Introduction to Latin/Second Declension Nouns and Adjectives
Second Declension
[edit | edit source]Like the 1st Declension, the 2nd Declension consists of 'stem + ending'. However, the 2nd Declension has different endings and a different stem. The genders of the 2nd Declension are masculine and neuter (not feminine).
Generally, the nominative singular of masculine 2nd Declension nouns ends in either -us, -er, or -ir; the neuter nominative singular ends in -um.
So let's go ahead and learn the 2nd Declension.
2nd Declension Masculine Endings
[edit | edit source]| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | -us/er | -i |
| Genitive | -i | -orum |
| Dative | -o | -is |
| Accusative | -um | -os |
| Ablative | -o | -is |
| Vocative | -e/er | -i |
Notes: 1) for nouns ending in '-er' or '-ir', the vocative singular is the same as the nominative; 2) the stem of each noun is attained from the genitive singular form (just like in the 1st Declension):
2nd Declension Neuter Endings
[edit | edit source]| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | -um | -a |
| Genitive | -i | -orum |
| Dative | -o | -is |
| Accusative | -um | -a |
| Ablative | -ō | -is |
| Vocative | -um | -a |
Notes: 1) In all neuter nouns (not just 2nd Declension; neuter nouns in other declensions will be encountered later on in this course), the nominative and accusative have the same form in both numbers; 2) Notice that the vocative in both numbers has the same form as the nominative.
PLEASE BE AWARE THAT THE BRITISH SYSTEM GOES LIKE THIS- NOM. ACC. GEN. DAT. ABL.
Declining Some Nouns
[edit | edit source]Now that we know the appropriate endings, we can decline any 2nd Declension noun, right?
Let's give it a try:
Hortus, horti (m.) - garden
- Stem = hort- which we can see from the genitive singular in the dictionary entry
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | hortus | horti |
| Genitive | horti | hortorum |
| Dative | horto | hortis |
| Accusative | hortum | hortos |
| Ablative | hortō | hortis |
| Vocative | horte | horti |
Now let's try this noun:
puer, pueri (m.) - boy
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | puer | pueri |
| Genitive | pueri | puerorum |
| Dative | puero | pueris |
| Accusative | puerum | pueros |
| Ablative | puerō | pueris |
| Vocative | puer | pueri |