(Grammar)Noun+Endings+Collected

= Noun Endings Collected =

In each of the pages for the individual cases, you can see the noun endings organized by case. Here, you can see the noun endings organized by declension; in this way, we can look at patterns that emerge within each declension, just like we look at patterns that emerge across cases.


 * 1st Declension**


 * || Singular || Plural ||
 * Nominative || a || ae ||
 * Genitive || ae || arum* ||
 * Dative || ae || is* or abus* ||
 * Accusative || am || as* ||
 * Ablative || a* || is* or abus* ||

In looking at vocabulary, any noun that has "ae" or "arum" in the second form belongs to the first declension. The endings aren't too bad to remember, since all but two start with the letter "a." Most female names belong to the 1st declension. Nouns in this group are typically feminine. However, there are a few infamous ones that are masculine. I call them the PAINS words, a trick I borrowed from my own Latin teacher Mrs. Anderson (Gratias, magistra!)


 * P** = //pirata// (pirate)
 * A** = //agricola// (farmer) and //auriga// (chariot driver)
 * I** = //incola// (inhabitant)
 * N** = //nauta// (sailor)
 * S** = //scriba// (writer/scribe)


 * 2nd Declension**


 * ||Singular ||Plural ||
 * Nominative ||us, -r(um)||i*(a) ||
 * Genitive  ||i*        ||orum*  ||
 * Dative    ||o*        ||is*    ||
 * Accusative ||um       ||os*(a) ||
 * Ablative  ||o*        ||is*    ||

In looking at vocabulary, any noun that has "i" or "orum" in the second form belongs to the second declension. Both "o" and "i" dominate, trading off from one place to another, with "u" in the mix once or twice. Most nouns are masculine, with a number of neuters thrown in, and a few feminines too (usually types of trees like //quercus, querci// for "oak tree")


 * 3rd Declension**


 * ||Singular ||Plural ||
 * Nominative ||NP      ||es*(a) ||
 * Genitive  ||is       ||um     ||
 * Dative    ||i*       ||ibus   ||
 * Accusative ||em(NP)  ||es*(a) ||
 * Ablative  ||e        ||ibus   ||

In looking at vocabulary, any noun that has "is" or "um" in the second form belongs to the third declension. The vowels "i" and "e" dominate, while the genitive plural retains its own pattern of containing "um" but lacks any intro sound like you see in the 1st and 2nd declensions. All three genders are present in equally prevalent amounts.


 * 3rd Declension i-stems**


 * ||Singular ||Plural ||
 * Nominative ||NP      ||es*(ia)||
 * Genitive  ||is       ||ium    ||
 * Dative    ||i*       ||ibus   ||
 * Accusative ||em(NP)  ||es*/is*(ia) ||
 * Ablative  ||e/i*     ||ibus   ||

These are 3rd declension nouns that have some slightly different endings. You can spot them when the nominative singular ends in "es*" or "is" and the genitive is two syllables long. Also, when the nominative singular ends in "ns" or "rs" and the genitive is two syllables long, this is likely an i-stem. Some examples:

Fons, fontis f. - fountain, spring Navis, navis f. - ship (now you know why sailors call their boats "she") Mare, maris n.- sea (the nominative ending in "e" gives this away as an i-stem)

The only ending that these have to use is the "ium" in the genitive plural. Most i-stems don't have to use the "i*" in the ablative, though they have the option to do so; only //mare// has to use it. Neuter nouns must use the "ia" ending in the nominative and accusative plural.


 * 4th Declension**


 * ||Singular ||Plural ||
 * Nominative ||us (u*) ||us* (ua)||
 * Genitive  ||us*      ||uum*   ||
 * Dative    ||ui* (u*) ||ibus   ||
 * Accusative ||um (u*) ||us* (ua)||
 * Ablative  ||u*       ||ibus   ||

In looking at vocabulary, nouns that end in "us*" or "uum*" in the second form belong to fourth declension. Excepting the dative and ablative plural, all endings start with "u"; hence, I call it the "u declension." Most of the nouns are masculine, with a few feminines thrown in. There are also three main neuter nouns here: //cornu, cornus// = horn (like "cornucopia"); //gelu, gelus// = cold; and //genu, genus// = knee (like "genuflect").


 * 5th Declension**


 * ||Singular ||Plural ||
 * Nominative ||es*     ||es*    ||
 * Genitive  ||ei*      ||erum*  ||
 * Dative    ||ei*      ||ebus*  ||
 * Accusative ||em      ||es*    ||
 * Ablative  ||e*       ||ebus*  ||

In looking at vocabulary, nouns that end in "ei" or "erum" in the second form belong to the fifth declension. Without exception, the endings start with "e"; hence I call it the "e" declension. With an exception or two that are masculine, most 5th declension nouns are feminine.