Inflected Language

In English, the function of a noun is determined by its position in the sentence.  For example:

Aelia loves Apollonius.
(subject)   (direct object)

Aelia is the subject, the actor, because she is first in the sentence.  Apollonius is the direct object, the receiver of action, because he follows the active verb (loves).  When we change the order of the nouns, the meaning changes:

Apollonius loves Aelia.
          (subject)          (direct object)

In English, word order determines a noun’s function.  In Latin, however, the function of a noun is determined by an ending placed on the end of the noun.  For example:

Aelia Apollonium amat.
(subject)   (direct object)
Aelia loves Apollonius.

We can move the words around, and as long as the endings stay the same, the function of the noun remains the same and the meaning of the sentence is unchanged:

Apollonium Aelia amat.
(direct object)  (subject)
Aelia loves Apollonius.

The -a at the end of Aelia, identifies her as the subject, and the -um at the end of Apollonium identifies him as the direct object.  If we want the sentence to say “Apollonius loves Aelia,” we change the endings on the words:

Apollonius Aeliam amat.
(subject)   (direct object)

Latin is an inflected language, which means the forms of words change when their role in the sentence changes.  

Cases

The term “case” is used to describe the form a noun takes. The form determines what role the noun plays in a sentence.  For example, the nominative case is used for the subject and the accusative case is used for the direct object.  In this Unit you will learn the six cases of Latin nouns: nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, ablative, and vocative.  Memorize the names and functions of the cases as presented below. 

Nominative: the subject or nouns that refer to the subject (predicate nominative)
(She is a sister.)

Genitive: a noun that indicates possession (Eng. “‘s” or “of”)
(The sister’s letter is long.)

Dative: the object indirectly affected by an action (Eng. “to” or “for”)
(The sister offers a letter to her brother.)

Accusative: the direct object of an action or the object of certain prepositions
(The sister holds the letter.)

Ablative: the object of most prepositions
(The girl leaves with her sister.)

Vocative: the person directly addressed.
(Girl, bring the letter to me.)

The order in which these cases are placed is the same order used to present the different forms of the noun.  Suffice it to say that you should familiarize yourself with the order of the cases as presented above.  Let’s look at a sentence in English and identify the cases of the nouns:

Mother, Aelia tells me the story of the city with her brother.

Mother (vocative): This is the person that the speaker is addressing.

Aelia (nominative): This is the subject of the sentence.  She performs the action.

the city (genitive): This word indicates possession—-the story ‘belongs’ to the city. 

story (accusative): This word is the direct object of the verb.  It receives the action.

brother (ablative):  This word is the object of the preposition “with.”

Latin nouns have both singular and plural forms for each case, though this sentence uses only singular nouns.  In Latin, each case is identified by the ending of the word.  The tail tells the tale.

Declensions: Gender, Identification, and Stems

For nouns, Latin has five different patterns of case endings called declensions. In this Unit, you will learn three of the five declensions.  

Gender: In Latin, nouns have three genders: masculine, feminine, and neuter.  In some cases, the gender is obvious (e.g. mater (mother) is feminine and  pater (father) is masculine).  For most nouns, however, the gender is not obvious and must be memorized.  Gender is essentially a grammatical category that has nothing to do with sexual gender.

Identification:  When you learn a new Latin word, you must memorize four details: the nominative case, the genitive case, the gender, and the definition. 

puella, puellae f.
(nominative, genitive gender)

The genitive case identifies the noun’s declension. For example, in the above vocabulary entry, the genitive ending in “-ae” tells us that this is a first declension noun.  Do not use the nominative case to identify the declension; the nominative is part of the vocabulary entry in the Verba precisely because it can be irregular.

Stems: Use the genitive form to find the stem of a noun.  The stem is the genitive form minus the declension ending.  For example, puellae is the genitive form.  When the ending (-ae) is removed, the stem (puell) remains.  

First Declension

You can identify a First Declension noun by the genitive ending -ae. The gender of many first declension nouns is feminine.

The first declension uses the following endings:

Notice that the vocative case is not given.  This is because it will be the same as the nominative with one exception, the second declension masculine.  See below.

To decline a noun in the first declension, take the stem (found by dropping the ending from the genitive form) and add the endings above to it:

Notice the long mark (macron) of the “ā” in the ablative singular of the 1st declension.  This mark will help you distinguish between the nominative and the ablative forms.

Not all first declension nouns are feminine. There is a group of first declension nouns that are masculine. Some common examples include: poeta (poet), agricola (farmer), incola (inhabitant), and nauta (sailor).  First declension masculine nouns are commonly names (Seneca, Sulla, Agrippa).

Second Declension

The gender of second declension nouns is either masculine or neuter.  They are identified by the genitive ending -i.  Masculine Second Declension nouns use the following endings:

*Some second declension nouns will have -er in the nominative, like puer, pueri m. (boy).  The stem is still found by dropping the -i from the genitive.

Note that the vocative case is the same as the nominative case with the exception of second declension masculine singular nouns, which have the vocative ending -e.  For example, when I see Marcus, I greet him by saying “Salve, Marce.”  However, when a second declension noun stem ends in -i, the vocative ending -e is dropped.  For example, to greet Apollonius, one would say "Salve, Apolloni." 

When declining a noun in the second declension we take the stem (found by dropping the ending from the genitive form) and add the endings above to it:

Neuter Second Declension nouns are similar to the masculine nouns, only the nominative and accusative cases differ.  You will be able to identify second declension neuter nouns by their nominative ending -um and their genitive ending -i.  These nouns use the following endings:

To decline a neuter second declension noun, take the stem (found by dropping the ending from the genitive form) and add the endings above to it:

You may have noticed that the nominative and accusative endings are the same: -um and -um in the singular and -a and -a in the plural.  All neuter nouns, regardless of declension, will have the same ending in the nominative and accusative.

Third Declension

The Third Declension is home to nouns of all three genders: masculine, feminine, and neuter.  Masculine and feminine nouns share the same endings, whereas neuter nouns differ only slightly.  Third declension nouns are identified by the genitive ending -is.  The endings for third declension masculine and feminine nouns are as follows:

Notice the lack of ending for the nominative singular.  In the third declension, there is such a variety of nominative forms, that it is necessary to memorize the nominative form of each individual word. 

When declining masculine or feminine nouns in the third declension, take the stem (found by dropping the ending from the genitive form) and add the endings above to it:

Like all neuter nouns, Neuter nouns in the third declension have the same form in the nominative and accusative cases.  If the nominative singular form is irregular, the accusative singular form will be irregular as well.  The endings for neuter nouns in the third declension are as follows:

To decline a neuter noun in the third declension, take the stem (found by dropping the ending from the genitive form) and add the endings above to it:

Third Declension I-Stems

Some third declension nouns will add an -i- between the stem and the ending.   These nouns can be identified from their vocabulary entry in the Verba.  If the following descriptions apply to a noun, then the word is an i-stem: 

1. For masculine and feminine nouns of the third declension: nominative singular in -is or -es with the same number of syllables in the nominative and the genitive. Ex. auris, auris f. (ear) or sedes, sedis f. (seat)
2. For masculine and feminine nouns of the third declension: nominative singular in -s or -x with a stem ending in two consonants. Ex. urbs, urbis f. (city) or nox, noctis f. (night)
3. For neuter nouns of the third declension: nominative in -al, -ar, or -e. Ex. animal, animalis n. (animal) or exemplar, exemplaris n. (example) or mare, maris n. (sea)

For masculine and feminine nouns only the genitive plural will change.  The endings for masculine and feminine i-stem nouns are as follows: 

Third declension i-stems are still declined by taking the stem (by removing the ending from the genitive form) and adding the endings.

For neuter nouns, however, the endings for the ablative singular, nominative and accusative plural, as well as the genitive plural change.  The endings for neuter i-stem nouns are as follows:

Third declension neuter i-stem nouns are still declined by taking the stem (by removing the ending from the genitive form) and adding the endings.

Verb Characteristics: Person, Number, Tense, Voice, Mood

Latin verbs have five characteristics:

PERSON: This relates to the subject of the verb.  Is the subject “I” or “we”?  Then it is first person.  “You”? Then, second person.  “He,” “she,” “it,” “they,” or another noun? Then, third person.

NUMBER: How many are the subject?  One person/thing as the subject makes the verb singular; two or more, plural.

TENSE: When the action took place and whether it is continuous action or completed.  Latin has six tenses.  Three show action that is continuous: Present, Imperfect, and Future.  Three show action that is completed: Perfect, Pluperfect, Future Perfect.  Each set of three tenses has one tense for present time (Present, Perfect), one tense for past time (Imperfect, Pluperfect), and one tense for future time (Future, Future Perfect).

VOICE: Whether the subject is doing the action (active) or is acted upon (passive).

Aelia writes letters. (active)

Letters are written by Aelia. (passive)

MOOD: There are three moods in Latin. In this Unit we learn the Indicative and Imperative moods.

The Indicative Mood expresses a fact. (Aelia is from Carthage.)

The Imperative Mood expresses a command. (Listen, Aelia!)

The Subjunctive Mood expresses a hypothetical idea. (Aelia should speak.)

Notice that three of these characteristics (Person, Number, and Voice) relate to the subject of the verb.  In Latin, as in English, verbs are strongly connected with their subjects (subject-verb agreement) and will change form if their subject changes.  Think of the different forms of verbs, in English, that depend on the subject.  “I love” vs. “She loves.”

In Latin, all of these different characteristics are communicated through stems and endings.  Once again, the tail tells the tale.

One of the primary differences between verbs in Latin and English is that English uses auxiliary verbs to indicate when, where, and to whom the verb happened, whereas in Latin, the form of the verb changes.  For example, 

He has loved
amavit

The main verb here is “to love,” however, in English we use the auxiliary “has” to show that the action is completed, whereas in Latin we use a specific form to show completion.  Keep this in mind as you learn different verb forms, it may be helpful.

Principal Parts and Conjugations

Most vocabulary entries for Latin verbs have four words.  These are called principal parts, and they MUST be memorized.  Fortunately, there are some patterns which can be helpful for memorization (See below.).  Let us look at an example to explain the significance of each part.

habeo, habere, habui, habitum - to hold

You must memorize all four principal parts to be able to fully recognize and form a verb.  Take the time to learn them now, it will pay off! 

Latin verbs are grouped into four conjugations based on how they behave (conjugate) in the present tense. 

• 1st conjugation verbs will have an infinitive (second principal part) ending in  -are.
• 2nd conjugation verbs will have an infinitive ending in -ēre. Notice the long ē.
• 3rd conjugation verbs will have an infinitive ending in -ere. Notice the short e.
• 3rd -io conjugation verbs will have an infinitive ending in -ere, and the first principal part ending in -io.
• 4th conjugation verbs will have an infinitive ending in -ire.

Take a moment and look through the Verba and notice what the different conjugations look like. You may notice the following patterns

1st conjugation: -o, -are, -avi, -atum

2nd conjugation: -eo, -ēre, -ui, -itum

These are useful in memorizing principal parts, however,  NOT ALL VERBS follow this pattern.  For example, do, dare, dedi, datum is a 1st conjugation verb, but does not follow the pattern, nor does video, vidēre, vidi, visum, a 2nd conjugation verb.

Present Active Indicative

The present tense denotes action that is happening now.  For example, “I love the city.” 

In Latin, a verb is made up of a stem and an ending. The stem usually shows whether the action is continuous (Present, Imperfect, and Future tenses) or completed (Perfect, Pluperfect, and Future Perfect tenses).  The ending shows the voice, person, number, and time when the action happens.  The endings for Present Active Indicative verbs are as follows:

The Present Active Indicative is formed by taking the present stem (infinitive minus -re) and adding the endings above: 

1st Conjugation: amo, amare, amavi, amatum

• For the first person singular, we would expect amao, however, in the first person singular form of the first conjugation, the -a- in the stem drops to give us amo. (We can also see this from the first principal part.  Yet another reason to memorize them!)

2nd Conjugation: habeo, habere, habui, habitum

3rd Conjugation: scribo, scribere, scripsi, scriptum

• Because the -e- at the end of the stem is short, it undergoes vowel reduction, whereby the -e- becomes an -i-, except when followed by a nasal sound (n/m) as in the third person plural, then it becomes a -u-.  
• The first person singular also ends in -o- as it does in the 1st conjugation.

3rd -io Conjugation: cupio, cupere, cupivi, cupitum

• The 3rd -io Conjugation retains the -i- in both the first person singular and the third person plural, much like the 4th conjugation.

4th Conjugation: audio, audire, audivi, auditum

• Instead of having audint in the third person singular, an -u- is added for euphony (sounding pleasant) to give audiunt.

Perfect Active Indicative

The present tense denotes action that is happening now.  For example, “I love the city.”   The perfect tense denotes action that is completed.  For example, “I have loved the city.”  It can also indicate action that happened in the past.  For example, “I loved the city.”  Which translation, “have loved” or “loved,” to use will depend on the context.  

A verb is made up of a stem and an ending.  The stem usually shows whether the action is continuous (Present, Imperfect, and Future tenses) or completed (Perfect, Pluperfect, and Future Perfect), and it shows the mood of the verb.  The ending shows the voice, person, number, and time when the action happens.  The endings for the Perfect Active Indicative are as follows:

You may notice some similarities between these endings and those of the Present Active.

The Perfect Active Indicative is formed by taking the perfect stem (3rd principal part minus -i) and adding the endings above:

amo, amare, amavi, amatum

Imperative

The Imperative mood indicates a command.  There are only two forms, singular and plural.  For example,

Write your name (addressed to one person).
Scribe tuum nomen.

Write your name (addressed to two or more people).
Scribite tuum nomen.

The singular form of the imperative is simply the present stem.  The plural imperative form adds -te to the stem.  Third conjugation verbs undergo vowel reduction when the -te is added and the short -e changes to an -i.  Ex. Scribite 

Infinitive

The infinitive form of the verb does not have a person or number.  The term “infinitive” comes from the Latin in (not) + finio (to limit); so an infinitive is “not limited” by person and number.  Essentially, it is the basic definition of the verb, “to _______.”  Ex. amare “to love”

The infinitive, however, IS limited by tense and voice.  For now, we will discuss the Present Active and Perfect Active infinitives.  

The Present Active infinitive is the second principal part, or the present stem + -re.  

amo, amare, amavi, amatum
“to love”

or

amo, amare, amavi, amatum
ama + re = amare
“to love”

The Perfect Active infinitive is formed by taking the perfect active stem (3rd principal part minus -i) and adding the ending -isse.  Notice that the perfect infinitive will still include a form of “to have” to show completed action.

amo, amare, amavi, amatum
amav + isse = amavisse
“to have loved”

Sum, Esse, Fui, Futurum and Other Linking Verbs

The most important word in many languages is “to be.”  It is typically the most frequently used and oldest verb, and so it is often irregular.  Irregular verbs change stems depending on whether the verb is 1st, 2nd, or 3rd person, singular or plural.  The verb “to be” is even irregular in English:

In Latin, the verb “to be” is irregular as well.  However, it is only irregular in the Present Active Indicative.  The personal endings remain the same, with one exception. For the first person singular the alternate ending -m is used instead of -o.

To form the Present Active of sum, esse, fui, futurum you add these endings to the changeable stem.

Notice that the stem is set in bold here as it is irregular.

The stem will either be su- or es-.  You may notice that the stem for the second person singular is only e.  The true form is really ess, but over time the second s dropped.  For more on how sum, esse, fui, futurum evolved, see this video. 

Please note that when a prefix is added to sum, esse, fui, futurum the last consonant of the prefix may change depending on the first letter of the form of sum, esse, fui, futurum.  For example, 

prosum, prodesse, profui, profuturum

notice a -d- is added at the end of the prefix for forms that begin with e-

It is important to note that sum, esse, fui, futurum is a linking verb.  This means that it acts as an equal sign.  It links two ideas together. For example,

Aelia is young.
Aelia = young.

Aelia est nova.
(nom.) = (nom.)

The adjective (nova) is nominative, singular, feminine, because it describes Aelia in the nominative, singular, feminine.  You will learn more about adjectives in Unit 2.  This will work the same way with nouns, however, because nouns cannot change gender, they will only match in case and number (if possible).  For example,

Wisdom is love.
Wisdom = love.

Sapientia est amor.
(nom.) = (nom.)

The adjective or noun describing the subject is called a predicate nominative.  

Other common linking verbs are fio, fieri, factum, “to become” (Unit 4) and videor, videri, visum, “to seem” (Unit 3).

Possum, Posse, Potui and Complementary Infinitives

The verb possum, posse, potui (to be able) is irregular because it is a combination of the adjective potis, -e (powerful, able) and the irregular verb sum, esse, fui, futurum.  It conjugates similarly to sum, esse, fui, futurum.

The verb possum, posse, potui is formed by adding the prefix pos- or pot- before the form of sum, esse, fui, futurum.  If the form of sum, esse begins with an s-, then pos- is used.  If it begins with an e-, then pot- is used.  This pattern applies Present, Imperfect and Future tenses (all tenses that show continuous action).  For now, we will examine the Present tense:

This verb is usually found with a complementary infinitive that completes the meaning of the verb.  For example,

You are able to see Aelia.
                                   (infin) (direct object)

Potes videre Aeliam.

Other verbs that take complementary infinitives are debeo, debere, debui, debitum “to ought” (Unit 2); audeo, audere, ausum “to dare” (Unit 5); and coepi, coepisse, coeptum “to begin” (Unit 7), and soleo, solēre, solui, solitum “to be accustomed” (Unit 9) .

Eo, Ire, Ii, Itum

The verb eo, ire, ii, itum (to go) is irregular in the present tense.  Because its original stem (ei-) ends in a weak vowel (short i), it will change depending upon whether the ending begins with a vowel or a consonant.  The present tense endings are as follows:

Notice that in the third person plural the ending is not -nt, but -unt.  

The stem ei- will change to e- before a vowel and to i- before a consonant, then you add the endings above to it:

The perfect stem for eo, ire, ii, itum is i-, but rarely the stem is found as iv-.