīdomibus
Ablativedomō
Locativedomī

    Fifth declension (e stems)

    The fifth declension is a small group of nouns consisting of mostly feminine nouns like rēs, reī f. ('affair, matter, thing') and diēs, diēīm. ('day'; but f. in names of days).

    Fifth declension paradigm
    -iēs ending nouns-ēs ending nouns
    SingularPluralSingularPlural
    Nominative, Vocative-iēs-iēs-ēs-ēs
    Accusative-iem-em
    Genitive-iēī-iērum-eī-ērum
    Dative-iēbus-ēbus
    Ablative, Locative-iē
    diēs, diēī
    day m., f.
    rēs, reī
    thing f.
    SingularPluralSingularPlural
    Nominative, Vocativediēsdiēsrēsrēs
    Accusativediemrem
    Genitivediēīdiērumreīrērum
    Dativediēbusrēbus
    Ablative, Locativediē

    Nouns ending in -iēs have long ēī in the dative and genitive, while nouns ending in a consonant + -ēs usually have short in these cases. Other forms of the genitive singular are also found, such as diī (Aeneid 1.636), diē (Georgic 1.208), diēs (Ennius). [20]

    The locative ending of the fifth declension was (singular only), identical to the ablative singular, as in hodiē ('today').

    Pronouns

    Personal pronouns

    The first and second persons are irregular, and both pronouns are indeclinable for gender; and the third person reflexive pronoun sē, suī always refers back to the subject, regardless of whether the subject is singular or plural.

    First PersonSecond PersonThird Person
    ego , nōs
    I, we
    , vōs
    you
    sē, suī
    himself, herself, itself,
    oneself,
    themselves
    SingularPluralSingularPluralSingularPlural
    Vocativevōs
    Nominativeego
    egō
    nōs
    Accusative
    sēsē
    Genitive
    complements
    meīnostrītuīvestrīsuī
    Genitive partitive nostrumvestrum
    Dativemihi
    mihī
    nōbīstibi
    tibī
    vōbīssibi
    sibī
    Ablative
    sēsē

    The genitive forms meī , tuī , nostrī , vestrī , suī are used as complements in certain grammatical constructions, whereas nostrum , vestrum are used with a partitive meaning ('[one] of us', '[one] of you'). To express possession, the possessive pronouns (essentially adjectives) meus , tuus , noster , vester are used, declined in the first and second declensions to agree in number and case with the thing possessed, e.g. pater meus 'my father', māter mea 'my mother'. The vocative singular masculine of meus is : mī Attice 'my dear Atticus'. [21]

    Possessive pronouns' declensions

    meus, mea, meum
    my, mine
    SingularPlural
    MasculineFeminineNeuterMasculineFeminineNeuter
    Nominativemeusmeameummeīmeaemea
    Vocative

    (& meus)

    Accusativemeummeammeōsmeās
    Genitivemeīmeaemeīmeōrummeārummeōrum
    Dativemeōmeōmeīs
    Ablativemeā
    tuus, tua, tuum
    your, yours (for singular possessor)
    SingularPlural
    MasculineFeminineNeuterMasculineFeminineNeuter
    Nominativetuustuatuumtuītuaetua
    Accusativetuumtuamtuōstuās
    Genitivetuītuaetuītuōrumtuārumtuōrum
    Dativetuōtuōtuīs
    Ablativetuā
    suus, sua, suum
    his, her, its, theirs (reflexive)
    SingularPlural
    MasculineFeminineNeuterMasculineFeminineNeuter
    Nominativesuussuasuumsuīsuaesua
    Vocative
    Accusativesuumsuamsuōssuās
    Genitivesuīsuaesuīsuōrumsuārumsuōrum
    Dativesuōsuōsuīs
    Ablativesuā
    noster, nostra, nostrum
    our, ours
    SingularPlural
    MasculineFeminineNeuterMasculineFeminineNeuter
    Nominative, Vocativenosternostranostrumnostrīnostraenostra
    Accusativenostrumnostramnostrōsnostrās
    Genitivenostrīnostraenostrīnostrōrumnostrārumnostrōrum
    Dativenostrōnostrōnostrīs
    Ablativenostrā

    The possessive adjective vester has an archaic variant, voster; similar to noster. Vocative of meus is usually , and rarely meus also, like the nominative.

    vester, vestra, vestrum
    voster, vostra, vostrum
    your, yours (for plural possessor)
    SingularPlural
    MasculineFeminineNeuterMasculineFeminineNeuter
    Nominativevester
    voster
    vestra
    vostra
    vestrum
    vostrum
    vestrī
    vostrī
    vestrae
    vostrae
    vestra
    vostra
    Accusativevestrum
    vostrum
    vestram
    vostram
    vestrōs
    vostrōs
    vestrās
    vostrās
    Genitivevestrī
    vostrī
    vestrae
    vostrae
    vestrī
    vostrī
    vestrōrum
    vostrōrum
    vestrārum
    vostrārum
    vestrōrum
    vostrōrum
    Dativevestrō
    vostrō
    vestrō
    vostrō
    vestrīs
    vostrīs
    Ablativevestrā
    vostrā

    Usually, to show the ablative of accompaniment, cum would be placed before the ablative form. However, with personal pronouns (first and second person), the reflexive and the interrogative, -cum is added onto the end of the ablative form. That is: mēcum 'with me', nōbīscum 'with us', tēcum 'with you', vōbīscum , sēcum and quōcum (sometimes quīcum ).

    Pronouns have also an emphatic form bi using the suffix -met ( egomet , tūte / tūtemet , nosmet , vosmet ), used in all cases, except by the genitive plural forms.

    In accusative case, the forms mēmē and tētē exist as emphatic, but they are not widely used.

    Sē, suī has a possessive adjective: suus, sua, suum , meaning 'his/her/its/their own':

    Patrem suum numquam vīderat. (Cicero) [22]
    "He had never seen his [own] father."

    When 'his' or 'her' refers to someone else, not the subject, the genitive pronoun eius (as well as eōrum and eārum) 'of him' is used instead of suus:

    Fit obviam Clodiō ante fundum eius. (Cicero) [23]
    "He met Clodius in front of the latter's farm."

    Despite its resemblance to the possessive adjectives meus, tuus and suus, eius does not decline in agreement with the noun it refers to, in the way that an adjective would. For instance, "his father" in the accusative is patrem eius (literally, "father of him"), not patrem*eium, in contrast with the reflexive formation patrem suum ("his [own] father").

    When one sentence is embedded inside another with a different subject, and suus can refer to either subject:

    Patrēs conscrīptī ... lēgātōs in Bīthȳniam miserunt quī ab rēge peterent, nē inimīcissimum suumsecum haberet sibique dēderet. (Nepos) [24]
    "The senators ... sent ambassadors to Bithynia, who were to ask the king not to keep their greatest enemy with him but hand him over to them."

    For the third-person pronoun is 'he', see below.

    Demonstrative pronouns and adjectives

    Relative, demonstrative and indefinite pronouns are generally declined like first and second declension adjectives, with the following differences:

    These differences characterize the pronominal declension, and a few special adjectives ( tōtus 'whole', sōlus 'alone', ūnus 'one', nūllus 'no', alius 'another', alter 'another [of two]', etc.) are also declined according to this pattern.

    All demonstrative, relative, and indefinite pronouns in Latin can also be used adjectivally, with some small differences; for example in the interrogative pronoun, quis 'who?' and quid 'what?' are usually used for the pronominal form, quī and quod 'which?' for the adjectival form.

    Third person pronoun

    The weak demonstrative pronoun is , ea , id 'that' also serves as the third person pronoun 'he, she, it':

    Third person
    is, ea, id
    he, she, it
    SingularPlural
    MasculineFeminineNeuterMasculineFeminineNeuter
    Nominativeiseaid
    eaeea
    Accusativeeumeameōseās
    Genitiveeiuseōrumeārumeōrum
    Dativeeīs
    iīs
    Ablative

    This pronoun is also often used adjectivally, e.g. is homo 'that man', ea pecunia 'that money'. It has no possessive adjective; the genitive is used instead: pater eius 'his/her father'; pater eōrum 'their father'.

    Declension of īdem

    The pronoun or pronominal adjective īdem, eadem, idem means 'the same'. It is derived from is with the suffix -dem. However, some forms have been assimilated.

    īdem, eadem, idem
    the same, same as
    SingularPlural
    MasculineFeminineNeuterMasculineFeminineNeuter
    Nominativeīdemeademidemeīdem
    īdem
    iīdem
    eaedemeadem
    Accusativeeundemeandemeōsdemeāsdem
    Genitiveeiusdemeōrundemeārundemeōrundem
    Dativeeīdemeīsdem
    īsdem
    iīsdem
    Ablativeeōdemeādemeōdem

    Other demonstrative pronouns

    hic, haec, hoc
    this, this one (proximal)
    ille, illa, illud
    that, that one (distal)
    iste, ista, istud
    that of yours (medial)
    SingularPluralSingularPluralSingularPlural
    MasculineFeminineNeuterMasculineFeminineNeuterMasculineFeminineNeuterMasculineFeminineNeuterMasculineFeminineNeuterMasculineFeminineNeuter
    Nominativehichaechochaehaecilleillailludillīillaeillaisteistaistudistīistaeista
    Accusativehunchanchōshāsillumillamillōsillāsistumistamistōsistās
    Genitivehuius [i] hōrumhārumhōrumillīusillōrumillārumillōrumistīusistōrumistārumistōrum
    Dativehuichīsillīillīsistīistīs
    Ablativehōchāchōcillōillāillōistōistāistō
    1. Sometimes spelled hūius. Here, the macron indicates that the syllable is long or heavy, because the consonantal i between vowels is pronounced double, like *huiius, and the doubled consonant makes the first syllable heavy.[ citation needed ]

    Similar in declension is alius, alia, aliud 'another'.

    Intensive pronoun

    ipse, ipsa, ipsum
    himself, herself, itself
    SingularPlural
    MasculineFeminineNeuterMasculineFeminineNeuter
    Nominativeipseipsaipsumipsīipsaeipsa
    Accusativeipsumipsamipsōsipsās
    Genitiveipsīusipsōrumipsārumipsōrum
    Dativeipsīipsīs
    Ablativeipsōipsāipsō

    Interrogative pronouns

    The interrogative pronouns are used strictly for asking questions. They are distinct from the relative pronoun and the interrogative adjective (which is declined like the relative pronoun). Interrogative pronouns rarely occur in the plural. The plural interrogative pronouns are the same as the plural relative pronouns.

    Singular
    quis? quid?
    who?, what?
    Masculine &
    Feminine
    Neuter
    Nominativequis?quid?
    Accusativequem?
    Genitivecuius? [i]
    Dativecui?
    Ablativequō?

    Relative pronouns

    quī, quae, quod
    who, which, that
    SingularPlural
    MasculineFeminineNeuterMasculineFeminineNeuter
    Nominativequīquaequodquīquaequae
    Accusativequemquamquōsquās
    Genitivecuius [i] quōrumquārumquōrum
    Dativecuiquibus
    Ablativequōquāquō
    1. 1 2 Sometimes spelled cūius. Here, the macron indicates that the syllable is long or heavy, because the consonantal i between vowels is pronounced double, like *cuiius, and the doubled consonant makes the first syllable heavy.[ citation needed ]

    Adjectives

    For the most part adjectives are declined like nouns, with the difference that adjectives can normally be used in all three genders.

    Nearly all adjectives can be categorized into one of two types:

    An adjective agrees with its corresponding noun in number, gender, and case; they do not agree in declension type. Therefore, adjectives do not necessarily take the same ending as their nouns, although this often happens to be the case.

    First- and second-declension adjectives

    First- and second-declension adjectives are inflected in the masculine, the feminine and the neuter; the masculine form typically ends in -us (although some end in -er, see below), the feminine form ends in -a, and the neuter form ends in -um. Therefore, some adjectives are given like altus, alta, altum .

    Adjectives ending -ius use the vocative -ie (ēbrie, "[O] drunk man", vocative of ēbrius), just as in Old Latin all -ius nouns did (fīlie, "[O] son", archaic vocative of fīlius).

    altus, alta, altum
    high, long, tall
    SingularPlural
    MasculineFeminineNeuterMasculineFeminineNeuter
    Nominativealtusaltaaltumaltīaltaealta
    Vocativealte
    Accusativealtumaltamaltōsaltās
    Genitivealtīaltaealtīaltōrumaltārumaltōrum
    Dativealtōaltōaltīs
    Ablativealtā

    First- and second-declension -r adjectives

    Some first- and second-declension adjectives' masculine forms end in -er. As with second-declension -r nouns, some adjectives retain the e throughout inflection, and some omit it. Sacer, sacra, sacrum omits its e while miser, misera, miserum keeps it.

    miser, misera, miserum
    sad, poor, unhappy
    SingularPlural
    MasculineFeminineNeuterMasculineFeminineNeuter
    Nominativemisermiseramiserummiserīmiseraemisera
    Vocative
    Accusativemiserummiserammiserōsmiserās
    Genitivemiserīmiseraemiserīmiserōrummiserārummiserōrum
    Dativemiserōmiserōmiserīs
    Ablativemiserā
    sacer, sacra, sacrum
    sacred, holy
    SingularPlural
    MasculineFeminineNeuterMasculineFeminineNeuter
    Nominativesacersacrasacrumsacrīsacraesacra
    Vocative
    Accusativesacrumsacramsacrōssacrās
    Genitivesacrīsacraesacrīsacrōrumsacrārumsacrōrum
    Dativesacrōsacrōsacrīs
    Ablativesacrā

    First and second declension pronominal adjectives

    Nine first and second declension pronominal adjectives are irregular in the genitive and dative singular in all genders. They can be remembered by using the mnemonic acronym ūnus nauta. They are:

    ūllus, ūlla, ūllum
    any
    SingularPlural
    MasculineFeminineNeuterMasculineFeminineNeuter
    Nominativeūllusūllaūllumūllīūllaeūlla
    Accusativeūllumūllamūllōsūllās
    Genitiveūllīusūllōrumūllārumūllōrum
    Dativeūllīūllīs
    Ablativeūllōūllāūllō

    Third-declension adjectives

    Third-declension adjectives are normally declined like third-declension i-stem nouns, except for the fact they usually have rather than -e in the ablative singular (unlike i-stem nouns, in which only pure i-stems have ). Some adjectives, however, like the one-ending vetus, veteris ('old, aged'), have -e in the ablative singular, -um in the genitive plural, and -a in the nominative and accusative neuter plural.

    Third-declension adjectives with one ending

    These have a single nominative ending for all genders, although as usual the endings for the other cases vary. As with nouns, a genitive is given for the purpose of showing the inflection.

    atrōx, atrōx
    terrible, mean, cruel
    SingularPlural
    Masculine, FeminineNeuterMasculine, FeminineNeuter
    Nominative, Vocativeatrōxatrōxatrōcēsatrōcia
    Accusativeatrōcematrōcēs
    atrōcīs
    Genitiveatrōcisatrōcium
    Dative, Ablativeatrōcīatrōcibus
    Non-i-stem variant
    vetus, vetus
    old, aged
    SingularPlural
    Masculine, FeminineNeuterMasculine, FeminineNeuter
    Nominative, Vocativevetusvetusveterēsvetera
    Accusativeveterem
    Genitiveveterisveterum
    Dativeveterīveteribus
    Ablativevetere

    Third-declension adjectives with two endings

    Third-declension adjectives that have two endings have one form for the masculine and feminine, and a separate form for the neuter. The ending for the masculine and feminine is -is, and the ending for the neuter is -e. It is not necessary to give the genitive, as it is the same as the nominative masculine singular.

    agilis, agile
    nimble, swift
    SingularPlural
    Masculine, FeminineNeuterMasculine, FeminineNeuter
    Nominative, Vocativeagilisagileagilēsagilia
    Accusativeagilemagilēs
    agilīs
    Genitiveagilisagilium
    Dative, Ablativeagilīagilibus

    Third-declension adjectives with three endings

    Third-declension adjectives with three endings have three separate nominative forms for all three genders. Like third and second declension -r nouns, the masculine ends in -er. The feminine ends in -ris, and the neuter ends in -re. The genitive is the same as the nominative feminine singular.

    celer, celeris, celere
    swift, rapid, brash
    SingularPlural
    MasculineFeminineNeuterMasculineFeminineNeuter
    Nominative, Vocativecelerceleriscelerecelerēsceleria
    Accusativecelerem
    Genitiveceleriscelerium
    Dative, Ablativecelerīceleribus
    alacer, alacris, alacre
    lively, jovial, animated
    SingularPlural
    MasculineFeminineNeuterMasculineFeminineNeuter
    Nominative, Vocativealaceralacrisalacrealacrēsalacria
    Accusativealacremalacrēs
    alacrīs
    Genitivealacrisalacrium
    Dative, Ablativealacrīalacribus

    Comparative and superlative forms of adjectives

    As in English, adjectives have superlative and comparative forms. For regular first and second declension and third declension adjectives with one or two endings, the comparative is formed by adding -ior for the masculine and feminine, and -ius for the neuter to the stem. The genitives for both are formed by adding -iōris. Therefore, they are declined in the third declension, but they are not declined as i-stems. Superlatives are formed by adding -issimus, -issima, -issimum to the stem and are thus declined like first and second declension adjectives.

    General pattern for comparatives

    altior, altius
    higher, deeper (comparative of altus )
    SingularPlural
    Masculine, FeminineNeuterMasculine, FeminineNeuter
    Nominative, Vocativealtioraltiusaltiōrēsaltiōra
    Accusativealtiōrem
    Genitivealtiōrisaltiōrum
    Dativealtiōrīaltiōribus
    Ablativealtiōre
    altissimus, altissima, altissimum
    highest, deepest (superlative of altus )
    SingularPlural
    MasculineFeminineNeuterMasculineFeminineNeuter
    Nominativealtissimusaltissimaaltissimumaltissimīaltissimaealtissima
    Vocativealtissime
    Accusativealtissimumaltissimamaltissimōsaltissimās
    Genitivealtissimīaltissimaealtissimīaltissimōrumaltissimārumaltissimōrum
    Dativealtissimōaltissimōaltissimīs
    Ablativealtissimā

    Comparatives and superlatives with normal endings

    PositiveComparativeSuperlative
    clārus, clāra, clārum ('clear, bright, famous') clārior, clārius clārissimus, clārissima, clārissimum
    frīgidus, frīgida, frīgidum ('cold, chilly') frīgidior, frīgidius frīgidissimus, frīgidissima, frīgidissimum
    pugnāx, pugnāx (pugnācis) ('pugnacious') pugnācior, pugnācius pugnācissimus, pugnācissima, pugnācissimum
    benevolēns, benevolēns (benevolentis) ('kind, benevolent') benevolentior, benevolentius benevolentissimus, benevolentissima, benevolentissimum
    fortis, forte ('strong, robust') fortior, fortius fortissimus, fortissima, fortissimum
    aequālis, aequāle ('equal, even') aequālior, aequālius aequālissimus, aequālissima, aequālissimum

    Comparatives and superlatives of -er adjectives

    Adjectives (in the first and second as well as third declensions) that have masculine nominative singular forms ending in -er are slightly different. As with normal adjectives, the comparative is formed by adding -ior to the stem, but for the superlative, -rimus is added to the nominative masculine singular.

    PositiveComparativeSuperlative
    pulcher, pulchra, pulchrum ('pretty, beautiful') pulchrior, pulchrius pulcherrimus, pulcherrima, pulcherrimum
    sacer, sacra, sacrum ('sacred, holy') sacrior, sacrius sacerrimus, sacerrima, sacerrimum
    tener, tenera, tenerum ('delicate, tender') tenerior, tenerius tenerrimus, tenerrima, tenerrimum
    ācer, ācris, ācre ('valliant, fierce') ācrior, ācrius ācerrimus, ācerrima, ācerrimum
    celeber, celebris, celebre ('celebrated, famous') celebrior, celebrius celeberrimus, celeberrima, celeberrimum
    celer, celeris, celere ('quick, fast') celerior, celerius celerrimus, celerrima, celerrimum

    Comparatives and superlatives of -lis adjectives

    Some third declension adjectives with two endings in -lis in the masculine–feminine nominative singular have irregular superlative forms. The following are the only adjectives that do.

    PositiveComparativeSuperlative
    facilis, facile ('easy') facilior, facilius facillimus, facillima, facillimum
    difficilis, difficile ('hard, difficult') difficilior, difficilius difficillimus, difficillima, difficillimum
    similis, simile ('similar, like) similior, similius simillimus, simillima, simillimum
    dissimilis, dissimile ('unlike, dissimilar') dissimilior, dissimilius dissimillimus, dissimillima, dissimillimum
    gracilis, gracile ('slender, slim') gracilior, gracilius gracillimus, gracillima, gracillimum
    humilis, humile ('low, humble') humilior, humilius humillimus, humillima, humillimum

    Comparatives and superlatives of -eus/-ius adjectives

    First and second declension adjectives that end in -eus or -ius are unusual in that they do not form the comparative and superlative by taking endings at all. Instead, magis ('more') and maximē ('most'), the comparative and superlative degrees of magnoperē ('much, greatly'), respectively, are used.

    Many adjectives in -uus, except those in -quus or -guus, also follow this rule.

    PositiveComparativeSuperlative
    idōneus, idōnea, idōneum ('suitable, fitting, proper')magis idōneusmaximē idōneus
    sōlitārius, sōlitāria, sōlitārium ('solitary, lonely')magis sōlitāriusmaximē sōlitārius
    ebrius, ebria, ebrium ('drunk')magis ebriusmaximē ebrius
    meritōrius, meritōria, meritōrium ('meritorious')magis meritōriusmaximē meritōrius
    grāmineus, grāminea, grāmineum ('grassy')magis grāmineusmaximē grāmineus
    bellātōrius, bellātōria, bellātōrium ('warlike, bellicose')magis bellātōriusmaximē bellātōrius
    arduus, ardua, arduum ('lofty, steep')magis arduusmaximē arduus

    Irregular comparatives and superlatives

    As in most languages, Latin has adjectives that have irregular comparatives and superlatives.

    PositiveComparativeSuperlative
    bonus, bona, bonum ('good') melior, melius ('better') optimus, optima, optimum ('best')
    malus, mala, malum ('bad, evil') pēior, pēius ('worse') pessimus, pessima, pessimum ('worst')
    magnus, magna, magnum ('great, large') māior, māius ('greater') maximus, maxima, maximum ('greatest')
    parvus, parva, parvum ('small, slight') minor, minus ('lesser') minimus, minima, minimum ('least')
    multus, multa, multum ('much, many') plūs [i] ('more') plūrimus, plūrima, plūrimum ('most')
    propinquus, propinqua, propinquum ('near, close') propior, propius ('nearer') proximus, proxima, proximum ('nearest, next')
    mātūrus, mātūra, mātūrum ('ripe, mature') mātūrior, mātūrius ('riper') mātūrrimus, mātūrrima, mātūrrimum [ii] ('ripest')
    nēquam [iii] ('worthless') nēquior, nēquius ('more worthless') nēquissimus, nēquissima, nēquissimum ('most worthless')
    posterus, postera, posterum ('next, future') posterior, posterius ('later') postrēmus, postrēma, postrēmum ('last, latest')
    postumus, postuma, postumum
    superus, supera, superum ('above') superior, superius ('upper') suprēmus, suprēma, suprēmum ('uppermost')
    summus, summa, summum
    exterus, extera, exterum ('outward') exterior, exterius ('outer') extrēmus, extrēma, extrēmum ('outermost')
    extimus, extima, extimum
    īnferus, īnfera, īnferum ('below') īnferior, īnferius ('lower') īnfimus, īnfima, īnfimum ('lowest')
    īmus, īma, īmum
    senex, senis ('old, aged') senior ('older, elder') maximus nātū, maxima nātū ('oldest, eldest')
    iuvenis, iuvenis ('young, youthful') iuvenior ('younger')
    iūnior
    minimus nātū, minima nātū ('youngest') [iv]
    1. Noun used with genitive to express more of something in the singular; in the plural used as an adjective: plūrēs, plūra , genitive plūrium.
    2. Often replaced by the regular form mātūrissimus, mātūrissima, mātūrissimum .
    3. Indeclinable.
    4. Sometimes iunissimus is found in medieval Latin, e.g. Callistus Nicephorus, Ecclesiastica Historia, 1574.

    Numerals

    There are several different kinds of numeral words in Latin: the two most common are cardinal numerals and ordinal numerals. There are also several more rare numerals, e.g., distributive numerals and adverbial numerals.

    Cardinal numerals

    All cardinal numerals are indeclinable, except ūnus ('one'), duo ('two'), trēs ('three'), plural hundreds ducentī ('two hundred'), trecentī ('three hundred') etc., and mīlle ('thousand'), which have cases and genders like adjectives. Ūnus, ūna, ūnum is declined like a first- and second-declension pronoun with -īus or -ius in the genitive, and in the dative. Duo is declined irregularly, trēs is declined like a third-declension plural adjective, -centī ('hundred') numerals decline like first- and second-declension adjectives, and mīlle is invariable in the singular and declined like a third-declension i-stem neuter noun in the plural:

    The plural endings for ūnus are used with plūrālia tantum nouns, e. g. ūna castra (one [military] camp), ūnae scālae (one ladder).

    ūnus, ūna, ūnum
    one
    SingularPlural
    MasculineFeminineNeuterMasculineFeminineNeuter
    Nominativeūnusūnaūnumūnīūnaeūna
    Vocativeūne
    Accusativeūnumūnamūnōsūnās
    Genitiveūnīus / ūniusūnōrumūnārumūnōrum
    Dativeūnīūnīs
    Ablativeūnōūnāūnō

    The word ambō ('both'), is declined like duo except that its o is long. Both declensions derive from the Indo-European dual number, otherwise defunct in Latin, rather than the plural.

    duo, duae, duo
    two
    Plural
    MasculineFeminineNeuter
    Nominative, Vocativeduoduaeduo
    Accusativeduō(s)duās
    Genitiveduōrumduārumduōrum
    Dative, Ablativeduōbusduābusduōbus
    ambō, ambae, ambō
    both
    Plural
    MasculineFeminineNeuter
    Nominative, Vocativeambōambaeambō
    Accusativeambō(s)ambās
    Genitiveambōrumambārumambōrum
    Dative, Ablativeambōbusambābusambōbus
    trēs, tria
    three
    Plural
    Masculine, FeminineNeuter
    Nominative, Vocativetrēstria
    Accusativetrēs / trīs
    Genitivetrium
    Dative, Ablativetribus

    The numeral centum ('one hundred') is indeclinable, but all the other hundred numerals are declinable ( ducentī , trecentī , quadringentī , quīngentī , sescentī , septingentī , octingentī , nōngentī ).

    ducentī, ducentae, ducenta
    two hundred
    Plural
    MasculineFeminineNeuter
    Nominative, Vocativeducentīducentaeducenta
    Accusativeducentōsducentās
    Genitiveducentōrumducentārumducentōrum
    Dative, Ablativeducentīs

    The word mīlle 'thousand' is a singular indeclinable adjective. However, its plural, mīlia, is a plural third-declension i-stem neuter noun. To write the phrase "four thousand horses" in Latin, the genitive is used: quattuor mīlia equōrum, literally, "four thousands of horses".

    mīlle
    (one) thousand
    mīlia, mīlium
    x thousand,
    thousands
    Nominative, Vocativemīllemīl(l)ia-ia
    Accusative
    Genitivemīl(l)ium-ium
    Dative, Ablativemīl(l)ibus-ibus

    The rest of the numbers are indeclinable whether used as adjectives or as nouns.

    For further information on the different sets of Latin numerals, see Latin numerals (linguistics).

    Adverbs and their comparatives and superlatives

    Adverbs are not declined. However, adverbs must be formed if one wants to make an adjective into an adverb.

    Adverbs from first- and second-declension adjectives

    First and second declension adjectives' adverbs are formed by adding onto their stems.

    AdjectiveAdverb
    clārus, clāra, clārum ('clear, famous') clārē ('clearly, famously')
    validus, valida, validum ('strong, robust') validē ('strongly, robustly')
    īnfīrmus, īnfīrma, īnfīrmum ('weak') īnfīrmē ('weakly')
    solidus, solida, solidum ('complete, firm') solidē ('completely, firmly')
    integer, integra, integrum ('whole, fresh') integrē ('wholly, freshly')
    līber, lībera, līberum ('free') līberē ('freely')

    Adverbs from third declension adjectives

    Typically, third declension adjectives' adverbs are formed by adding -iter to the stem. However, most third declension adjectives with one ending simply add -er to the stem.

    AdjectiveAdverb
    prūdēns, prūdēns (prūdentis) ('prudent') prūdenter ('prudently')
    audāx, audāx (audācis) ('bold') audācter ('boldly')
    virīlis, virīle ('courageous, spirited') virīliter ('courageously, spiritedly')
    salūbris, salūbre ('wholesome') salūbriter ('wholesomely')

    Comparative and superlative of adverbs

    Adverbs' comparative forms are identical to the nominative neuter singular of the corresponding comparative adjective. Adverbs' superlative forms are simply formed by attaching the regular ending to the corresponding superlative adjective. As with their corresponding adjectival forms, first and second declensions adjectives ending in -eus or -ius use magis and maximē as opposed to distinct endings.

    PositiveComparativeSuperlative
    clārē ('clearly, famously') clārius clārissimē
    solidē ('completely, firmly') solidius solidissimē
    idōneē ('suitably, properly')magis idōneēmaximē idōneē
    prudenter ('prudently') prudentius prudentissimē
    salūbriter ('wholesomely') salūbrius salūbrissimē

    Irregular adverbs and their comparative and superlative forms

    As with adjectives, there are irregular adverbs with peculiar comparative and superlative forms.

    PositiveComparativeSuperlative
    bene ('well') melius ('better') optimē ('best')
    male ('badly, ill') peius ('worse') pessimē ('worst')
    magnopere ('greatly') magis ('more') maximē ('most')
    multum ('much, a lot') plūs ('more') plūrimum ('most')
    parvum ('little') minus ('less') minimē ('least')
    nēquiter ('worthlessly') nēquius ('more worthlessly') nēquissimē ('most worthlessly')
    saepe ('often') saepius ('more often') saepissimē ('most often')
    mātūrē ('seasonably, betimes') mātūrius ('more seasonably') māturrimē ('most seasonably')
    prope ('near') propius ('nearer') proximē ('nearest, next')
    nūper ('recently') nūperrimē ('most recently, previously')
    potis ('possible') potius ('rather') potissimē ('especially')
    prius ('before, previously') prīmō ('first')
    secus ('otherwise') sētius
    sequius ('less')

    Peculiarities within declension

    Irregularity in number

    Some nouns are only used in the singular (singulare tantum) such as:

    Some nouns are only used in the plural (plurale tantum), or when plural have a singular meaning such as:

    Indeclinable nouns

    Indeclinable nouns are nouns which only have one form in all cases (of the singular).

    Heterogeneous nouns

    Heterogeneous nouns are nouns which vary in respect to gender.

    SingularPlural
    balneum n. ('bath')balneaef. or balnean. ('bathhouse')
    epulum n. ('feast, banquet')epulaef. ('feast, banquet')
    frēnum n. ('bridle, curb')frēnīm. ('bridle, curb')
    iocus m. ('joke, jest')iocan. or iocim. ('jokes, fun')
    locus m. ('place, location')locan. ('region'); locīm. ('places in books, arguments')
    rāstrum n. ('hoe, rake')rāstrīm. ('hoes, rakes')

    Plurals with alternative meanings

    SingularPlural
    aedēs, aedis f. ('building, temple') aedēs, aedium ('rooms, house')
    auxilium, auxiliī n. ('help, aid') auxilia, auxiliōrum ('auxiliary troops')
    carcer, carceris m. ('prison, cell') carcerēs, carcerum ('starting traps')
    castrum, castrī n. ('fort, castle, fortress') castra, castrōrum ('military camp, encampment')
    cōpia, copiae f. ('plenty, much, abundance') cōpiae, copiārum ('troops')
    fortūna, fortūnae f. ('luck, chance') fortūnae, fortūnārum ('wealth, fortune')
    grātia, grātiae f. ('charm, favor') grātiae, grātiārum ('thanks')
    impedīmentum, impedīmentī m. ('impediment, hindrance') impedīmenta, impedīmentōrum ('baggage, baggage train')
    littera, litterae f. ('letter [alphabet]') litterae, litterārum ('letter [message], epistle, scholarship, literature')
    mōs, mōris m. ('habit, inclination') mōrēs, mōrum m. ('morals, character')
    opera, operae f. ('trouble, pains') operae, operārum m. ('workmen')
    *ops, opis f. [i] ('help') opēs, opium ('resources, wealth')
    pars, partis f. ('part, piece') partēs, partium ('office, function')
    1. Nominative and dative are not attested except as the name of the goddess Ops.

    See also

    Notes

    1. Aelius Donatus, Ars Major, 2.8.
    2. Mongan, James Roscoe (1861). The School and University Eton Latin Grammar, Explanatory and Critical. London 1861.
    3. Paul Crouzet (1902), Grammaire Latine, simple et complète, p. 7.
    4. Allen and Greenough. §43 c.
    5. Allen and Greenough. §49 a.
    6. Gildersleeve & Lodge §15, Allen & Greenough §12, §49c
    7. Perseus database.
    8. Gildersleeve & Lodge, Latin Grammar 3rd ed., p. 17.
    9. Ernout (1953), p. 34.
    10. Chambers' Etymological Dictionary Enlarged Edition 1931.
    11. June 1999 issue of ASM News by the American Society for Microbiology
    12. Nuntii Latini: Finnish Broadcasting Company (Radiophonia Finnica Generalis). Archiv I. 19.5.2000 – 6.12.2002: "NOVUM VIRUS COMPUTATORIUM
      Novum viri computatorii genus nomine Code Red in praesenti in Interreti grassatur, ut nuntiavit institutum SANS, cuius est securitati retis informatici providere. Code Red II, quod per cursum electronicum diffunditur, priore viro acerbius est et, postquam in servitoria penetravit, in systema lacunam facit. Ita fieri potest, ut alia vira eaque etiam periculosiora in machinas computatorias irrepant. Iam vermis Code Red I molestissimus fuit, cum biduo in trecenta milia computatrorum in omni orbe terrarum invasit."
    13. Pons: virus
    14. William T. Stearn: Botanical Latin. History, Grammar, Syntax, Terminology and Vocabulary. David & Charles, third edition, 1983. Quote: "Virus: virus (s.n. II), gen. sing. viri, nom. pl. vira, gen. pl. vīrorum (to be distinguished from virorum, of men)."
    15. Allen and Greenough. §80.
    16. 1 2 Gildersleeve & Lodge (1895), p. 18.
    17. Gildersleeve & Lodge (1895), p. 27.
    18. Ernout, A. (1953), Morphologie historique du latin, p. 50.
    19. The Fourth Declension – tutorial by Ben Johnson of LatinTutorial
    20. Ernout (1953), p. 69.
    21. Cicero, Epistulae ad Atticum 6.1.20 etc.
    22. Cicero, Pro Rabirio Postumo 4
    23. Cicero, Pro Milone 29
    24. Cornelius Nepos, Hannibal 12.2
    25. Gildersleeve & Lodge (1903), Gildersleeve's Latin Grammar, p. 39.

    References