Latin Grammar:
Singular and Plural
Magister Henderson
Latin I
Grammatical Number
• The difference between singular and plural is
one of grammatical number.
• Singular is used for a unit or one or for a group
that is treated collectively.
• Plural is used for sets of two or more.
• Some languages have more than two
grammatical numbers; Ancient Greek had a
“dual” that was used for pairs.
Plural Verbs in Latin
• So far we have seen the “–t” ending is used
for singular verbs. It corresponds to the
subject pronouns “he”, “she”, or “it”.
• The “-nt” ending is used for plural verbs. It
corresponds to the subject pronoun “they”.
Singular
Plural
sedet
= he / she / it sits
sedent
= they sit
habitat
= he / she / it lives
habitant
= they live
sunt
= they are
est
= he / she / it is
Plural Nouns in Latin
• We’ve seen that the “–a” ending is used for
singular nouns.
• To make a noun plural we change the ending
to “-ae”.
Singular
puella
vīlla
amīca
= girl
= countryhouse
= friend
Plural
puellae
vīllae
amīcae
= girls
= countryhouses
= friends
Adjectives in Latin
• In English we typically do not change the ending
of adjectives when the noun they modify
becomes plural.
• However in Latin you must also change the
adjective ending to “-ae” to form the plural.
Singular
Plural
puella Rōmāna
puellae Rōmānae
= a Roman girl
= Roman girls
Subject-Verb Agreement
• Singular subjects require singular verbs
• Plural subjects require plural verbs.
• Multiple singular subjects also require plural
verbs.
Latin
English
Cornēlia sedet
= Cornelia sits.
Puellae sedent
= The girls sit.
Cornēlia et Flāvia sedent.
= Cornelia and Flavia sit.