CHAPTER 2: PREDICT TO WHICH DECLENSION THE NOUN BELONGS

1.  As in most languages, Latin nouns are assigned to noun-classes based on crucial similarities.

2.  These noun-classes are called DECLENSIONS.

3.  Here is a table we can use to tell which declension nouns belong to.

 

DECLENSIONS	CASES
1st	a, ae, am, ā, ārum, īs, ās
2nd	us, ī, ō, um, ōrum, īs, ōs
2nd	um, ī, ō, a, ōrum, īs, ōs
2nd	er, ī, ō, um, ōrum, īs, ōs
3rd	?, is, ī, em, e, ēs, um, ibus
3rd	is, ī, em, ī, ēs, ium, ibus, īs
3rd	?, is, ī, e, a, um, ibus
4th	us, ūs, uī, um, uum, ū, ibus
5th	ēs, eī, em, ē, ērum, ēbus

 

Example 1.  Virōs apparently belongs to the 2^nd declension, because the ending ōs is found only in the 2^nd declension rows.

Example 2.  Oppida apparently belongs to the 1^st, 2^nd or 3^rd declension, because the ending a is found in those rows.

 

1.  poētīs

2.  Perseō

3.  Perseus

4.  fīlius

5.  Iovis

6.  deōrum

7.  avus

8.  Acrisius

9.  Perseum

10.  nepōtem

11.  ōrāculum

12.  puerum

13.  infantem

14.  mātre

15.  arcā

16.  arcam

17.  mare

18.  Perseī

19.  māter

20.  tempestās

21.  sinū

22.  mātris