latin.pdf

Applications of Latin

Written by: Alvina Lee

Date: January 11, 2004

Table of Contents

The First Declension

The Second Declension

The Third Declension

The Fourth Declension

The Fifth Declension

The Pronoun (Irregular Declensions)

The Conjugation

The First Conjugation

The Second Conjugation

The Fourth Conjugation

Irregular Conjugations

Parts of Speech

Applications in English

Bibliography

Applications of Latin - Alvina Lee

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The Declension

The Third Conjugation

Pronunciation

Latin is an inflection language, which means the endings of the words change to perform

certain functions in the structure of a sentence. In Latin, inflection is done through

declensions and conjugations.

The Declension

In Latin, there are five basic declensions, as well as several irregular declensions.

The declensions are inflections of most nouns. Declensions can be declined into singular

or plural forms. Nouns can also be declined into the following forms:

Nominative

The nominative form is used when the noun acts on its own or, if in a

sentence, the noun acts as the subject. It is often displayed with the genitive form

in a dictionary.

Genitive

The genitive form can be used to derive the other declensions of a noun. In

a sentence, the genitive form is used to indicate possession. In English, the

equivalent is an apostrophe after a name or the use of the preposition, “of” before

the noun. Usage of this form is easily confused. (e.g., “The king’s throne”, “The

throne of the king ”)

Dative

When a noun is acting as the indirect object, or the person or thing that

receives the object, the noun is declined into the dative form in Latin. (e.g., “Give

the book to the teacher.” In this sentence, “teacher” is the indirect object, as it is

the person receiving the book.)

Accusative

In a transitive sentence, the accusative form of a noun acts as the object.

The object is the noun that receives

the action. In a dependent clause,

the accusative form is also declined

for direct objects. Sometimes, the

accusative form is used as the

object of prepositions, depending

on the meaning.

Ablative

The ablative form is declined for objects of prepositions. Sometimes, the

accusative form may be used instead for a slightly different meaning.

Applications of Latin - Alvina Lee

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Vocative

In most cases, the vocative form is declined much like the nominative

form. The vocative form is used when addressing someone or something, or to

call attention to something or someone. (e.g., “‘O Caesar!”, “Boys! Go back to

sleep!”)

In addition to these forms, there are three types of

nouns: Feminine, Masculine and Neuter. They do not always

imply gender, but rather describe the type of declension. The

first declension is always feminine, the second declension is

masculine or neuter, the third and fourth declensions can be all

three, and the fifth declension is feminine or masculine. Some

words can be declined in the first or second declension. (e.g.,

“ nova, novus and novum ” are in first and second declension,

but all of them mean “new” or “young”.)

Not all declensions will use all of these forms, most

likely because the situation for them is uncommon or illogical.

(e.g., “darkness” or “ tenebra, tenebrae ” is rarely used in

singular form.) Refer to the declension charts to see the

patterns for declining nouns.

The First Declension

The first declension, as mentioned earlier, is always feminine, with the exception

of words such as “agricola, agricolae” for “farmer”, which is masculine. Some words do

imply gender, but others, such as “ harena, harenae ” (sand) and “ stella, stellae ” (star) are

inanimate objects, which do not imply gender. In addition, many adjectives may be

declined in first declension.

Declinatio Prima

(femina): terra,

terrae—earth

Singular

Plural

Nominative

(root + “a”) terra

(root + “ae”) terrae

Genitive

(root + “ae”) terrae

(root + “arum”) terrarum

Dative

(root + “ae”) terrae

(root + “is”) terris

Accusative

(root + “am”) terram

(root + “as”) terras

Ablative

(root + “a”) terra

(root + “is”) terris

Words in First Declension

terra , terrae f.—earth

opulentia , opulentiae f.—wealth

Applications of Latin - Alvina Lee

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harena , harenae f.—sand

pecunia , pecuniae f.—money

area , areae f.—open space, area

luna , lunae f.—moon, month

magistra , magistrae f.—female teacher

tenebra , tenebrae f.—darkness

stella , stellae f.—star

agricola , agricolae m.—farmer

femina , feminae f.—woman

cena , cenae f.—dinner

poeta , poetae f.—poet

fortuna f.—luck

rosa , rosae f.—rose

regina , reginae f.—queen

aqua , aquae f.—water

silva , silvae f.—forest

publica , publicae f.—public, common

diva , divae f.—goddess

Roma , Romae f.—Rome

tela , telae f.—web, warp

The Second Declension

The second declension is also common like

the first one, and is either masculine or neuter.

Both genders are declined in a similar manner,

except that the nominative and accusative forms of

the neuter are the same, but decline differently

from the masculine nominative and accusative

forms. As with the first declensions, second

declensions can also be adjectives. Some words,

such as “ liber , libri ” have the nominative singular

form ending in “er”, but if you decline the other

forms, the “e” should be removed from the other

forms. Thus “ liber , libri ” declines into “ liber , libri ,

libri , librorum , libro , libris , librum , libros , etc.”

Also note that the vocative singular form of the

second declension usually has an “e” after the root word instead of assuming the

nominative singular form.

Declinatio Secunda

(masculinus): nasus,

nasi—nose

Singular

Plural

Nominative

(root + “us”) nasus

(root + “i”) nasi

Genitive

(root + “i”) nasi

(root + “orum”)

nasorum

Dative

(root + “o”) naso

(root + “is”) nasis

Accusative

(root + “um”) nasum

(root + “os”) nasos

Ablative

(root + “o”) naso

(root + “is”) nasis

Vocative

(root + ”e”) nase

(root + “i”) nasi

Applications of Latin - Alvina Lee

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puella , puellae f.—girl

porta , portae f.—gate, portal

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