| Latin grammar |
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Latin declension is the set of patterns in theLatin language for hownouns and certain other parts of speech (includingpronouns andadjectives) change form according to theirgrammatical case,number andgender. Words that change form in this manner are said to bedeclined.
Declension is normally marked bysuffixation: attaching different endings to the declined word. For nouns, Latin grammar instruction typically distinguishes five main patterns of endings. The patterns are numbered from first to fifth and subdivided bygrammatical gender. The term "declension" can refer either to the overarching phenomenon, or to one of these specific five patterns. For example, nouns that have a genitive singular form that ends in-ae are said to belong to "the first declension".
Adjectives are of two kinds: those likebonus, bona, bonum 'good' use first-declension endings for the feminine, and second-declension for masculine and neuter. Other adjectives such asceler, celeris, celere belong to the third declension. There are no fourth- or fifth-declension adjectives.
Pronouns are also of two kinds, the personal pronouns such asego 'I' andtū 'you (sg.)', which have their own irregular declension, and the third-person pronouns such ashic 'this' andille 'that' which can generally be used either as pronouns or adjectivally. These latter decline in a similar way to the first and second noun declensions, but there are differences; for example the genitive singular ends in-īus or-ius instead of-ī or-ae and the dative singular ends in-ī.
The cardinal numbersūnus 'one',duo 'two', andtrēs 'three' also have their own declensions (ūnus has genitive-īus and dative-ī like a pronoun). However, numeral adjectives such asbīnī 'a pair, two each' decline like ordinary adjectives.
Declension is a specific type ofinflection, and is distinguished from other ways that words change form in the Latin language, such as theconjugation ofverbs.
A complete Latin noun declension includes up to sevengrammatical cases:nominative,vocative,accusative,genitive,dative,ablative andlocative. The locative is limited to a few nouns: generally names of cities, small islands and a few other words.
Different cases commonly share the same form (calledsyncretism). The patterns of shared endings vary depending on a noun'sgrammatical number,gender, and declension class. The following are the most notable patterns of syncretism:
The Roman grammarianAelius Donatus (4th century AD), whose work was used as standard throughout the Middle Ages, placed the cases in this order:
This order was based on the order used by earlier Greek grammarians, with the addition of the ablative, which does not exist in Greek. The names of the cases also were mostly translated from the Greek terms, such asaccusativus from the Greekαἰτῐᾱτῐκή.
This traditional order was formerly used in England, such as inThe School and University Eton Latin Grammar (1861).[2] That order is still followed in most other European countries. Gildersleeve and Lodge'sLatin Grammar (1895) also follow this order. More recent Latin grammars published in the United States, such as Allen and Greenough'sNew Latin Grammar (1903) andWheelock's Latin (first published in 1956) follow this order except they list the vocative last.
However, in Britain and countries influenced by Britain other than the United States, the Latin cases are usually given in the following order: nominative, vocative, accusative, genitive, dative, ablative. This order was introduced inBenjamin Hall Kennedy'sLatin Primer (1866), with the aim of making tables of declensions easier to recite and memorise (the first three and the last two cases having identical forms in several declensions).[full citation needed] It is also used inFrance[3] andBelgium. InRosa (1962), a song in French by the Belgian singerJacques Brel, Brel sings the declension of "rosa" asrosa, rosa, rosam, following the British order of cases.[full citation needed]
Old Latin had essentially two patterns of endings. One pattern was shared by the first and second declensions, which derived from the Proto-Indo-Europeanthematic declension. The other pattern was used by the third, fourth and fifth declensions, and derived from the athematic PIE declension.
Regularly inflected Latin nouns have twoprincipal parts: the nominative singular and the genitive singular. Each declension can be unequivocally identified by the ending of the genitive singular (-ae, -i, -is, -ūs, -ei). This ending can be removed from the genitive singular form to find the noun's oblique stem, which is shared between all inflected forms aside from the nominative singular. (The nominative singular sometimes, but not always has a distinct stem.)
Latin declension is commonly taught in terms of attaching different sets of vowel-initial endings to the oblique stem. For example, the first-declension nounvacca 'cow' has the genitive singularvaccae, with the oblique stemvacc-. Its ablative singular can be formed by combiningvacc- with the ending-ā, formingvaccā. The second-declension nountaurus 'bull' has the genitive singulartaurī, with the oblique stemtaur-. Its ablative singular can be formed by combiningtaur- with the ending-ō, formingtaurō.
There are five declensions (in other words, five such sets of endings) for Latin nouns:
Nouns of this declension usually end in-a in the nominative singular and are mostly feminine, e.g.via, viaef. ('road') andaqua, aquaef. ('water'). There is a small class of masculine exceptions generally referring to occupations, e.g.poēta, poētaem. ('poet'),agricola, agricolaem. ('farmer'),auriga, aurigaem. ('auriga, charioteer'),pīrāta, pīrātaem. ('pirate') andnauta, nautaem. ('sailor').
The predominant letter in the ending forms of this declension isa. The nominative singular form consists of thestem and the ending-a, and the genitive singular form is the stem plus-ae.
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative, Vocative | -a | -ae |
| Accusative | -am | -ās |
| Genitive | -ae | -ārum |
| Dative | -īs | |
| Ablative | -ā | |
| Locative | Gen. | Dat. |
| mensa, mensae table(f.) | poēta, poētae poet(m.) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | |
| Nominative, Vocative | mensa | mensae | poēta | poētae |
| Accusative | mensam | mensās | poētam | poētās |
| Genitive | mensae[i] | mensārum | poētae | poētārum |
| Dative | mensīs | poētīs | ||
| Ablative | mensā | poētā | ||
The locative endings for the first declension are-ae (singular) and-īs (plural), similar to the genitive singular and ablative plural, as inmīlitiae 'in war' andAthēnīs 'at Athens'.[4]
The first declension also includes three types ofGreek loanwords, derived from Ancient Greek'salpha declension. They are declined irregularly in the singular, but sometimes treated as native Latin nouns, e.g. nominativeathlēta ('athlete') instead of the originalathlētēs. Archaic (Homeric) first declension Greek nouns and adjectives had been formed in exactly the same way as in Latin:nephelēgeréta Zeus ('Zeus the cloud-gatherer') had in classical Greek becomenephelēgerétēs.
For full paradigm tables and more detailed information, see the Wiktionary appendixFirst declension.
The second declension is a large group of nouns consisting of mostly masculine nouns likeequus, equī ('horse') andpuer, puerī ('boy') and neuter nouns likecastellum, castellī ('fort'). There are several small groups of feminine exceptions, including names ofgemstones, plants, trees, and some towns and cities: these take the same endings as masculine nouns.
In the nominative singular, most masculine nouns consist of thestem and theending-us, although some end in-er, which is not necessarily attached to the complete stem. Neuter nouns generally have a nominative singular consisting of the stem and the ending-um. Regardless of gender, every second-declension noun has the ending-ī attached as a suffix to the stem of the noun in the genitive singular form. The predominant letter in the ending forms of this declension iso.
| Singular | Plural | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masculine | Neuter | Masculine | Neuter | |
| Nominative | -us | -um | -ī | -a |
| Vocative | -e | |||
| Accusative | -um | -ōs | ||
| Genitive | -ī | -ōrum | ||
| Dative, Ablative | -ō | -īs | ||
| Locative | Gen. | Dat. | ||
| dominus, dominī masterm. | ||
|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | |
| Nominative | dominus | dominī |
| Vocative | domine | |
| Accusative | dominum | dominōs |
| Genitive | dominī | dominōrum |
| Dative, Ablative | dominō | dominīs |
| bellum, bellī warn. | ||
|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | |
| Nominative, Vocative, Accusative | bellum | bella |
| Genitive | bellī | bellōrum |
| Locative | bellīs | |
| Dative, Ablative | bellō | |
The locative endings for the second declension are-ī (singular) and-īs (plural);Corinthī "at Corinth",Mediolānī "at Milan", andPhilippīs "at Philippi".[5]
Nouns ending in-ius and-ium have a genitive singular in-ī in earlier Latin, which was regularized to-iī in the later language. Masculine nouns in-ius have a vocative singular in-ī at all stages. These forms in-ī are stressed on the same syllable as the nominative singular, sometimes in violation of the usual Latin stress rule. For example, the genitive and vocative singularVergilī (fromVergilius) is pronouncedVergílī, with stress on the penult, even though it is short.[6][7] In Old Latin, however, the vocative was declined regularly, using-ie instead, e.g.fīlie "[O] son", archaic vocative offīlius.
There is no contraction of-iī(s) in plural forms and in the locative.
| fīlius, filiī sonm. | auxilium, auxiliī aid, helpn. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | |
| Nominative | fīlius | fīliī | auxilium | auxilia |
| Vocative | fīlī | |||
| Accusative | fīlium | fīliōs | ||
| Genitive | fīliī | fīliōrum | auxiliī | auxiliōrum |
| Dative, Ablative | fīliō | fīliīs | auxiliō | auxiliīs |
In the older language, nouns ending with-vus,-quus and-vum takeo rather thanu in the nominative and accusative singular. For example,servus, servī ('slave') could beservos, accusativeservom.
Some masculine nouns of the second declension end in-er or-ir in the nominative singular. The declension of these nouns is identical to that of the regular second declension, except for the lack of suffix in the nominative and vocative singular.
Some (but not all) nouns in-er drop thee in the genitive and other cases. For example,socer, socerī ('father-in-law') keeps itse. However, the nounmagister, magistrī ('(school)master') drops itse in the genitive singular.
For declension tables of second-declension nouns, see thecorresponding Wiktionary appendix.
| puer, puerī boym. | ager, agrī fieldm. | vir, virī manm. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | |
| Nominative,Vocative | puer | puerī | ager | agrī | vir | virī |
| Accusative | puerum | puerōs | agrum | agrōs | virum | virōs |
| Genitive | puerī | puerōrum | agrī | agrōrum | virī | virōrum (virum) |
| Dative, Ablative | puerō | puerīs | agrō | agrīs | virō | virīs |
The vocativepuere is found but only inPlautus.[8] The genitive pluralvirum is found in poetry.[9]
The second declension contains two types of masculine Greek nouns and one form of neuter Greek noun. These nouns are irregular only in the singular, as are their first-declension counterparts. Greek nouns in the second declension are derived from theOmicron declension.
Some Greek nouns may also be declined as normal Latin nouns. For example,theātron can appear astheātrum.
The inflection ofdeus, deī ('god') is irregular. The vocative singular ofdeus is not attested in Classical Latin. InEcclesiastical Latin the vocative ofDeus ('God') isDeus.
In poetry,-um may substitute-ōrum as the genitive plural ending.
| deus, deī godm. | ||
|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | |
| Nominative, Vocative | deus | deī diī dī |
| Accusative | deum | deōs |
| Genitive | deī | deōrum deum |
| Dative, Ablative | deō | deīs diīs dīs |
Three words, although second declension neuter, end in-us. These arevulgus "common people, crowd",vīrus "slime, poison", and (borrowed from Greek)pelagus "sea".[10]
The wordvīrus means "1. slimy liquid, slime; 2. poison, venom", denoting the venom of a snake. This Latin word is probably related to theGreekῑ̓ός (ios) meaning "venom" or "rust" and theSanskrit wordविषviṣa meaning "toxic, poison".[11]
Sincevīrus in antiquity denoted something uncountable, it was amass noun. Mass nouns pluralize only under special circumstances, hence the non-existence of plural forms in the texts.[12]
InNeo-Latin, a plural form is necessary in order to express the modern concept of 'viruses', which leads to the following declension:[13][14][15]
| vīrus, vīrī poison, venom, virusn. | ||
|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | |
| Nominative, Vocative, Accusative | vīrus | vīra |
| Genitive | vīrī[i] | vīrōrum |
| Dative, Ablative | vīrō | vīrīs |
The third declension is the largest group of nouns. The nominative singular of these nouns may end in-a,-e,-ī,-ō,-y,-c,-l,-n,-r,-s,-t, or-x. This group of nouns includes masculine, feminine, and neuter nouns.
The stem of a consonant-stem noun may be found from the genitive case by removing the ending-is. For example, the stem ofpāx, pācisf. 'peace' ispāc-, the stem offlūmen, flūminisn. 'river' isflūmin-, and the stem offlōs, flōrism. 'flower' isflōr-.
Masculine, feminine and neuter nouns often have their own special nominative singular endings. For instance, many masculine nouns end in-or (amor, amōris, 'love'). Many feminine nouns end in-īx (phoenīx, phoenīcis, 'phoenix'), and many neuter nouns end in-us with anr stem in the oblique cases (onus, oneris 'burden';tempus, temporis 'time').
| Masculine & feminine | Neuter | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | |
| Nominative, Vocative | (-s) | -ēs | —[i] | -a |
| Accusative | -em | |||
| Genitive | -is | -um | -is | -um |
| Dative | -ī | -ibus | -ī | -ibus |
| Ablative | -e | -e | ||
| Locative | Dat./Abl. | Dat. | Dat./Abl. | Dat. |
| dux, ducis leaderm. | virtūs, virtūtis virtuef. | nōmen, nōminis namen. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | |
| Nominative, Vocative | dux | ducēs | virtūs | virtūtēs | nōmen | nōmina |
| Accusative | ducem | virtūtem | ||||
| Genitive | ducis | ducum | virtūtis | virtūtum | nōminis | nōminum |
| Dative | ducī | ducibus | virtūtī | virtūtibus | nōminī | nōminibus |
| Ablative | duce | virtūte | nōmine | |||
The locative endings for the third declension are-ī or-e (singular) and-ibus (plural), as inrūrī 'in the country' andTrallibus 'at Tralles'.[16]
The third declension also has a set of nouns that are declined differently. They are calledi-stems.i-stems are broken into two subcategories: pure and mixed. Purei-stems are indicated by special neuter endings. Mixedi-stems are indicated by the double consonant rule. Stems indicated by the parisyllabic rule are usually mixed, occasionally pure.
The mixed declension is distinguished from the consonant type only by having-ium in the genitive plural (and occasionally-īs in the accusative plural). The pure declension is characterized by having-ī in the ablative singular,-ium in the genitive plural,-ia in the nominative and accusative plural neuter, and-im in the accusative singular masculine and feminine (however, adjectives have-em).
The accusative plural ending-īs is found in early Latin up toVirgil, but from the early empire onwards it was replaced by-ēs.[17]
The accusative singular ending-im is found only in a few words: always intussis 'cough',sitis 'thirst',Tiberis 'River Tiber'; usually insecūris 'axe',turris 'tower',puppis 'poop',febris 'fever'; occasionally innāvis 'ship'. Most nouns, however, have accusative singular-em.[18] The ending-im is not found in any adjectives, even those that have a separate feminine such asceleris 'swift' orācris 'keen',[19] or in any masculine common nouns.
The ablative singular-ī is found in nouns which have-im, and also, optionally, in some other nouns, e.g.in ignī orin igne 'in the fire'.
There are two mixed-declension neuter nouns:cor, cordis ('heart') andos, ossis ('bone'). The mixed declension is also used in the plural-only adjectiveplūrēs, plūra ('most').
| Masculine & Feminine | Neuter | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | |
| Nominative, Vocative | — | -ēs | — | -ia |
| Accusative | -em -im | -ēs -īs | ||
| Genitive | -is | -ium | -is | -ium |
| Dative | -ī | -ibus | -ī | -ibus |
| Ablative | -e -ī | |||
| Locative | Dat./Abl. | Dat. | Dat./Abl. | Dat. |
| Masculine & Feminine | Neuter | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | |
| Nominative, Vocative | — | -ēs | — | -a |
| Accusative | -em | -ēs -īs | ||
| Genitive | -is | -ium | -is | -ium |
| Dative | -ī | -ibus | -ī | -ibus |
| Ablative | -e | -e | ||
| Locative | Dat./Abl. | Dat. | Dat./Abl. | Dat. |
| turris, turris towerf. (pure) | pars, partis part, piecef. (mixed) | animal, animālis animal, living beingn. (pure) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parisyllabic rule | Double consonant rule | Special neuter ending | ||||
| Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | |
| Nominative, Vocative | turris | turrēs | pars | partēs | animal | animālia |
| Accusative | turrem turrim | turrēs turrīs | partem | partēs partīs | ||
| Genitive | turris | turrium | partis | partium | animālis | animālium |
| Dative | turrī | turribus | partī | partibus | animālī | animālibus |
| Ablative | turre turrī | parte (partī) | ||||
The rules for determiningi-stems from non-i-stems and mixedi-stems are guidelines rather than rules: many words that might be expected to bei-stems according to the parisyllabic rule actually are not, such ascanis ('dog') oriuvenis ('youth'), which have genitive pluralcanum 'of dogs' andiuvenum 'of young men'. Likewise,pater ('father'),māter ('mother'),frāter ('brother'), andparēns ('parent') violate the double-consonant rule. This fluidity even in Roman times resulted in much more uncertainty in Medieval Latin.
Some nouns in-tāt-, such ascīvitās, cīvitātis 'city, community' can have either consonant-stem ori-stem genitive plural:cīvitātum orcīvitātium 'of the cities'.[17]
In the third declension, there are four irregular nouns.
| Case | vīs, vīs force, powerf. | sūs, suis swine, pig, hogm.f. | bōs, bovis ox, bullockm.f. | Iuppiter, Iovis Jupiterm. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | |
| Nominative, Vocative | vīs | vīrēs | sūs | suēs | bōs[i] | bovēs | Iuppiter Iūpiter[i] |
| Accusative | vim | vīrēs vīrīs | suem | bovem | Iovem | ||
| Genitive | vīs[ii] | vīrium | suis | suum | bovis | boum bovum | Iovis |
| Dative | vī[ii] | vīribus | suī | suibus sūbus | bovī | bōbus būbus[i] | Iovī |
| Ablative | sue | bove | Iove | ||||
The fourth declension is a group of nouns consisting of mostly masculine words such asflūctus, flūctūsm. ('wave') andportus, portūsm. ('port') with a few feminine exceptions, includingmanus, manūsf. ('hand') anddomus, domūsf. ('house'). The fourth declension also includes several neuter nouns includinggenū, genūsn. ('knee'). Each noun has the ending-ūs as a suffix attached to the root of the noun in the genitive singular form. The predominant letter in the ending forms of this declension isu, but the declension is otherwise very similar to the third-declensioni stems.
| -us ending nouns | -ū ending nouns | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | |
| Nominative, Vocative | -us | -ūs | -ū | -ua |
| Accusative | -um | |||
| Genitive | -ūs | -uum | -ūs | -uum |
| Dative | -uī | -ibus -ubus[i] | -ū | -ibus |
| Ablative | -ū | |||
| Locative | -ī | Dat. | -ī | Dat. |
| portus, portūs portm. | genū, genūs kneen. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | |
| Nominative, Vocative | portus | portūs | genū | genua |
| Accusative | portum | |||
| Genitive | portūs | portuum | genūs | genuum |
| Dative | portuī | portibus | genū | genibus |
| Ablative | portū | |||
Domus ('house, dwelling, building, home, native place, family, household, race') is an irregular noun, mixing fourth and second declension forms at the same time (especially in literature). However, in practice, it is generally declined as a regular-us stem fourth declension noun, except for ablative singular-ō, accusative plural-ōs, and the use of the locative.[20]
| domus, domūs/domīf. | ||
|---|---|---|
| All possible declensions | ||
| Singular | Plural | |
| Nominative, Vocative | domus | domūs |
| Accusative | domum | domōs |
| domūs | ||
| Genitive | domūs | domuum |
| domī | domōrum | |
| Dative | domuī | domibus |
| domō | ||
| domō | ||
| Ablative | ||
| domū | ||
| Locative | domī | |
| domus, domūsf. | ||
|---|---|---|
| Most common paradigm | ||
| Singular | Plural | |
| Nominative, Vocative | domus | domūs |
| Accusative | domum | domōs |
| Genitive | domūs | domuum |
| Dative | domuī | domibus |
| Ablative | domō | |
| Locative | domī | |
The fifth declension is a small group of nouns consisting of mostly feminine nouns likerēs, reīf. ('affair, matter, thing') anddiēs, diēīm. ('day'; butf. in names of days).
| -iēs ending nouns | -ēs ending nouns | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | |
| Nominative, Vocative | -iēs | -iēs | -ēs | -ēs |
| Accusative | -iem | -em | ||
| Genitive | -iēī | -iērum | -eī | -ērum |
| Dative | -iēbus | -ēbus | ||
| Ablative, Locative | -iē | -ē | ||
| diēs, diēī daym.,f. | rēs, reī thingf. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | |
| Nominative, Vocative | diēs | diēs | rēs | rēs |
| Accusative | diem | rem | ||
| Genitive | diēī | diērum | reī | rērum |
| Dative | diēbus | rēbus | ||
| Ablative, Locative | diē | rē | ||
Nouns ending in-iēs have longēī in the dative and genitive, while nouns ending in a consonant +-ēs usually have shorteī in these cases. Other forms of the genitive singular are also found, such asdiī (Aeneid 1.636),diē (Georgic 1.208),diēs (Ennius).[21]
The locative ending of the fifth declension was-ē (singular only), identical to the ablative singular, as inhodiē ('today').
The first and second persons are irregular, and both pronouns are indeclinable for gender; and the third person reflexive pronoun sē, suī always refers back to the subject, regardless of whether the subject is singular or plural.
| First Person | Second Person | Third Person | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ego,nōs I, we | tū,vōs you | sē, suī himself, herself, itself, oneself, themselves | ||||
| Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | |
| Vocative | — | tū | vōs | — | ||
| Nominative | ego egō | nōs | ||||
| Accusative | mē | tē | sē sēsē | |||
| Genitive complements | meī | nostrī | tuī | vestrī | suī | |
| Genitivepartitive | — | nostrum | — | vestrum | — | |
| Dative | mihi mihī | nōbīs | tibi tibī | vōbīs | sibi sibī | |
| Ablative | mē | tē | sē sēsē | |||
The genitive formsmeī,tuī,nostrī,vestrī,suī are used as complements in certain grammatical constructions, whereasnostrum,vestrum are used with apartitive meaning ('[one] of us', '[one] of you'). To express possession, the possessive pronouns (essentially adjectives)meus,tuus,noster,vester are used, declined in the first and second declensions to agree in number and case with the thing possessed, e.g.pater meus 'my father',māter mea 'my mother'. The vocative singular masculine ofmeus ismī:mī Attice 'my dear Atticus'.[22]
| meus, mea, meum my, mine | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | |||||
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | |
| Nominative | meus | mea | meum | meī | meae | mea |
| Vocative | mī (& meus) | |||||
| Accusative | meum | meam | meōs | meās | ||
| Genitive | meī | meae | meī | meōrum | meārum | meōrum |
| Dative | meō | meō | meīs | |||
| Ablative | meā | |||||
| tuus, tua, tuum your, yours (for singular possessor) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | |||||
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | |
| Nominative | tuus | tua | tuum | tuī | tuae | tua |
| Accusative | tuum | tuam | tuōs | tuās | ||
| Genitive | tuī | tuae | tuī | tuōrum | tuārum | tuōrum |
| Dative | tuō | tuō | tuīs | |||
| Ablative | tuā | |||||
| suus, sua, suum his, her, its, theirs (reflexive) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | |||||
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | |
| Nominative | suus | sua | suum | suī | suae | sua |
| Accusative | suum | suam | suōs | suās | ||
| Genitive | suī | suae | suī | suōrum | suārum | suōrum |
| Dative | suō | suō | suīs | |||
| Ablative | suā | |||||
| noster, nostra, nostrum our, ours | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | |||||
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | |
| Nominative, Vocative | noster | nostra | nostrum | nostrī | nostrae | nostra |
| Accusative | nostrum | nostram | nostrōs | nostrās | ||
| Genitive | nostrī | nostrae | nostrī | nostrōrum | nostrārum | nostrōrum |
| Dative | nostrō | nostrō | nostrīs | |||
| Ablative | nostrā | |||||
The possessive adjectivevester has an archaic variant,voster; similar tonoster. Vocative ofmeus is usuallymī, and rarelymeus also, like the nominative.
| vester, vestra, vestrum voster, vostra, vostrum your, yours (for plural possessor) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | |||||
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | |
| Nominative | vester voster | vestra vostra | vestrum vostrum | vestrī vostrī | vestrae vostrae | vestra vostra |
| Accusative | vestrum vostrum | vestram vostram | vestrōs vostrōs | vestrās vostrās | ||
| Genitive | vestrī vostrī | vestrae vostrae | vestrī vostrī | vestrōrum vostrōrum | vestrārum vostrārum | vestrōrum vostrōrum |
| Dative | vestrō vostrō | vestrō vostrō | vestrīs vostrīs | |||
| Ablative | vestrā vostrā | |||||
Usually, to show the ablative of accompaniment,cum would be placed before the ablative form. However, with personal pronouns (first and second person), the reflexive and the interrogative,-cum is added onto the end of the ablative form. That is:mēcum 'with me',nōbīscum 'with us',tēcum 'with you',vōbīscum,sēcum andquōcum (sometimesquīcum).
Pronouns have also an emphatic form bi using the suffix-met (egomet,tūte/tūtemet,nosmet,vosmet), used in all cases, except by the genitive plural forms.
In accusative case, the formsmēmē andtētē exist as emphatic, but they are not widely used.
Sē, suī has a possessive adjective:suus, sua, suum, meaning 'his/her/its/their own':
When 'his' or 'her' refers to someone else, not the subject, the genitive pronouneius (as well aseōrum andeārum) 'of him' is used instead ofsuus:
Despite its resemblance to the possessive adjectivesmeus, tuus andsuus,eius does not decline in agreement with the noun it refers to, in the way that an adjective would. For instance, "his father" in the accusative ispatrem eius (literally, "father of him"), notpatrem*eium, in contrast with the reflexive formationpatrem suum ("his [own] father").
When one sentence is embedded inside another with a different subject,sē andsuus can refer to either subject:
For the third-person pronounis 'he', see below.
Relative, demonstrative and indefinite pronouns are generally declined like first and second declension adjectives, with the following differences:
These differences characterize the pronominal declension, and a few special adjectives (tōtus 'whole',sōlus 'alone',ūnus 'one',nūllus 'no',alius 'another',alter 'another [of two]', etc.) are also declined according to this pattern.
All demonstrative, relative, and indefinite pronouns in Latin can also be used adjectivally, with some small differences; for example in the interrogative pronoun,quis 'who?' andquid 'what?' are usually used for the pronominal form,quī andquod 'which?' for the adjectival form.
The weak demonstrative pronounis,ea,id 'that' also serves as the third person pronoun 'he, she, it':
| Third person | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| is, ea, id he, she, it | ||||||
| Singular | Plural | |||||
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | |
| Nominative | is | ea | id | eī iī | eae | ea |
| Accusative | eum | eam | eōs | eās | ||
| Genitive | eius | eōrum | eārum | eōrum | ||
| Dative | eī | eīs iīs | ||||
| Ablative | eō | eā | eō | |||
This pronoun is also often used adjectivally, e.g.is homo 'that man',ea pecunia 'that money'. It has no possessive adjective; the genitive is used instead:pater eius 'his/her father';pater eōrum 'their father'.
The pronoun or pronominal adjectiveīdem, eadem, idem means 'the same'. It is derived fromis with the suffix-dem. However, some forms have beenassimilated.
| īdem, eadem, idem the same, same as | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | |||||
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | |
| Nominative | īdem | eadem | idem | eīdem īdem iīdem | eaedem | eadem |
| Accusative | eundem | eandem | eōsdem | eāsdem | ||
| Genitive | eiusdem | eōrundem | eārundem | eōrundem | ||
| Dative | eīdem | eīsdem īsdem iīsdem | ||||
| Ablative | eōdem | eādem | eōdem | |||
| hic, haec, hoc this, this one (proximal) | ille, illa, illud that, that one (distal) | iste, ista, istud that of yours (medial) | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | |||||||||||||
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | |
| Nominative | hic | haec | hoc | hī | hae | haec | ille | illa | illud | illī | illae | illa | iste | ista | istud | istī | istae | ista |
| Accusative | hunc | hanc | hōs | hās | illum | illam | illōs | illās | istum | istam | istōs | istās | ||||||
| Genitive | huius[i] | hōrum | hārum | hōrum | illīus | illōrum | illārum | illōrum | istīus | istōrum | istārum | istōrum | ||||||
| Dative | huic | hīs | illī | illīs | istī | istīs | ||||||||||||
| Ablative | hōc | hāc | hōc | illō | illā | illō | istō | istā | istō | |||||||||
Similar in declension isalius, alia, aliud 'another'.
| ipse, ipsa, ipsum himself, herself, itself | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | |||||
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | |
| Nominative | ipse | ipsa | ipsum | ipsī | ipsae | ipsa |
| Accusative | ipsum | ipsam | ipsōs | ipsās | ||
| Genitive | ipsīus | ipsōrum | ipsārum | ipsōrum | ||
| Dative | ipsī | ipsīs | ||||
| Ablative | ipsō | ipsā | ipsō | |||
The interrogative pronouns are used strictly for asking questions. They are distinct from the relative pronoun and the interrogative adjective (which is declined like the relative pronoun). Interrogative pronouns rarely occur in the plural. The plural interrogative pronouns are the same as the plural relative pronouns.
| quis? quid? who?, what? | ||
|---|---|---|
| Masculine & Feminine | Neuter | |
| Nominative | quis? | quid? |
| Accusative | quem? | |
| Genitive | cuius?[i] | |
| Dative | cui? | |
| Ablative | quō? | |
| quī, quae, quod who, which, that | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | |||||
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | |
| Nominative | quī | quae | quod | quī | quae | quae |
| Accusative | quem | quam | quōs | quās | ||
| Genitive | cuius[i] | quōrum | quārum | quōrum | ||
| Dative | cui | quibus | ||||
| Ablative | quō | quā | quō | |||
For the most part adjectives are declined like nouns, with the difference that adjectives can normally be used in all three genders.
Nearly all adjectives can be categorized into one of two types:
An adjectiveagrees with its corresponding noun in number, gender, and case; they do not agree in declension type. Therefore, adjectives do not necessarily take the same ending as their nouns, although this often happens to be the case.
First- and second-declension adjectives are inflected in the masculine, the feminine and the neuter; the masculine form typically ends in-us (although some end in-er, see below), the feminine form ends in-a, and the neuter form ends in-um. Therefore, some adjectives are given likealtus, alta, altum.
Adjectives ending-ius use the vocative-ie (ēbrie, "[O] drunk man", vocative ofēbrius), just as in Old Latin all-ius nouns did (fīlie, "[O] son", archaic vocative offīlius).
| altus, alta, altum high, long, tall | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | |||||
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | |
| Nominative | altus | alta | altum | altī | altae | alta |
| Vocative | alte | |||||
| Accusative | altum | altam | altōs | altās | ||
| Genitive | altī | altae | altī | altōrum | altārum | altōrum |
| Dative | altō | altō | altīs | |||
| Ablative | altā | |||||
Some first- and second-declension adjectives' masculine forms end in-er. As with second-declension-r nouns, some adjectives retain thee throughout inflection, and some omit it.Sacer, sacra, sacrum omits itse whilemiser, misera, miserum keeps it.
| miser, misera, miserum sad, poor, unhappy | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | |||||
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | |
| Nominative | miser | misera | miserum | miserī | miserae | misera |
| Vocative | ||||||
| Accusative | miserum | miseram | miserōs | miserās | ||
| Genitive | miserī | miserae | miserī | miserōrum | miserārum | miserōrum |
| Dative | miserō | miserō | miserīs | |||
| Ablative | miserā | |||||
| sacer, sacra, sacrum sacred, holy | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | |||||
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | |
| Nominative | sacer | sacra | sacrum | sacrī | sacrae | sacra |
| Vocative | ||||||
| Accusative | sacrum | sacram | sacrōs | sacrās | ||
| Genitive | sacrī | sacrae | sacrī | sacrōrum | sacrārum | sacrōrum |
| Dative | sacrō | sacrō | sacrīs | |||
| Ablative | sacrā | |||||
Nine first and second declension pronominal adjectives are irregular in the genitive and dative singular in all genders. They can be remembered by using the mnemonic acronymūnus nauta. They are:
| ūllus, ūlla, ūllum any | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | |||||
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | |
| Nominative | ūllus | ūlla | ūllum | ūllī | ūllae | ūlla |
| Accusative | ūllum | ūllam | ūllōs | ūllās | ||
| Genitive | ūllīus | ūllōrum | ūllārum | ūllōrum | ||
| Dative | ūllī | ūllīs | ||||
| Ablative | ūllō | ūllā | ūllō | |||
Third-declension adjectives are normally declined like third-declensioni-stem nouns, except for the fact they usually have-ī rather than-e in the ablative singular (unlikei-stem nouns, in which only pure i-stems have-ī). Some adjectives, however, like the one-endingvetus, veteris ('old, aged'), have-e in the ablative singular,-um in the genitive plural, and-a in the nominative and accusative neuter plural.
These have a single nominative ending for all genders, although as usual the endings for the other cases vary. As with nouns, a genitive is given for the purpose of showing the inflection.
| atrōx, atrōx terrible, mean, cruel | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | |||
| Masculine, Feminine | Neuter | Masculine, Feminine | Neuter | |
| Nominative, Vocative | atrōx | atrōx | atrōcēs | atrōcia |
| Accusative | atrōcem | atrōcēs atrōcīs | ||
| Genitive | atrōcis | atrōcium | ||
| Dative, Ablative | atrōcī | atrōcibus | ||
| vetus, vetus old, aged | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | |||
| Masculine, Feminine | Neuter | Masculine, Feminine | Neuter | |
| Nominative, Vocative | vetus | vetus | veterēs | vetera |
| Accusative | veterem | |||
| Genitive | veteris | veterum | ||
| Dative | veterī | veteribus | ||
| Ablative | vetere | |||
Third-declension adjectives that have two endings have one form for the masculine and feminine, and a separate form for the neuter. The ending for the masculine and feminine is-is, and the ending for the neuter is-e. It is not necessary to give the genitive, as it is the same as the nominative masculine singular.
| agilis, agile nimble, swift | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | |||
| Masculine, Feminine | Neuter | Masculine, Feminine | Neuter | |
| Nominative, Vocative | agilis | agile | agilēs | agilia |
| Accusative | agilem | agilēs agilīs | ||
| Genitive | agilis | agilium | ||
| Dative, Ablative | agilī | agilibus | ||
Third-declension adjectives with three endings have three separate nominative forms for all three genders. Like third and second declension-r nouns, the masculine ends in-er. The feminine ends in-ris, and the neuter ends in-re. The genitive is the same as the nominative feminine singular.
| celer, celeris, celere swift, rapid, brash | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | |||||
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | |
| Nominative, Vocative | celer | celeris | celere | celerēs | celeria | |
| Accusative | celerem | |||||
| Genitive | celeris | celerium | ||||
| Dative, Ablative | celerī | celeribus | ||||
| alacer, alacris, alacre lively, jovial, animated | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | |||||
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | |
| Nominative, Vocative | alacer | alacris | alacre | alacrēs | alacria | |
| Accusative | alacrem | alacrēs alacrīs | ||||
| Genitive | alacris | alacrium | ||||
| Dative, Ablative | alacrī | alacribus | ||||
As in English, adjectives have superlative and comparative forms. For regular first and second declension and third declension adjectives with one or two endings, the comparative is formed by adding-ior for the masculine and feminine, and-ius for the neuter to the stem. The genitives for both are formed by adding-iōris. Therefore, they are declined in the third declension, but they are not declined asi-stems. Superlatives are formed by adding-issimus, -issima, -issimum to the stem and are thus declined like first and second declension adjectives.
| altior, altius higher, deeper (comparative ofaltus) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | |||
| Masculine, Feminine | Neuter | Masculine, Feminine | Neuter | |
| Nominative, Vocative | altior | altius | altiōrēs | altiōra |
| Accusative | altiōrem | |||
| Genitive | altiōris | altiōrum | ||
| Dative | altiōrī | altiōribus | ||
| Ablative | altiōre | |||
| altissimus, altissima, altissimum highest, deepest (superlative ofaltus) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | |||||
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | |
| Nominative | altissimus | altissima | altissimum | altissimī | altissimae | altissima |
| Vocative | altissime | |||||
| Accusative | altissimum | altissimam | altissimōs | altissimās | ||
| Genitive | altissimī | altissimae | altissimī | altissimōrum | altissimārum | altissimōrum |
| Dative | altissimō | altissimō | altissimīs | |||
| Ablative | altissimā | |||||
| Positive | Comparative | Superlative |
|---|---|---|
| clārus, clāra, clārum ('clear, bright, famous') | clārior, clārius | clārissimus, clārissima, clārissimum |
| frīgidus, frīgida, frīgidum ('cold, chilly') | frīgidior, frīgidius | frīgidissimus, frīgidissima, frīgidissimum |
| pugnāx, pugnāx (pugnācis) ('pugnacious') | pugnācior, pugnācius | pugnācissimus, pugnācissima, pugnācissimum |
| benevolēns, benevolēns (benevolentis) ('kind, benevolent') | benevolentior, benevolentius | benevolentissimus, benevolentissima, benevolentissimum |
| fortis, forte ('strong, robust') | fortior, fortius | fortissimus, fortissima, fortissimum |
| aequālis, aequāle ('equal, even') | aequālior, aequālius | aequālissimus, aequālissima, aequālissimum |
Adjectives (in the first and second as well as third declensions) that have masculine nominative singular forms ending in-er are slightly different. As with normal adjectives, the comparative is formed by adding-ior to the stem, but for the superlative,-rimus is added to the nominative masculine singular.
| Positive | Comparative | Superlative |
|---|---|---|
| pulcher, pulchra, pulchrum ('pretty, beautiful') | pulchrior, pulchrius | pulcherrimus, pulcherrima, pulcherrimum |
| sacer, sacra, sacrum ('sacred, holy') | sacrior, sacrius | sacerrimus, sacerrima, sacerrimum |
| tener, tenera, tenerum ('delicate, tender') | tenerior, tenerius | tenerrimus, tenerrima, tenerrimum |
| ācer, ācris, ācre ('valliant, fierce') | ācrior, ācrius | ācerrimus, ācerrima, ācerrimum |
| celeber, celebris, celebre ('celebrated, famous') | celebrior, celebrius | celeberrimus, celeberrima, celeberrimum |
| celer, celeris, celere ('quick, fast') | celerior, celerius | celerrimus, celerrima, celerrimum |
Some third declension adjectives with two endings in-lis in the masculine–feminine nominative singular have irregular superlative forms. The following are the only adjectives that do.
| Positive | Comparative | Superlative |
|---|---|---|
| facilis, facile ('easy') | facilior, facilius | facillimus, facillima, facillimum |
| difficilis, difficile ('hard, difficult') | difficilior, difficilius | difficillimus, difficillima, difficillimum |
| similis, simile ('similar, like') | similior, similius | simillimus, simillima, simillimum |
| dissimilis, dissimile ('unlike, dissimilar') | dissimilior, dissimilius | dissimillimus, dissimillima, dissimillimum |
| gracilis, gracile ('slender, slim') | gracilior, gracilius | gracillimus, gracillima, gracillimum |
| humilis, humile ('low, humble') | humilior, humilius | humillimus, humillima, humillimum |
First and second declension adjectives that end in-eus or-ius are unusual in that they do not form the comparative and superlative by taking endings at all. Instead,magis ('more') andmaximē ('most'), the comparative and superlative degrees ofmagnoperē ('much, greatly'), respectively, are used.
Many adjectives in-uus, except those in-quus or-guus, also follow this rule.
| Positive | Comparative | Superlative |
|---|---|---|
| idōneus, idōnea, idōneum ('suitable, fitting, proper') | magis idōneus | maximē idōneus |
| sōlitārius, sōlitāria, sōlitārium ('solitary, lonely') | magis sōlitārius | maximē sōlitārius |
| ebrius, ebria, ebrium ('drunk') | magis ebrius | maximē ebrius |
| meritōrius, meritōria, meritōrium ('meritorious') | magis meritōrius | maximē meritōrius |
| grāmineus, grāminea, grāmineum ('grassy') | magis grāmineus | maximē grāmineus |
| bellātōrius, bellātōria, bellātōrium ('warlike, bellicose') | magis bellātōrius | maximē bellātōrius |
| arduus, ardua, arduum ('lofty, steep') | magis arduus | maximē arduus |
As in most languages, Latin has adjectives that have irregular comparatives and superlatives.
There are several different kinds of numeral words in Latin: the two most common are cardinal numerals and ordinal numerals. There are also several more rare numerals, e.g., distributive numerals and adverbial numerals.
All cardinal numerals are indeclinable, exceptūnus ('one'),duo ('two'),trēs ('three'), plural hundredsducentī ('two hundred'),trecentī ('three hundred') etc., andmīlle ('thousand'), which have cases and genders like adjectives.Ūnus, ūna, ūnum is declined like a first- and second-declension pronoun with-īus or-ius in the genitive, and-ī in the dative.Duo is declined irregularly,trēs is declined like a third-declension plural adjective,-centī ('hundred') numerals decline like first- and second-declension adjectives, andmīlle is invariable in the singular and declined like a third-declensioni-stem neuter noun in the plural:
The plural endings forūnus are used withplūrālia tantum nouns, e. g.ūna castra (one [military] camp),ūnae scālae (one ladder).
| ūnus, ūna, ūnum one | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | |||||
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | |
| Nominative | ūnus | ūna | ūnum | ūnī | ūnae | ūna |
| Vocative | ūne | |||||
| Accusative | ūnum | ūnam | ūnōs | ūnās | ||
| Genitive | ūnīus / ūnius | ūnōrum | ūnārum | ūnōrum | ||
| Dative | ūnī | ūnīs | ||||
| Ablative | ūnō | ūnā | ūnō | |||
The wordambō ('both'), is declined likeduo except that itso is long. Both declensions derive from the Indo-Europeandual number, otherwise defunct in Latin, rather than the plural.
| duo, duae, duo two | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Plural | |||
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | |
| Nominative, Vocative | duo | duae | duo |
| Accusative | duō(s) | duās | |
| Genitive | duōrum | duārum | duōrum |
| Dative, Ablative | duōbus | duābus | duōbus |
| ambō, ambae, ambō both | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Plural | |||
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | |
| Nominative, Vocative | ambō | ambae | ambō |
| Accusative | ambō(s) | ambās | |
| Genitive | ambōrum | ambārum | ambōrum |
| Dative, Ablative | ambōbus | ambābus | ambōbus |
| trēs, tria three | ||
|---|---|---|
| Plural | ||
| Masculine, Feminine | Neuter | |
| Nominative, Vocative | trēs | tria |
| Accusative | trēs / trīs | |
| Genitive | trium | |
| Dative, Ablative | tribus | |
The numeralcentum ('one hundred') is indeclinable, but all the other hundred numerals are declinable (ducentī,trecentī,quadringentī,quīngentī,sescentī,septingentī,octingentī,nōngentī).
| ducentī, ducentae, ducenta two hundred | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Plural | |||
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | |
| Nominative, Vocative | ducentī | ducentae | ducenta |
| Accusative | ducentōs | ducentās | |
| Genitive | ducentōrum | ducentārum | ducentōrum |
| Dative, Ablative | ducentīs | ||
The wordmīlle 'thousand' is a singular indeclinable adjective. However, its plural,mīlia, is a plural third-declensioni-stem neuter noun. To write the phrase "four thousand horses" in Latin, the genitive is used:quattuor mīlia equōrum, literally, "four thousands of horses".
| mīlle (one) thousand | mīlia, mīlium x thousand, thousands | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative, Vocative | mīlle | mīl(l)ia | -ia |
| Accusative | |||
| Genitive | mīl(l)ium | -ium | |
| Dative, Ablative | mīl(l)ibus | -ibus | |
The rest of the numbers are indeclinable whether used as adjectives or as nouns.
For further information on the different sets of Latin numerals, seeLatin numerals (linguistics).
Adverbs are not declined. However, adverbs must be formed if one wants to make an adjective into an adverb.
First and second declension adjectives' adverbs are formed by adding-ē onto their stems.
| Adjective | Adverb |
|---|---|
| clārus, clāra, clārum ('clear, famous') | clārē ('clearly, famously') |
| validus, valida, validum ('strong, robust') | validē ('strongly, robustly') |
| īnfīrmus, īnfīrma, īnfīrmum ('weak') | īnfīrmē ('weakly') |
| solidus, solida, solidum ('complete, firm') | solidē ('completely, firmly') |
| integer, integra, integrum ('whole, fresh') | integrē ('wholly, freshly') |
| līber, lībera, līberum ('free') | līberē ('freely') |
Typically, third declension adjectives' adverbs are formed by adding-iter to the stem. However, most third declension adjectives with one ending simply add-er to the stem.
| Adjective | Adverb |
|---|---|
| prūdēns, prūdēns (prūdentis) ('prudent') | prūdenter ('prudently') |
| audāx, audāx (audācis) ('bold') | audācter ('boldly') |
| virīlis, virīle ('courageous, spirited') | virīliter ('courageously, spiritedly') |
| salūbris, salūbre ('wholesome') | salūbriter ('wholesomely') |
Adverbs' comparative forms are identical to the nominative neuter singular of the corresponding comparative adjective. Adverbs' superlative forms are simply formed by attaching the regular ending-ē to the corresponding superlative adjective. As with their corresponding adjectival forms, first and second declensions adjectives ending in-eus or-ius usemagis andmaximē as opposed to distinct endings.
| Positive | Comparative | Superlative |
|---|---|---|
| clārē ('clearly, famously') | clārius | clārissimē |
| solidē ('completely, firmly') | solidius | solidissimē |
| idōneē ('suitably, properly') | magis idōneē | maximē idōneē |
| prudenter ('prudently') | prudentius | prudentissimē |
| salūbriter ('wholesomely') | salūbrius | salūbrissimē |
As with adjectives, there are irregular adverbs with peculiar comparative and superlative forms.
| Positive | Comparative | Superlative |
|---|---|---|
| bene ('well') | melius ('better') | optimē ('best') |
| male ('badly, ill') | peius ('worse') | pessimē ('worst') |
| magnopere ('greatly') | magis ('more') | maximē ('most') |
| multum ('much, a lot') | plūs ('more') | plūrimum ('most') |
| parvum ('little') | minus ('less') | minimē ('least') |
| nēquiter ('worthlessly') | nēquius ('more worthlessly') | nēquissimē ('most worthlessly') |
| saepe ('often') | saepius ('more often') | saepissimē ('most often') |
| mātūrē ('seasonably, betimes') | mātūrius ('more seasonably') | māturrimē ('most seasonably') |
| prope ('near') | propius ('nearer') | proximē ('nearest, next') |
| nūper ('recently') | — | nūperrimē ('most recently, previously') |
| potis ('possible') | potius ('rather') | potissimē ('especially') |
| — | prius ('before, previously') | prīmō ('first') |
| secus ('otherwise') | sētius sequius ('less') | — |
Some nouns are only used in the singular (singulare tantum) such as:
Some nouns are only used in the plural (plurale tantum), or when plural have a singular meaning such as:
Indeclinable nouns are nouns which only have one form in all cases (of the singular).
Heterogeneous nouns are nouns which vary in respect to gender.
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