how to decline a noun

How to Decline a Noun

What is she talking about?

“To decline a noun” means to add

declension endings (like “a”, “ae” “us”

etc.) to a noun

Some Quick Notes…

• Nouns are persons, places, things or ideas

• Example: puella, villa, puer, mens, nauta, res, etc.

• To do this, you need your dictionary and your declension charts

Let’s look at an example….

Look up the word for “field”

• First look in the English-Latin section• THEN find the word in Latin-English

WRITE IT DOWN!!

• You have to have ALL the things listed in the dictionary in order to find and use the correct declension

ager, agri (m) field

First things first…

• The first thing that we have to do is find the right declension for each word.

• Remember, there are 5 m/f declensions and 3 neuter declensions

ager, agrī (m)- field• The first word listed is the nominative singular

• “ager”-nominative sing.Declension Chart

Declension ChartSingular Plural

Nominative agerGenitiveDative

AccusativeAblativevocative

ager, agrī (m) field• The second

word listed is the genitive singular

• “agrī”-genitive singularDeclension Chart

This is our “GO-TO” word!! This

word will tell you the correct

declension!

Declension ChartSingular Plural

Nominative agerGenitive agrīDative

AccusativeAblativevocative

Into which declension does this chart fit?

What to do….• Look at all your declension charts

and find the one that fits• Match the nominative singular and

genitive singular endings (“r” and “i”)

• Also, make sure the gender matches the declension

• The “r” and “i” match 2nd declension

2nd Declension ChartSingular plural

Nominative r/us īGenitive ī ōrumDative ō īs

Accusative um ōsAblative ō īsVocative e ī

It fits !So “ager, agrī” is a 2nd

declension noun!

So...to recap…

• TO FIND THE DECLENSION OF A WORD:

• Look up the word• Write down all the listings• Match the GENITIVE SINGULAR to a

declension chart• Check the gender

So, now that you know the declension, it’s time to add the endings….or as we Romans like to say “decline the noun”

To add case endings:

• Always use the genitive form • Remember-the genitive is the

second word listed (ager, agri)

Form the genitive stem• Go to the 2nd word

listed-the genitive singular ending

• ager, agrī

•Remove the genitive ending

agrī

Make the genitive stem

• Remove the genitive ending

•Agr īNow add your 2nd declension

case endings……

REMEMBER:

•You don’t have to form the nominative singular-it’s already given to you

ager, agrī (m)- field• The first word listed is the nominative singular

• “ager”-nominative sing.Declension Chart

And….•You already have the genitive singular!

•So just fill those in…

2nd Declension ChartCase Singular Plural

Nominative agerGenitive agrīDative

Accusative

Ablative

Now put your genitive stem in the remaining squares……


Nominative ager agr__Genitive agrī agr___Dative agr__ agr___

Accusative agr__ agr___Ablative agr__ agr___Vocative ager agr__

2nd Declension ChartSingular plural

Nominative r/us iGenitive i orumDative o is

Accusative um osAblative o isVocative e i

Now, add the rest of the 2nd declension endings to your genitive stem…..


Nominative ager agrīGenitive agri agrōru

mDative agrō agrīs

Accusative agrum agrōsAblative agrō agrīs

Nota Bene….• Sometimes, when you find a word in the

dictionary, it will list the nominative, but then it has a “-” and an ending

• EXAMPLE:– puella, -ae (f) girl

• This is just telling you that the nominative and genitive look the same

• For these, just pull off the nominative ending and that’s your stem

• puell____

Now, you try one…•Girl•Look it up!•Write it down!•puella, -ae (f)

Remember…..1. Find the right declension

2. Form the genitive stem3. Add the correct endings

“girl” Declension ChartCase Singular Plural

Nominative puella puellaeGenitive puellae puellāru

mDative puellae puellīs

Accusative puellam puellāsAblative puellā puellīsVocative puella puellae

Now, you try …•slave

“servus, servī” Declension ChartCase Singular Plural

Nominative servus servīGenitive servī servōrumDative servō servis

Accusative servum servōsAblative servō servīsVocative serve servī

Now, you try …

•mother

“mater, matris”-Declension ChartCase Singular Plural

Nominative mater matrēsGenitive matris matrumDative matrī matribus

Accusative matrem matrēsAblative matre matribusVocative mater matrēs

Now, you try …

•man

“vir, virī” Declension ChartCase Singular Plural

Nominative vir virīGenitive virī virōrumDative virō virīs

Accusative virum virōsAblative virō virīsVocative vir virī

how to decline a noun

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