Latin declension

See also Orbis Latinus & Latin conjugation

* A - alike
* E - let
* I - lick
* O - off
* U - foot

* Ā - father
* Ē - mate
* Ī - beep
* Ō - only
* Ū - boot

* AE - kite
* OE - boil
* AU - loud

A complete Latin noun declension consists of up to 7 grammatical cases:

 locative | At

However, the locative is limited to few nouns: generally names of cities, small islands and a few other words.

* For pure Latin neuter nouns, the nominative singular, vocative singular, and accusative singular are identical; and the nominative plural, vocative plural, and accusative plural all end in *-a*. (Both of these features are inherited from Proto-Indo-European, and so no actual syncretism is known to have happened in the historical sense, since these cases of these nouns are not known to have ever been different in the first place.)

* The vocative form is always the same as the nominative in the plural, and usually the same as the nominative in the singular except for second-declension masculine nouns ending in *-us* and a few nouns of Greek origin. For example, the vocative of the first-declension Aenēās is Aenēā.
* The genitive singular is the same as the nominative plural in first-, second-, and fourth-declension masculine and feminine pure Latin nouns.
* The dative singular is the same as the genitive singular in first- and fifth-declension pure Latin nouns.
* The dative is always the same as the ablative in the singular in the second declension, the third-declension full *i*-stems (i.e. neuter *i*-stems, adjectives), and fourth-declension neuters.
* The dative, ablative, and locative are always identical in the plural.
* The locative is identical to the ablative in the fourth and fifth declensions.

There are two principal parts for Latin nouns: 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). The stem of the noun can be identified by the form of the genitive singular as well.

Old Latin had essentially two patterns of endings.

* One pattern was shared by the first and second declensions, which derived from the Proto-Indo-European **thematic declension**.
* The other pattern was used by the third, fourth and fifth declensions, and derived from the **athematic PIE declension**.

Red indicates a general pattern while blue indicates a break in the pattern (but blue quite often forms its own pattern).

## Dative

Further information: Wikipedia:Latin syntax § Examples of case use

From Wikipedia:Dative case:

There are several uses for the dative case (Dativus):

* Dativus finalis (**dative of purpose**), e.g. non scholae sed vitae – "[we learn] not for school, but for life", auxilio vocare – "to call for help", venio auxilio – "I'm coming for help", accipio dono – "I receive [this] as a gift" or puellae ornamento est – "[this] is for the girl's decoration", or "... for decoration for the girl" (as puellae could be either dative or genitive)
* Dativus commŏdi (incommodi), which means action for (or against) somebody, e.g., Graecis agros colere – "to till fields for Greeks"; Combination of Dativus commodi and finalis (double dative): tibi laetitiae "to you for joy"
* Dativus possessivus (**possessive dative**) which means possession, e.g. angelis alae sunt – literally "to (or for) the angels are wings", this is typically found with a copula and translated as "angels have wings".
* Dativus ethicus' (**ethic dative**) indicates that the person in the dative is or should be especially concerned about the action, e.g. Quid mihi Celsus agit? "What is Celsus doing for me?" (expressing the speaker being especially interested in what Celsus is doing for him or her); or Cui prodest? "Whose interest does this serve?" (literally "To whom does this do good?")
* Dativus auctoris, meaning; 'in the eyes of', e.g., vir bonus mihi videtur 'he seems to me to be a good man'.
* The dative expresses agency with the gerundive when the gerundive is used to convey obligation or necessity, e.g., haec nobis agenda sunt, 'these things must be done by us.'

### Ablative proper

Some uses of the ablative descend from the Proto-Indo-European ablative case.

* **Ablative of separation** implies that some person or thing is separated from another. No active movement from one location to the next occurs; furthermore, ablatives of separation sometimes lack a preposition, particularly with certain verbs like *careō* or *līberō*. For example, *Cicerō hostēs ab urbe prohibuit*, "Cicero kept the enemy away from the city"; *eōs timōre līberāvit*, "he freed them from fear".
* **Ablative of place from which** describes active motion away from a place. Nouns, either proper or common, are almost always used in this sense with accompanying prepositions *ab/ā/abs*, "from"; *ex/ē*, "out of"; or *dē*, "down from". For example, *ex agrīs*, "from the fields"; *ex Graeciā in Italiam nāvigāvērunt*, "They sailed from Greece to Italy."

It can also be used for the whole to which a certain number belongs or is a part. Example: *ex eīs ūnus* "one of them".
Cities and small islands, as well as the word *domus*, use this ablative even without a preposition: *Athēnīs discessit* "he departed from Athens".
* **Ablative of personal agent** marks the agent by whom the action of a passive verb is performed. The agent is always preceded by *ab/ā/abs*. Example: *Caesar ā deīs admonētur*, "Caesar is warned by the gods".
* **Ablative of comparison** is used with comparative adjectives, where English would use the conjunction "than". Example: *aere perennius* "longer-lasting than bronze".
* **Ablative of cause** marks the reason why the subject performs an action: *exsiluī gaudiō* "I jumped with joy".

### Instrumental ablative

Some uses of the ablative descend from the Proto-Indo-European instrumental case.

* **Ablative of instrument** or **of means** marks the means by which an action is carried out: *oculīs vidēre*, "to see with the eyes". This is equivalent to the instrumental case found in some other languages. Deponent verbs in Latin sometimes use the ablative of means idiomatically: *ūtitur stilō* literally means "he is benefiting himself by means of a stylus (writing instrument)"; however, the phrase is more aptly translated "he is using a stylus".
* **Ablative of agent** is a more generalized version of the ablative of personal agent, used when the agent is an inanimate object. When the agent is a person, the preposition *ā/ab* is used, for example *rēx ā mīlitibus interfectus est* "The king was killed by the soldiers"; but when the agent is a thing, the preposition is omitted and the ablative case is sufficient, for example: *rēx armīs mīlitum interfectus est* "the king was killed by the weapons of the soldiers".
* **Ablative of manner** describes the manner in which an action was carried out. The preposition *cum* (meaning "with") is used
	+ when no adjective describes the noun (*cum cūrā*, "with care"), or
	+ optionally after the adjective(s) and before the noun: *magnā (cum) cūrā*, "with great care".
* **Ablative of attendant circumstances** is similar: *magnō cum clāmōre cīvium ad urbem perveniunt* ("They reach the city to the great clamour of the citizens")
* **Ablative of accompaniment** describes with whom something was done. Nouns and pronouns in this construction are always accompanied by the preposition *cum*: *cum eīs*, "with them"; *cum amīcīs vēnērunt*, "They came with friends."
* **Ablative of degree of difference** is used with comparative adjectives and words implying comparison: *aliquot ante annīs* "a few years earlier" (lit. "earlier by a few years").
* **Ablative of specification** denotes the thing in respect to which something is specified: *maior nātū* "older by birth".
* **Ablative of description** or **of quality** is an ablative modified by an adjective or genitive that expresses a quality that something has: *vir summā virtūte* "a gentleman of highest virtue".

### Locative ablative

Some meanings of the ablative descend from the Proto-Indo-European locative case.

* **Ablative of place where** marks a location where an action occurred. It usually appears with a preposition, such as *in*, but not always; e.g., *hōc locō* "in this place"
* **Ablative of time when** and **within which** marks the time when or within which an action occurred. E.g., *aestāte*, "in summer"; *eō tempore*, "at that time"; *paucīs hōrīs id faciet*, "within a few hours he will do it." Compare with the accusative of time, which was used for duration of time and—in classical Latin, following Greek—for dates of the form *ante diem N. Kal./Non./Id.* (In early Latin, such dates were given in the ablative instead.)
* **Ablative absolute** describes the circumstances surrounding an action; e.g., *urbe captā cīvēs fūgērunt,* "with the city having been captured, the citizens fled."; *Deō volente,* "God willing".

### Ablative with prepositions

The ablative case is very frequently used with prepositions, for example ex urbe "out of the city", cum eō "with him". Four prepositions (*in* "in/into", *sub* "under/to the foot of", *subter* "under", *super* "over") may take either an accusative or an ablative. In the case of the first two, the accusative indicates motion, and the ablative indicates no motion. For instance, *in urbe* means "in the city"; *in urbem*, "into the city". In the case of *super*, the accusative means "above" or "over", and the ablative means "concerning".

The prepositions which are followed by the ablative case are the following:

## Nouns

###  First declension (*a* stems)

 Nominative
 Accusative
 Ablative (from)

###  Second declension (*o* stems)

Masculine singular vocative is -e.

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.

 Nominative
 Accusative
 Ablative (from)

###  Third declension

 Nominative
 Genitive (of)

###  Fourth declension (*u* stems)

 Nominative
 Accusative
 Genitive (of)
 Ablative (from)

## Pronouns

### tuus, tua, tuum

 Masculine
 Nominative
 Accusative
 Genitive (of)
 Dative (to)
 Ablative (from)

### suus, sua, suum

 Masculine
 Nominative
 Accusative
 Genitive (of)
 Dative (to)
 Ablative (from)

### noster, nostra, nostrum

 Masculine
 Nominative
 Accusative
 Genitive (of)
 Dative (to)
 Ablative (from)

### vester, vestra, vestrum

The possessive adjective *vester* has an archaic variant, *voster*; similar to *noster*.

 Masculine
 Nominative
 Accusative
 Genitive (of)
 Dative (to)
 Ablative (from)

### is, ea, id

 Singular
 Masculine
 Nominative
 Accusative
 Genitive (of)
 Dative (to)
 Ablative (from)

### īdem, eadem, idem

 Masculine
 Nominative
 Accusative
 Genitive (of)
 Dative (to)
 Ablative (from)

### ipse, ipsa, ipsum

 Masculine
 Nominative
 Accusative
 Genitive (of)
 Dative (to)
 Ablative (from)

### quis? quid?

Singular
 Nominative
 Accusative
 Genitive (of)
 Ablative (from)

### quī, quae, quod

 Masculine
 Nominative
 Accusative
 Genitive (of)
 Dative (to)
 Ablative (from)

## Adjectives

### First- and second-declension

#### -r

##### miser, misera, miserum

 Masculine
 Nominative
 Accusative
 Genitive (of)
 Dative (to)
 Ablative (from)

##### sacer, sacra, sacrum

 Masculine
 Nominative
 Accusative
 Genitive (of)
 Dative (to)
 Ablative (from)

#### pronominal adjectives

##### ūllus, ūlla, ūllum

 Masculine
 Nominative
 Accusative
 Genitive (of)
 Dative (to)
 Ablative (from)

### Third-declension adjectives

#### one ending

##### atrōx, atrōx

 Masculine
 Nominative
 Accusative
 Genitive (of)
 Dative (to)
 Ablative (from)

##### Non-i-stem variant

###### vetus, vetus

 Masculine
 Nominative
 Accusative
 Genitive (of)
 Dative (to)
 Ablative (from)

#### two endings

##### agilis, agile

 Masculine
 Nominative
 Accusative
 Genitive (of)
 Dative (to)Ablative

#### three endings

##### celer, celeris, celere

 Masculine
 Nominative
 Accusative
 Genitive (of)
 Dative (to)Ablative

##### alacer, alacris, alacre

 Masculine
 Nominative
 Accusative
 Genitive (of)
 Dative (to)Ablative

## Comparative and superlative forms of adjectives

### altior, altius

 Masculine
 Nominative
 Accusative
 Genitive (of)
 Dative (to)
 Ablative (from)

### Declension of numerals

#### ūnus, ūna, ūnum

 Masculine
 Nominative
 Vocative
 Accusative
 Genitive (of)
 Dative (to)
 Ablative (from)

#### duo, duae, duo

The word ambō ('both'), is declined like *duo* except that its *o* is long. Both declensions derive from the Indo-European dual number, otherwise defunct in Latin, rather than the plural.

 Nominative
 Accusative
 Genitive (of)
 Dative (to)
 Ablative (from)

#### ambō, ambae, ambō

 Nominative
 Accusative
 Genitive (of)
 Dative (to)
 Ablative (from)

#### trēs, tria

 Nominative
 Accusative
 Genitive (of)
 Dative (to)
 Ablative (from)

#### ducentī, ducentae, ducenta

The numeral centum ('one hundred') is indeclinable, but all the other hundred numerals are declinable (ducentī, trecentī, quadringentī, quīngentī, sescentī, septingentī, octingentī, nōngentī).

 Nominative
 Accusative
 Genitive (of)
 Dative (to)
 Ablative (from)

#### mīlia, mīlium

The word *mīlle* 'thousand' is a singular indeclinable adjective. However, its plural, *mīlia*, is a plural third-declension *i*-stem neuter noun. To write the phrase "four thousand horses" in Latin, the genitive is used: *quattuor mīlia equōrum*, literally, "four thousands of horses".

 Genitive (of)

1. ↑  *Generating & parsing clitics with getarun*. 1999.
2. ↑ Wheelock, Frederic (2011), *Wheelock's Latin*, New York: HarperCollins, p. 195,
3. ↑ Allen & Greenough 2001, §401
4. ↑ Allen & Greenough 2001, §405
5. ↑ Allen & Greenough 2001, §406
6. ↑ Allen & Greenough 2001, §404
7. ↑ Allen & Greenough 2001, §409
8. ↑ Allen & Greenough 2001, §412
9. ↑ Allen & Greenough 2001, §413
10. ↑ Allen & Greenough 2001, §414
11. ↑ Allen & Greenough 2001, §418
12. ↑ Allen & Greenough 2001, §415
13. ↑ Allen & Greenough 2001, §421
14. ↑ Allen & Greenough 2001, §423
15. ↑ Wheelock, Frederic M. *Wheelock's Latin*, HarperCollins, 2005. ISBN 0-06-078371-0
16. ↑ Allen & Greenough 2001, §221.24

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