LATIN GRAMMAR

2: Declension 1 through 5

Previously, you learned how the The First Declension works and how you can recognize it. Now, let's move on to The Second Declension, Third Declension, Fourth Declension and Fifth Declension. (nominative and accusative) aswell on how noun endings differ by declension, gender and number.

The Declensions

Latin has 5 declensions, each recognizable by their endings.

  • Nominative:
    • The subject of the sentence (He ate food.)
  • Accusative
    • The direct object of the sentence. (He ate food.)

    Table

    Latin has 5 Declensions, each having their own ending for easy recognition.

    Declension Example Gender Nominative (Sing./Pl.) Accusative (Sing./Pl.)
    1st puella (girl) Feminine -a / -ae -us / -i
    2nd servus (slave) Masculine -us / -i -um / -os
    3rd rex (king) Masculine / Feminine Varies / -es -em / -es
    4th manus (hand) Masculine / Feminine -us / -us -um / -us
    5th dies (day) Masculine / Feminine -es / -es -em / -es

    Notice that the 3rd Declension nominative singular is irregular and can either have the endings 'is', '-or', '-o', '-x', '-s' or '-e'. Take rex (king), lux (light), homo (man) or mater (mother). To more easily recognize, you can compare it to the accusative singular form. The nominative singular often has unique endings that don't follow a predictable pattern, whereas the accusative singular always ends in '-em' for masculine and feminine nouns. (regem, matrem, hominem).

    Examples by Declension

    First Declension

    Singular:
    Puella villam amat.
    (The girl loves the house.)
    puella = nominative (subject), villam = accusative (object).

    Plural:
    Puellae villas amant.
    (The girls love the houses.)
    puellae = nominative plural, villas = accusative plural.

    Second Declension

    Singular:
    Servus villam amat.
    (The slave loves the house.)
    servus = nominative, villam = accusative.

    Plural:
    Servi villas amant.
    (The slaves love the houses.)
    servi = nominative plural, villas = accusative plural.

    Third Declension

    Singular:
    Rex villam amat.
    (The king loves the house.)
    rex = nominative, villam = accusative.

    Plural:
    Reges villas amant.
    (The kings love the houses.)
    reges = nominative plural and accusative plural (same form).

    Fourth Declension

    Singular:
    Manus puellam amat.
    (The hand loves the girl.)
    manus = nominative, puellam = accusative.

    Plural:
    Manus puellas amant.
    (The hands love the girls.)
    manus = nominative and accusative plural (same form).

    Fifth Declension

    Singular:
    Dies servum amat.
    (The day loves the slave.)
    dies = nominative, servum = accusative.

    Plural:
    Dies servos amant.
    (The days love the slaves.)
    dies = nominative and accusative plural (same form).

    Practice

    Translate the following sentences into English:

    Answers