declension

Examples of declension in the following topics:

• Fourth Declension

  • Nouns of the Fourth Declension end in -us Masculine, and -ū Neuter.
  • Nouns in -us, particularly in early Latin, often form the Genitive Singular in -ī, following the analogy of nouns in -us of the Second Declension; as, senātī, ōrnātī.
  • Domus, house, is declined according to the Fourth Declension, but has also the following forms of the Second:—
  • The only Neuters of this declension in common use are: cornū, horn; genū, knee; and verū, spit.

• Fifth Declension

  • Nouns of the Fifth Declension end in -ēs, and are declined as follows:—
  • With the exception of diēs and rēs, most nouns of the Fifth Declension are not declined in the Plural.
  • Nouns of the Fifth Declension are regularly Feminine, except diēs, day, and merīdiēs, mid-day.

• The Five Declensions

  • There are five Declensions in Latin, distinguished from each other by the final letter of the Stem, and also by the Termination of the Genitive Singular, as follows:—
  • The Vocative is regularly like the Nominative, except in the singular of nouns in -us of the Second Declension.
  • In the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Declensions, the Accusative Plural is regularly like the Nominative.

• First and Second Declension

• First Declension

  • Pure Latin nouns of the First Declension regularly end, in the Nominative Singular, in -ă, weakened from -ā, and are of the Feminine Gender.
  • In the Plural they are declined like regular Latin nouns of the First Declension.

• Second Declension

  • Pure Latin nouns of the Second Declension end in -us, -er, -ir, Masculine; -um, Neuter.

• Third Declension

  • With the exception of Comparatives, and a few other words mentioned below in § 70, 1, all Adjectives of the Third Declension follow the inflection of ĭ-stems; i.e. they have the Ablative Singular in -ī, the Genitive Plural in-ium, the Accusative Plural in -īs (as well as -ēs) in the Masculine and Feminine, and the Nominative and Accusative Plural in -ia in Neuters.
  • Participles in -āns and -ēns follow the declension of ī-stems.
  • a) usually retain the adjective declension; as,—aequālis, contemporary, Abl. aequālī.cōnsulāris, ex-consul, Abl. cōnsulārīSo names of Months; as, Aprīlī, April; Decembrī, December.b) But adjectives used as proper names have -e in the Ablative Singular; as, Celere, Celer; Juvenāle, Juvenal.c) Patrials in -ās, -ātis and -īs, -ītis, when designating places regularly have -ī; as, in Arpīnātī, on the estate at Arpinum, yet -e, when used of persons; as, ab Arpīnāte, by an Arpinatian.

• German Nouns

• Defective Nouns

  • Many monosyllables of the Third Declension lack the Gen.
  • These are nouns whose forms are partly of one declension, and partly of another.
  • Several nouns have the entire Singular of one declension, while the Plural is of another; as,—
  • Several nouns, while belonging in the main to one declension, have certain special forms belonging to another.
  • a) Many nouns of the First Declension ending in -ia take also a Nom. and Acc. of the Fifth; as, māteriēs,māteriem, material, as well as māteria, māteriam.b) Famēs, hunger, regularly of the Third Declension, has the Abl. famē of the Fifth.c) Requiēs, requiētis, rest, regularly of the Third Declension, takes an Acc. of the Fifth, requiem, in addition torequiētem.d) Besides plēbs, plēbis, common people, of the Third Declension, we find plēbēs, plēbĕī (also plēbī, see § 52, 2), of the Fifth.

• Formation and Comparison of Adverbs

  • Adverbs derived from adjectives of the First and Second Declensions form the Positive by changing -ī of the Genitive Singular to -ē; those derived from adjectives of the Third Declension, by changing -is of the Genitive Singular to -iter; as,—
  • A number of adjectives of the First and Second Declensions form an Adverb in -ō, instead of -ē; as,—
  • A few adjectives of the First and Second Declensions form the Positive in -iter; as,—