Now let’s look at
Part I: Grammar
 Parts of speech, such as…
• Verbs
•Tense, person & number
•Nouns
•Cases, genders
•Adjectives
•Adverbs
•Conjunctions
•Enclitics
•Pronouns
Let’s start with principal parts of words.
First of all…what are principal parts?
Nouns, verbs, and adjectives have principal parts. All nouns, verbs, and
adjectives are listed alphabetically according to their principal parts in all Latin
dictionaries. The principal parts are used to obtain stems. Stems become the
base of that word for its function.
Now let’s observe the principal parts of
verbs.
There are four principal parts for most Latin verbs that help us form the various tenses
and voices each verb can command.
The first principal part is the present active 1st person singular form. It usually ends in
'o'. First person singular means the subject is 'I'. Present Active is the tense. The word
'amo' therefore means 'I love', 'I am loving' or 'I do love'. Three English forms in ONE
Latin word!
The second principal part is the present active INFINITIVE. This word is simply
translated as 'to .....' such as 'amâre= to love'. But it is a very important word since it
gives us the conjugation to which a word belongs and the root that one will use to
form the rest of the present tense as well as the imperfect and future tenses. Don't get
confused by the terms I am using, they will be discussed shortly.
The third principal part is much like the first but rather than the present active tense,
it gives us the root for the perfect tenses merely by removing the 'i'. As it sits it is used
much as the first principal part. 'amâvî' = I have loved, I did love or I loved...again three
for one!
The fourth principal part is a verbal adjective. It is called the Perfect Passive Participle
and will have many uses. The fourth part ends in 'us' and is translated as 'having been
.....ed'. e.g. amatus - having been loved
Looking up words in the dictionary.
In a dictionary you will see a verb written in any of these ways:
amo, amâre, amâvî, amatus - to love, like
amo, -âre, -âvî, -atus - to love, like
amo (1) - to love, like
The "(1)" above indicates that the verb belongs to the 1st conjugation and that
the principal parts will always be -âre, âvî, atus.
Classifying verbs by conjugation.
Just as a noun or adjective belongs to a family called 'declension' and verb also
has a connecting family called conjugation. There are 4 conjugations in Latin.
They are identified by the infinitive or 2nd principal part of a verb. The first and
fourth conjugations are somewhat regular with only a few words that do not fit a
pattern. The third is very irregular and needs a lot of attention when memorizing
verbs of the third conjugation.
Conjugation
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
Infinitive Ending
-âre
-êre
-ere
-ire
Stems
Principal parts of verbs can be used to find the stem of a verb:
Present Stem - Drop the "-re" from the present active infinitive (second principal
part).
Perfect Stem - Drop the "-i" from perfect active indicative (third principal part).
Perfect Passive Participle Stem - Drop the "-us" from the perfect passive
participle (fourth principal part).
Stems are used in the formation of:
Tenses (active and passive voices; indicative and subjunctive moods)
Imperative mood (Present and Future; active and passive)
Infinitives (Present and Perfect active and passive, and Future active)
Participles (Present active, Perfect passive, Future active and passive)
Tenses
Tenses tell the time in which an action takes place.
There are six tenses in Latin.
Present tense - indicates present action- happening now
e.g. I talk, I am talking, I do talk = narro
Imperfect tense - indicates a past action that may still be happening, an action
that was recurring (happened over and over again)
e.g. I was talking, I used to talk
Future tense - indicates an action that has yet to happen
e.g. I will talk
Perfect tense - another past tense but this indicates an action that is finished.
e.g. I have talked, I did talk, I talked
Pluperfect tense - indicates an action that took place earlier than recent past.
e.g. I had talked - 'had' is always used as an auxiliary verb in this tense
Future Perfect tense - rarely used in English; most frequent with 'if' clauses.
e.g. I will have talked...very awkward in English translation.
During Latin I you will work with only the Present, Imperfect, Future and Perfect
tenses.
Note too that where Latin has but one form, English can have several!
How do you conjugate verbs in the tenses?
Three divisions of a tense
Stem: present, perfect, and participle
Tense indicator: vowels, - ba , - bi or vowel ending of perfect stem - era or - eri
Personal ending: present, perfect, passive
Stem
Comes from the principal parts of verbs. The first principal part (Present Active
Indicative) furnishes no stem. Therefore, the present stem comes from the 2nd
p.p. (Present Active Infinitive). The perfect stem comes from the 3rd princial part
(Perfect Active Indicative), and the participle stems comes from the 4th princial
part (Perfect Passive Participle).
Personal endings.
Present
-o/-m
-s
-t
Perfect
-mus
-tis
-nt
-i
-isti
-it
Passive
-imus
-istis
-erunt
-r
-ris
-tur
-mur
-mini
-ntur
Present Tense.
Tense indicator - 1 of 3 vowels: -a, -e, -i/-u
Formation: Present stem + present personal endings
Translation: common, progressive, emphatic (I sing, I am singing, I do sing)
1st sg.
2nd sg.
3rd sg.
1st pl.
2nd pl.
3rd pl.
cantô
cantâs
cantat
cantâmus
cantâtis
cantant
moneô
monês
monet
monêmus
monêtis
monent
regô
regis
regit
regimus
regitis
regunt
audiô
audîs
audit
audîmus
audîtis
audiunt
Imperfect Tense.
Tense indicator: -ba
Formation: Present stem + - ba + present personal endings
Translation: was/were -ing, used to ..., kept on -ing, etc. Incomplete action in the
past.
1st sg.
2nd sg.
3rd sg.
1st pl.
2nd pl.
3rd pl.
cantabam
cantabas
cantabat
cantabamus
cantabatis
cantabant
monebam
monebas
monebat
monebamus
monebatis
monebant
regebam
regebas
regebat
regebamus
regebatis
regebant
audiebam
audiebas
audiebat
audiebamus
audiebatis
audiebant
Future Tense.
Tense indicator: -bi (1st and 2nd conj.) or -e (3rd, 3io, and 4th conj.)
Formation: Present stem + bi/e)
Translation: will/shall
1st sg.
2nd sg.
3rd sg.
1st pl.
2nd pl.
3rd pl.
cantabo
cantabis
cantabit
cantabimus
cantabitis
cantabunt
monebo
monebis
monebit
monebimus
monebitis
monebunt
regam
reges
reget
regemus
regetis
regent
audiam
audies
audiet
audiemus
audietis
audient
Perfect Tense.
Tense indicator: perfect personal endings
Formation: Perfect stem + perfect personal endings
Translation: -ed past tense, have/ has -ed, did (completed action in the past - "I
have done it," (it is now done) as opposed to the imperfect "I was doing it" (but
it wasn't necessarily done).
1st sg.
2nd sg.
3rd sg.
1st pl.
2nd pl.
3rd pl.
cantavi
cantavisti
cantavit
cantavimus
cantavistis
cantaverunt
monui
monuisti
monuit
monuimus
monuistis
monuerunt
rexi
rexisti
rexit
reximus
rexistis
rexerunt
audivi
audivisti
audivit
audivimus
audivistis
audiverunt
Pluperfect Tense.
Tense indicator: -eraFormation: Perfect stem + era + present personal endings (imperfect tense of
sum)
Translation: had -ed. Even futher in the past than the perfect tense, used to put
events in perspective, such as in conditional sentences (you will come across
these in the near future)
1st sg.
2nd sg.
3rd sg.
1st pl.
2nd pl.
3rd pl.
cantaveram
cantaveras
cantaverat
cantaveramus
cantaveratis
cantaverant
monueram
monueras
monuerat
monueramus
monueratis
monuerant
rexeram
rexeras
rexerat
rexeramus
rexeratis
rexerant
audiveram
audiveras
audiverat
audiveramus
audiveratis
audiverant
Future Perfect Tense.
Tense indicator: -eriFormation: Perfect stem + eri + present personal endings (future tense of sum)
Translation: will/shall have -ed. Indicates completed action in the future, that
something will be completed in the future.
1st sg.
2nd sg.
3rd sg.
1st pl.
2nd pl.
3rd pl.
cantavero
cantaveris
cantaverit
cantaverimus
cantaveritis
cantaverint
monuero
monueris
monuerit
monuerimus
monueritis
monuerint
rexero
rexeris
rexerit
rexerimus
rexeritis
rexerint
audivero
audiveris
audiverit
audiverimus
audiveritis
audiverint
Passive Voice.
To form the Passive Voice in the Present, Imperfect and Future Tenses:
Form the Active voice
Remove the personal endings
Add the Passive voice personal endings
1st person
2nd person
3rd Person
Active Endings
Singular Plural
o/m
mus
s
tis
t
nt
Passive Endings
Singular Plural
r/or
mur
ris
mini
tur
ntur
Synopses of the Present tense - 1st, 2nd, 3rd IO
conjugations
Active
Passive Active
Passive Active Passive
1st Person Singular portô
portor
moneô
moneor rapiô rapior
2nd Person Singular portâs
portâris monês
monêris rapis raperis*
3rd person Singular portat
portâtur monet
monêtur rapit
rapitur
1st Person Plural
portâmus portâmur monêmus monêmur rapimus rapimur
2nd Person Plural portâtis portâmini monêtis monêmini rapitis rapimini
3rd Person Plural portant portantur monent monentur rapiunt rapiuntur
Examples of Imperfect tense -- 1st person singular forms
Active
Passive
portâbam portâbar
Active
Passive
monêbam monêbar
Active
Passive
rapiêbam* rapiêbar*
Notice the imperfect tense sign -ba- is simply added between the stem and the
personal ending.
Perfect Passive System
Recall that the Passive voice in the Present, Imperfect and Future tenses is formed
by changing the personal endings from active to passive:
1st person
2nd person
3rd Person
Active Endings
Singular Plural
o/m
mus
s
tis
t
nt
Passive Endings
Singular Plural
r/or
mur
ris
mini
tur
ntur
But the Perfect system is not formed in the same way. In fact, it's a snap because
there are NO new forms to learn, just a new way to combine old forms. The
perfect system passive verbs are compound verbs using normal, very familiar
forms of the verb 'esse' along with a perfect passive participle declined just like
the adjectives you first learned.
How to Form the Perfect Passive Systems
1. Select the 4th principal part of the verb, also called the perfect passive participle.
2. Change its ending to the nominative case ending that matches the number and gender
of the verb's subject.
3. Determine the tense of 'esse' that will apply -• If the passive verb is to be perfect tense, use the present tense of esse: sum-esest-sumus-estis-sunt
• If the passive verb is to be pluperfect tense, use the imperfect tense of
esse: eram-eras-erat-eramus-eratis-erant
• If the passive verb is to be future perfect tense, use the future tense of esse: eroeris-erit-erimus-eritis-erunt
4. Select the correct form of esse that matches the number and person of the verb's
subject.
Why doesn't the tense of esse have to be the same as the tense of the passive verb you are
creating? Because the perfect passive participle that will be combined with esse already
connotes its own degree of 'pastness.'
Perfect Passive Systems
Here's a demonstration of how to create a Passive Perfect tense verb, have/has been
carried. The Latin verb with its principal parts will be porto,portare, portavi, portatus carry. Portatus, -a, -um is the 4th principal part, and it is declined just like any 1st/2nd
declension adjective. To create a perfect passive tense, it will be combined with the
present tense of 'esse'.
[portatus, portata, portatum] sum
[portatus, portata, portatum] es
[portatus, portata, portatum] est
[portati, portatae, portata] sumus
[portati, portatae, portata] estis
[portati, portatae, portata] sunt
I have been carried
you have been carried
he (she, it) has been carried
we have been carried
you have been carried
they have been carried
Perfect Passive Systems
Now in the Pluperfect Passive tense -- had been carried:
[portatus, portata, portatum] eram
[portatus, portata, portatum] eras
[portatus, portata, portatum] erat
[portati, portatae, portata] eramus
[portati, portatae, portata] eratis
[portati, portatae, portata] erant
I had been carried
you had been carried
he (she, it) had been carried
we had been carried
you had been carried
they had been carried
Perfect Passive Systems
And now in the Future Perfect Passive -- will have been carried:
[portatus, portata, portatum] ero
[portatus, portata, portatum] eris
[portatus, portata, portatum] erit
[portati, portatae, portata] erimus
[portati, portatae, portata] eritis
[portati, portatae, portata] erunt
I will have been carried
you will have been carried
he, she, it will have been carried
we will have been carried
you will have been carried
they will have been carried
Infinitives
In English, the infinitive is composed of two words, to + verb; to love, to walk, to enjoy, to
be. When you look up a verb in the dictionary you find it without the to. This form is called
the dictionary form; love, walk, enjoy, be.
The infinitive is a verbal noun; it is the name of the action of the verb. Thus, ambulâre
means to walk or walking, walking being the name of the action of that verb. Infinitives can
be active or passive in voice; they can be present, perfect, or future in tense.
Active
Present portâre
to carry
Perfect portâvisse
to have carried
Future portaturum esse
to be about to carry
Passive
portârî
to be carried
portatum esse
to have been carried
portatum îrî *
to be about to be carried *
Practice Exercise
Fill in the blanks using the answers below:
perfect passive participle
perfect active stem
future active participle
future
second
îre
-ur-ere
-îrî
-êre
-êrî
-ârî
-âre
1. The present active infinitive is the __________ principle part of the verb.
2. The endings of the present active infinitive are: 1st conjugation __________; 2nd
conjugation __________; 3rd conjugation __________; 4th conjugation __________.
3. The present passive infinitive of 1st conjugation verbs ends in letters __________; the
2nd conjugation in __________; the 4th conjugation in __________.
4. The perfect active infinitive is formed by adding -isse to the __________.
5. The perfect passive infinitive is formed by using the word esse with the __________.
6. The future active infinitive is formed by using the word esse with the __________.
7. What letters are the sign of the future active infinitive (and future active participle)?
__________
8. What English word, derived from the future active participle of sum, contains these
letters?
How to form an Imperative Verb
To form a Latin verb in the singular imperative mood:
Find the Present Stem from the Present Active Infinitive (2nd principal part)
Drop the '-re'
Examples:
ambula - walk!
docê - teach!
lege - read!
cape - take!
audî - listen!
Exceptions: ducere - duc (duke); facere - fac (FAHK); iacere - iac (YAHK); dicere - dic (DEEK)
Words in parentheses are the pronunciation helps for these words
How to form an Imperative Verb
To form a Latin verb in the plural imperative mood:
Find the Present Stem from the Present Active Infinitive (2nd principal part)
Drop the '-re'
Add- '-te' EXCEPT third conjugation. Drop the entire infinitive ending (-ere) and add '-ite'
(pronounced it eh- short 'i' sound)
There are NO exceptions to the plural forms, so duc becomes ducite in the plural.
Examples:
ambulâte - walk!
docête - teach!
legite -read! c
apite- take!
audîte-listen!
When the vowel which precedes the 'te' is marked with an accent, make that vowel a long
sound and put the stress of the word here please. When a short 'i' is used (3rd conjugation
verbs), put the stress on the syllable that precedes the 'i' syllable.
Listen! Imperative is used to express a command!
Indirect Statements
A popular use for infinitives is in a grammatical construction called an indirect statment.
First, think of what a direct statement is: Puer librum portat. The boy carries a book. This is
a simple and direct comment.
When one introduces the direct statement with a clause - such as Caesar dixit, Marcus scit,
Cornelius putat or Aurelia vidit - the phrase . . . that the boy carries a book is written
differently. Boy is written as an accusative and carry as an infinitive:
Caesar dixit puerum librum portare Caesar said that the boy carried a book Marcus scit
puerum librum portare Marcys knows that the boy carries a book. Cornelius putat
puerum librum portare Cornelius thinks that the boy carries a book. Aurelia vidit puerum
librum portare Aurelia saw that the boy carried a book.
Note the introductory verbs dixit, scit, putat, vidit.
These belong to categories of dixit - verb of saying, scit - verb of knowing, putat - verb of
thinking and vidit - verb of perceiving.
Note the various translations of the infinitive. It carries the same tense as the introductory
verb of saying, knowing, thinking or perceiving when the infinitive is in the present tense.
The rule:
Verbs of saying, knowing, thinking and perceiving are followed by an infinitive, the
subject of which is in the accusative case.
Practice Exercise
Translate the following indirect statements into English.
Eucleides dicit ludum optimum esse.
Scio Cornelium esse senatorem Romanum.
Scimus Corneliam puellam Romanam esse.
Puto Sextum puerum temerarium esse.
Audivi Corneliam ad tabernam ire.
Video viam longam esse.
Putavimus servos in agris laborare.
Audiebat servos in culina clamorare.
Credo Aureliam in urbem descendere.
Dixerunt Marcus dormire.
Applying the Principle of Indirect Statement
Study this example:
Davus est iracundus. Quid dicis? Dico Davum esse iracundum.
Now, following this pattern, try combining these pairs of sentences:
1. Sextus est puer temerarius. Quid dicis?
Dico _________________________________________________
2. Pater Marci est crudelis. Quid putat Sextus?
Sextus putat ___________________________________________
3. Cornelius est senator Romanus. Quid dicitis?
Dicimus ______________________________________________
Applying the Principle of Indirect Statement
Study this example:
Davus est iracundus. Quid dicis? Dico Davum esse iracundum.
Now, following this pattern, try combining these pairs of sentences:
4. Adstantes furem ex aqua extrahunt. Quid vides?
Video adstantes ________________________________________
5. Puer exclamat, "Aqua non frigida est." Quid exclamat puer?
Puer exclamat aquam ___________________________________
6. Cornelius iratus ad pueros venit. Quid pueri vident?
Pueri vident __________________________________________
Applying the Principle of Indirect Statement
Study this example:
Davus est iracundus. Quid dicis? Dico Davum esse iracundum.
Now, following this pattern, try combining these pairs of sentences:
7. Sextus canem capit. Quid Eucleides videt?
Eucleides videt _______________________________________
8. Cornelia in arena currit. Quid Sextus credit?
Sextus credit ________________________________________
A Brief Summary of the Latin Participle
Simply put, a participle is a verbal adjective. In English, there are two participles: the
present (working, seeing, walking) and the past (worked, seen, walked).In Latin there are
three participles you need to know at this time: the present active, the perfect passive and
the future active:
A Brief Summary of the Latin Participle
Present Active Infinitive
Present Active Participle
Portâre
to carry
portans, portantis
carrying
Docêre
to teach
docens, docentis
teaching
Ducere
to lead
ducens, ducentis
leading
Capere
to take
capiens, capientis
taking
Invenîre
to find
inveniens, invenientis
finding
CAVE!!! In English the present participle is used in conjunction with the verb to be to form
the progressive present tense: he is walking. NOT IN LATIN! In Latin, the present tense is
used for the simple present -- he walks, the progressive present -- he is walking, and the
emphatic present -- he does walk. All these meanings are encompassed in the one Latin
form, ambulat.
Present Active Participle
as with all forms in the Present System, use the Present Active Infinitive as the basis for the
new form.
Drop -re. Add-ns for the nominative singular form. Add -ntis for the genitive singular form,
which will give you the root for all the other case forms. Treat this participle as a third
declension adjective.
Look at the chart above and note that, as with the imperfect tense, there is the vowel -e(with the exception of the 1st conjugation); also note that -io verbs retain the -i-, seen in ie- before -ns or -ntis.
When translating, equate -ns,-ntis, -nti, -ntem, -nte, -nti ( abl. sg.), and so on, with the
English ending "-ing." Or think of it this way: -nt = -ing
Read pp. 133-135 in Book II of Ecce Romani for further explanations and demonstrations of
this participle.
A Brief Summary of the Latin Participle
Present Active Infinitive
Perfect Passive Participle
Portâre
to carry
portatus, portata, portatum
carried, having been carried
Docêre
to teach
doctus, docta, doctum
taught, having been taught
Ducere
to lead
ductus, ducta, ductum
led, having been led
Capere
to carry
captus, capta, captum
taken, having been taken
Invenîre
to find
inventus, inventa, inventum
found, having been found
Perfect Passive Participles
Perfect Passive Participle
As with all forms of the Perfect System, start with the 4th principal part of the verb. This
happens to BE the perfect passive participle, unless the 4th principal part ends in -urus. In
that case, there is NO passive form of the verb and,thus, NO perfect passive participle!
Change the endings to agree with the noun or pronoun being modified. Use the same
technique as with 1st and 2nd declension adjectives, since that's exactly what this
participle is.
Translate as having been .....ed, .....ed. For example, "having been carried" OR "carried,"
"having been seen" OR "seen," and so on.
Look at the chart above for examples from each conjugation.
Read pp. 50-51 in Book II of Ecce Romani for further explanations and demonstrations of
this participle.
A Brief Summary of the Latin Participle
Present Active Infinitive
Future Active Participle
Portâre
to carry
portaturus, portatura, portaturum
going to carry, about to carry
Docêre
to teach
docturus, doctura, docturum
going to teach, about to teach
Ducere
to lead
ducturus, ductura, ducturum
going to lead, about to lead
Capere
to take
capturus, captura, capturum
going to take, about to take
Invenîre
to find
inventurus, inventura, inventurum
going to find, about to find
Future Active Participles
Here's a slight deviation from the rules. Use the 4th principal part of the verb, which is also
the Perfect Passive Participle. Drop -us and add -urus, unless the 4th principal part of the
verb already ends in -urus (see point 1 on the perfect passive participle above).
Change the endings to agree with the noun or pronoun being modified. Use the same
technique as with 1st and 2nd declension adjectives, since that's exactly what this
participle is.
Translate to show future action with going to ---, about to ..... .
Look at the chart above for examples from each conjugation.
Read pp. 184-186 in Book II of Ecce Romani for further explanations and demonstrations of
this participle.
Principal Parts of Nouns
There are three principal parts for every noun:
Nominative Case - the subject of a sentence
Genitive Case - possession, partitive, value, etc.
Gender - indicates whether a noun is masculine, feminine or neuter. All nouns have
genders and they aren't always logical to us. More will be explained about how one can
remember the genders of words.
Exempli Gratia:
culina, culinae, feminine. Nota Bene! The principal parts of a noun usually are given in this
format in a dictionary:
culina, -ae f. kitchen
The Stem of a Noun
The stem of a noun comes from the genitive singular, also called the 2nd principal part of a
noun. The rule states: Drop the genitive singular ending of a noun for the base (stem).
Example: culina, culinae, f. kitchen. The stem/base is culin- . All other case endings are
added to this stem.
Cases
Nouns are declined in cases. By putting different endings onto the stem of a noun you
change the case, thus the function. The nominative case is used for the subject of the verb
or the predicate nominative noun. The genitive case is used to show possession.
Each case has a singular and plural form.
Declensions
Nouns and adjectives belong to families just as you and I do. These families are called
declensions. There are 5 declensions but you will be leaning only the first three in the
beginning of this course. Words CANNOT leave their families and we understand the
declension or family to which a noun belongs by the genitive case.
The following chart shows you the nominative and genitive forms of the 5 declensions.
Declension
Nominative
singular
Genitive
singular
Gender
1st
via
2nd
amicus
3rd
mïles
4th
arcus
5th
reiës
viae
amicï
mïlitis
arcüs
reëï
f.
m.
m.
m.
f.
Nominative
(subject)
culina (sg.)
culinae (pl.)
The/A kitchen (sg.)
The kitchens (pl.)
Genitive
(possession)
culinae (sg.)
culinärum (pl.)
of the kitchen/the kitchen's
of the kitchens/the kitchens'
What is a Case?
A case, in Latin, is a grammatical term to indicate a change that occurs usually in the ending
or terminus of a nounor adjective (puella, puellae, puellam). Sometimes the whole word
changes. (is, eius, eam).
The reason for cases in Latin is to indicate how a word functions within a sentence. There
are cases in English that are obvious in pronouns. He is a nominative case and him is an
accusative case.
Since word order is not mandated in Latin, it is the case ending that indicates whether a
noun is the subject, direct object or object of a preposition. The case of an adjective must
be the same as the noun it modifies. Therefore, even if a noun and adjective are not placed
next to one another, the reader knows that they belong together.
In English we use we as the subject of a sentence. One never says "He saw we in a store" or
"My friend went with we to the market." In place of the nominative we, one needs to use
the accusative form US as either the direct object of a verb (He saw US or I went to the
store with US)
Latin has five cases, six when one counts the vocative
which usually is the same as the nominative form and
thus sometimes not listed as a separate case.
Nominative - subject of a sentence or predicate noun
We saw the game...subject is We; They were friends. Friends = they so both are
nominative.
Compound subjects - My friend and I went to the game...both friend and I are nominative.
Genitive - possession (of ..., ______'s, _____s' and root of the word
I am the daughter OF a wonderful woman...both wonderful and woman are genitive
singular
Dative - indirect object with verbs of giving, telling, saying
I gave something to someone...the 'to someone' is dative and one does not write 'to' in
Latin; the dative case indicates the 'to'. One uses 'to' only with direction.
Latin has five cases, six when one counts the vocative
which usually is the same as the nominative form and
thus sometimes not listed as a separate case.
Accusative - direct object of a verb; object of many Latin Prepositions
When one has a transitive verb, a verb that can have a direct object such as 'see', it is
usually followed by a direct object. The dog sees the cat. Dog is the subject, nominative sg.
and cat is the direct object, accusative sing. In English we know the dog is doing the action
and the cat receiving it because of the word placement. In Latin I can write 'felem canis
videt' or 'canis felem videt' and because of the noun endings, I know that the dog is seeing
the cat and not the reverse.
There will never be a direct object with an intransitive verb. Intransitive verbs are forms of
'to be' and many action verbs such as 'run' or 'walk'. One can recognize these verbs in a
dictionary when the fourth principal part ends in 'urus' rather than 'us'. More VERB
information can be found on the verb section of the grammar pages.
The accusative case usually follows most prepositions as well as in 'canis prope villam
ambulat' which says 'The dog is walking near the farmhouse'.
Latin has five cases, six when one counts the vocative
which usually is the same as the nominative form and
thus sometimes not listed as a separate case.
Ablative - prepositional phrases with or without Latin prepositions as well as many other
uses which you will learn as the year progresses. You can also find out more about the
ablative uses in Grammatica under Latin II. When you see an ablative form and there is no
Latin preposition, translate as 'by means of' or merely 'by' or 'with'.
e.g. He was hit with a stick...by means of a stick.
When the name of a town, city, or small island is in the Ablative case, use 'from'. e.g. Venit
Româ- He comes from Rome.
The ablative can also show MANNER. e.g. magnâ voce - with a loud voice
The ablative can indicate the TIME WHEN something occurred. e.g. primâ luce - at dawn
The ablative is also used with a select group of prepositions that fit the acronym SID SPACE.
Thanks to Sally Davis for this acronym! Sub In De Sine Pro A(b) Cum E(x) are the
prepositions which are followed by ablative nouns. Note that In means In or On when the
ablative is used whereas it means INTO when followed by the accusative case.
Vocative - direct address
The vocative form is the same as the nominative except for masculine singular nouns
ending in 'us' or 'ius' such as Marcus and Lucius. e.g. Marce, get up!, Luci, wash the dishes!
All plural forms are the same as the nominative.
What is a Declension?
Latin nouns are divided into five declensions, groups or families. Each declension as a set of
different endings which reflect the case of a noun. Go to cases for more information about
this. Latin Adjectives are divided into three of the five declensions.
One knows the declension of a noun by the 2nd principal part which is also called the
genitive case. When you learn a new word that is either a noun or adjective, you also
recognize the declension to which it belongs.
Exempli Gratia - Nouns
puella, puellae f. - the 'ae' indicates 1st declension
puer, pueri m. - the 'i' indicates 2nd declension
nomen, nominis n. - the 'is' indicates 3rd declension
portus, portûs m - the 'ûs' indicates 4th declension
res, rei f. - the 'ei' indicates 5th declension
Adjectives
clarus - clara - clarum = 1st and 2nd declensions
fortis, forte = 3rd declension
What declension of a noun do I use?
A noun can only belong to one declension. In Latin, there are five declensions. In Latin I you
will cover the first three declensions of nouns. The key to knowing which declension a noun
belongs is found within the principal parts. The principal parts give key information. Here is
how it works:
Look at the 2nd principal part (Genitive singular)
1st declension nouns:
puella, puellae, f. girl
vita, vitae, f. life
pecunia, pecuniae, f. money
auriga, auriagae, m. charioteer
All 1st declension nouns have a genitive singular ending of -ae so the -ae ending indicates a
1st declension noun. Most are feminine but not all.
2nd declension nouns:
servus, servï, m. slave
puer, puerï, m. boy
caelum, caelï, n. sky, heaven
bellum, bellï, n. war
All 2nd declension nouns have a genitive singular ending of -ï. 2nd declension nouns are
either masculine or neuter.
3nd declension nouns:
lux, lucis, f. light
pater, patris, m. father
corpus, corporis, n. body
All 3rd declension nouns have a genitive singular ending of -is.
Third Declension Nouns
Also, even though there are only two sets of declension endings in 3rd declension nouns,
all three genders are used. Masculine and feminine nouns are declined the same in third
declension.
When students memorize the principal parts, they should realize there is a purpose. These
parts will give them clues to grammar concepts. If a student is working with the noun
"slave" and has memorized the p.p.(principal parts), the student will know to put only 2nd
declension endings on servus,etc.
Now you the student must memorize the cases of nouns and their uses!
What noun case do I use?
1. Nominative: subject and predicate nominative noun
Predicate nominative nouns follow linking verbs (sum to be, fio to become).
My vehicle is a truck.
Meum vehiculum est auto plaustrum.
2. Genitive: shows possession
(In English the genitive case will be used when a noun is an object of the preposition "of"or
a noun using 's or s'.)
My brother's vehicle is a car. OR The vehicle of my brother is a car.
Mei fratris vehiculum est auto raeda.
What noun case do I use?
3. Dative: Indirect object: indicates the receiver of the direct object
Indicator verbs:
giving (dô, donô)
showing (monstrô)
telling (dicô, narrô, nuntiô).
Translation:
1.) place the indirect object noun before the direct object
Sextus gives Cornelia a dog.
2.) use the prepositions to / for after the direct object
Sextus gives the dog to Cornelia.
Watch out! After the indicator verbs listed above, to / for are not translated in Latin. Check
out the English sentences below. It gives two ways to translate the indirect object in
English.
Your father is giving me your bike. OR Your father is giving your bike to me.
Tuus pater mihi tuam birotam dat.
What noun case do I use?
4. Accusative: Direct Object
1.) Direct Object (answers the question "what?"/"whom?" after the verb)
I see the slave walking to the farmhouse.
Servum ambulantem ad villam videô
2.) object of prepositions such as in (into), trans (across), post (behind), ad (to, toward),
prope (near), and other prepositions.
I see the slave walking to the farmhouse.
Servum ambulantem ad villam videô.
What noun case do I use?
5. Ablative: The catch-all case
1.) Object of prepositions such as: in (in, on0, sub (under), cum (with) and other
prepositions.
Father was walking with mother in the fields.
Pater cum matre in agrîs ambulâbat.
2.) Other uses: means, manner, specific time etc.
See FAQ: What are the uses of the ablative case?
5. Vocative: noun of direct address (give a command to or ask a person a question)
Vocative case endings are the same as the Nominative case endings.
Exception: Vocative singular of certain 2nd declension, masculine nouns
Nouns ending in -us for the Nom. sg. will change to -e for the Vocative
Nouns ending in -ius for the Nom. sg. will change to -î for the Vocative
Marcus, look at the sky! Marce, spectâ caelum!
Son, why are you running in the farmhouse?
Filî, cür in villâ curris?
What noun case do I use?
Nominative Vocative 1. girl puella puella 2. boy puer puer 3. slave servus serve 4.
messenger nuntius nuntî
Now the student must memorize the declension case endings! Your textbook, Ecce Romanî
presents the case endings one case at a time. The full set is in the back of the textbook on
page 267.
Look at this sentence:
I see the slave working.
How is slave used? It is the direct object of the verb see. Therefore, it goes into the
accusative case. What is the 2nd principal part of slave? It is -î, therefore, it is a 2nd
declension noun. What case ending do I use? Look on page 267 for 2nd declension
accusative singular. What is that ending? It is -um, therefore servum.
Look at this sentence:
The slaves see me.
How is slaves used? It is the subject, and it is plural; therefore, nominative plural of 2nd
declension therefore, servî.
This becomes a matching game. Memorize endings and principal parts, figure how the
word is used, then select the proper ending.
Principal Parts of Adjectives
Principal Parts
1st and 2nd
Declension
3rd Declension
Nom. sg. masculine
altus
pulcher
fortis
celer
Nom. sg. Feminine
alta
pulchra
fortis
celeris
Nom. sg. neuter
altum
pulchrum
forte
celere
The stem of the adjective comes from the Nom. sg. f. (2nd principal part) by dropping the
feminine ending: -a for 1st and 2nd Declension, and the -is for 3rd Declension.
Memoria tene! Declensions: Nouns and adjectives are declined in cases. A noun can belong
to only one declension. There are five declensions of nouns. An adjective can belong to
only one of two types (1st and 2nd declension or 3rd declension) but will contain endings
for all three genders.
Exempli Gratia - The table below gives some examples of an adjective and a noun in
agreement, and gives the gender, number and case - all of which must agree!
Adjective & Noun
tall tree (direct object)
arborem altam
with tall men
cum virîs altîs
of the brave boy
puerî fortis
Number
singular
Gender
feminine
Case
Accusative
plural
masculine
Ablative
singular
masculine
Genitive
How can you tell the declension of an adjective?
Adjectives are of two sorts:
1st & 2nd declension (tardus, tarda, tardum)
3rd declension (gravis, gravis, grave)
Adjectives are declined in cases, as are nouns (nominative, genitive, dative, accusative,
ablative). Adjectives have all three genders (masculine, feminine, neuter).
To determine the declension, start by looking at the principal parts.
nominative singular masculine, nominative singular feminine and Nominative singular
neuter
1st & 2nd declension adjectives have these endings:
-us, -a, -um or -er, -a, -um;
3rd declension adjectives have these endings:
-is, -is, -e
Adjectives agree with the gender of the noun.
Noun: amicitia, -ae, f.. - friendship
Adjective: magnus, magna, magnum - great, large
Decline: amicitia magna- great friendship
SINGULAR
PLURAL
Nom.
amicitia magna
amicitiae magnae
Gen.
amicitiae magnae amicitiârum magnârum
Dat.
amicitiae magnae amicitiîs magnîs
Acc.
amicitiam magnam amicitias magnas
Abl.
amicitiâ magnâ
amicitiîs magnîs
How can you tell the declension of an adjective?
Adjectives agree with the gender of the noun
Noun: mîles, mîlitis, m.. - soldier
Adjective: magnus, magna, magnum - great, large
Decline: mîles magnus- great soldier
SINGULAR
PLURAL
Nom.
mîles magnus
mîlitês magnî
Gen.
mîlitis magnî
mîlitum magnôrum
Dat.
mîlitî magnô
mîlitibus magnîs
Acc.
mîlitem magnum mîlitês magnôs
Abl.
mîlîte magnô
mîlitibus magnîs
Adjectives agree with the gender of the noun
Noun: baculum, -î, n.. - stick
Adjective: gravis, gravis, grave- heavy, severe
Decline: baculum grave- heavy stick
SINGULAR
PLURAL
Nom.
baculum grave
bacula gravia
Gen.
baculî gravis
baculôrum gravium
Dat.
baculô gravî
baculîs gravibus
Acc.
baculum grave
bacula gravia
Abl.
baculô gravî
baculîs gravibus
Positive Degree
This is the form in which an adjective is listed in a vocabulary or dictionary, such as:
acer, acris, acre - keen, sharp iratus, a, um - angry pinguis, pingue - fat
bonus, a, um - good
laetus, a, um - happy prudens, prudentis – wise
celer, celeris, celere - swift magnus, a, um - great pulcher, pulchra, pulchrum - beautiful
facilis, facile - easy
nobilis, nobile - noble stultus, a, um - stupid
Some of these adjectives belong to the first and second declension and some to the third
declension. They never leave their declensions while they are positive degree adjectives,
no matter what the declension of the noun that they modify. They must always agree in
gender, case and number with their noun, and they may happen to agree in declension
too. Thus, you will see such combinations as:
1st/2nd declension adjective & 1st, 2nd, 3rd declension nouns
irata ancilla, iratae ancillae
iratus vir, irati viri
iratus consul, irati consulis
irata imperatrix, iratae imperatricis
3rd declension adjective & 1st, 2nd, 3rd declension plural nouns
celeres raedae, celerium raedarum
celeres pueri, celerium puerorum
celeria itinera, celerium itinerum
Comparative Degree
In English, represented by the "more ----- " or "-----er" forms. In Latin, by endings that
incorporate -ior or -ius. To form the comparative, add -ior to the stem. The only exception is
that -ius, instead of -ior, is added to the stem for the neuter nominative and accusative
singular forms. The comparative adjective in Latin is always declined in the 3rd declension:
iratior, iratius
- angrier laetior, laetius
- happier stultior, stultius
- more foolish prudentior, -ius
- more sensible pinguior, pinguius
- fatter nobilior, nobilius
- nobler facilior, facilius
- easier pulchrior, pulchrius
- more beautiful celerior, celerius
- swifter acrior, acrius
- keener Notice above that pulcher and acer drop out -e-, so that the stem is pulchr- or
acr-, and the comparative form is built on that stem. Magnus and bonus, two very common
adjective, have irregular forms that are discussed on the Irregular adjective page.
Remember, a comparative form belongs ONLY to the third declension, regardless of the
declension of its positive form.
Comparative Degree
Singular
nom.
gen.
dat.
acc.
abl.
Plural
nom.
gen.
dat.
acc.
abl.
Masculine
Feminine
Neuter
novior vir
novioris viri
noviori viro
noviorem virum
noviore viro
novior femina
novioris feminae
noviori feminae
noviorem feminam
noviore feminâ
novius tempus
novioris temporis
noviori tempori
novius tempus
noviore tempori
noviores viri
noviorum viriorum
novioribus virîs
noviores viros
novioribus virîs
noviores feminae
noviorum feminarum
novioribus feminîs
noviores feminas
novioribus feminîs
noviora tempora
noviorum temporum
novioribus temporibus
noviora tempora
novioribus temporibus
Often a comparison will contain quam because it is stating that one person or thing is more
"------" than another person or thing is: A rabbit is faster than a tortoise (is) = Lepus celerior
est quam testudo (est). Keep that in mind when you are translating the practice sentences
below.
Superlative Degree
In English, represented by "most -----" or "very -----" or "-----est". In Latin, the superlative is
indicated by ----issimus,-a,-um, ----illimus,-a,-um, or ----errimus,-a,-um. A superlative
adjective in Latin is ALWAYS declined in the 1st and 2nd declensions. To form the
superlative, add -issimus to the stem of the adjective. Decline the new adjective like
"altus". There are two variations on this rule:
If the adjective ends in the nominative masculine singular in -er, double the r and then add
-imus,-a,-um. For example, celer becomes celerrimus.
If the adjective is facilis, difficilis, similis, dissimilis, gracilis or humilis, double the l and then
add -imus,-a,-um. For example, difficillimus. (All other adjective whose positive form ends
in -lis will add the normal ending -issimus.)
iratissimus, -a, -um stultissimus, -a, -um pinguissimus, -a, -um facillimus, -a, -um celerrimus, -a, -um -
very angry
most foolish
fattest
easiest
swiftest
laetissimus, -a, -um prudentissimus, -a, -um nobilissimus,-a, -um pulcherrimus, -a, -um acerrimus, -a, -um -
happiest
most wise
very noble
most beautiful
very keen
The superlative forms of magnus and bonus also have irregular spellings and are discussed
on the Irregular adjective page.