On the other hand, people tend to confuse things which are similar more often than things which are quite distinct from one another. Third declension adjectives work like adjectives of the first and second declensions, but there are some important differences which you must keep straight. Additionally, the endings used by these adjectives are almost identical to the endings which nouns of the third declension use, but only almost. I'm trying to warn you that this isn't going to be an easy chapter. You're going to have grip the book firmly and keep a sharpened pencil nearby. Let's start.
magnus, -a, -um miser, -a, -um bonus, -a, -um pulcher, -chra, -chrum bellus, -a, -um noster, -tra, -trumThings to notice are:
man time virtue sea N/V. __________ __________ __________ __________ Gen. __________ __________ __________ __________ Dat. __________ __________ __________ __________ Acc. __________ __________ __________ __________ Abl. __________ __________ __________ __________ N/V. __________ __________ __________ __________ Gen. __________ __________ __________ __________ Dat. __________ __________ __________ __________ Acc. __________ __________ __________ __________ Abl. __________ __________ __________ __________Here are the things to remember about the third declension case endings:
MASC./FEM. NEUTER MASC./FEM. NEUTER N/V. ---------- ---------- ------- ------- Gen. __________ __________ -is -is Dat. __________ __________ -i -i Acc. __________ __________ -em ------- Abl. __________ __________ -i -i N/V. __________ __________ -es -ia Gen. __________ __________ -ium -ium Dat. __________ __________ -ibus -ibus Acc. __________ __________ -es -ia Abl. __________ __________ -ibus -ibusSo these are the variable case endings which are going to be attached to the stem of third declension adjectives. The endings are almost identical to those of the third declension nouns; so, as Wheelock puts it, there's nothing much new to be learned.
First, here's a last look at a good old fashioned adjective of the first and second declensions:
bellus, -a, -um vester, -tra, -trumThe entry tells you (1) which case endings the adjective uses for the different genders, cases, and numbers, and (2) whether the stem is the not what it appears to be in the masculine nominative singular. Remember that an adjective listing in the dictionary does not start to decline the adjective, as it does for a noun. Instead it gives you the nominative forms, from which you deduce the declension and any stem changes. These are the things an entry for any adjective must tell you. So how does this work with third declension adjectives?
But before I show you that -- do you get the feeling I'm trying to put this off -- let me give you some good news. There are only two kind of adjectives in the Latin language: those of the first and second declensions, and those of the third. There are no other possibilities. Either an adjective uses the "-us (-er), -a, -um" endings or those of the third declension. So if you see an adjective in the dictionary and the adjective is not of the first and second declensions, then it must be a third declension adjective. There are no adjectives of the fourth and fifth declensions. That's the good news.
Now the bad news. There are three different types of adjectives of the third declension, but the difference is only in the nominative singular. All three adjectival types of the third declension use the case endings you studied above for all the case except the nominative singular. We need to focus now on the nominative singulars of these three types of adjectives. The different class are:
(1) adjectives of two terminations (2) adjectives of one termination (3) adjectives of three terminationsThe distinguishing feature among these declensions is how many different endings are possible in the nominative singular.
All adjectives of two terminations look like this: "stemis, -e".
omnis, -e "all; each, every" fortis, -e "strong" dulcis, -e "sweet" difficilis, -e "difficult" brevis, -e "short [in time]; swift"Now think. I told you that adjectives typically will move across the genders in the nominative case, and here you have only two different forms indicated. This means that two of the genders will have identical forms in the nominative. For adjectives listed like this, the "-is" ending is used both for the masculine and feminine genders; the "-e" is used for the neuter in the nominative singular. And, as you can see, the stem does not change. It's evident in the nominative singular of the masculine and feminine genders. You just drop off the "-is". Decline the following expressions:
every boy every girl every war _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________
Now wait a minute. If an adjective of one termination is listed in the dictionary just like a noun, with the genitive singular as its second entry, how do you know whether the entry you're looking at is telling you the word is a noun or an adjective. Look:
potens, -ntis "powerful" dens, dentis (m) "tooth"Here you see the nominative singular entry "potens" followed by the genitive singular "potentis". The stem of the word is "potent-", but a noun of the third declension is list just like this. Look at the word for tooth. How do you know, even before you see the translation, that "potens" is an adjective and not a noun? Right! "Potens" has no gender listed; the noun "dens" does. The form "potens" can be masculine, feminine, or neuter. It's an adjective of one termination. Except in the nominative singular, adjectives of one termination operate just like all the other adjectives of the third declension; they all use the same case endings and obey the same laws. HINT: don't forget the laws of the neuter! Decline the following:
powerful tooth powerful money powerful plan _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________
celer, celeris, celere "swift" acer, acris, acre "keen; fierce"Do you see what the dictionary is telling you? The first listing is the masculine nominative singular. The second is the feminine nominative singular, and it's here you need to look for stem changes. As you can see the stem of "celer" is "celer-"; the stem of "acer", however, is "acr-". So in all its forms except the masculine, nominative singular, the root of "acer" to which the case endings will be added is "acr-". The final entry is the neuter nominative singular. Now, don't forget, the only place where these adjectives have different forms for the three genders is right here, in the nominative singular. After the nominative singular, these adjectives use the normal endings of third declension adjectives. Decline the following.
swift death keen memory fierce war _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________
The noun "sapientiae" can be
genitive singular dative singular nominative pluralThe adjective "x"es must agree with "sapientiae" and its form can be
nominative plural accusative pluralTherefore "'x'es sapientiae" must be nominative plural, since it is the only case and number where the case endings of the noun and adjective overlap.
Write out the possible number(s) and case(s) of the following nouns and adjectives. Don't worry about the translations for now, just focus on the endings.
Number(s) Gender Case(s) 1. omnium puerorum __________ _____ ____________________ 2. celerem puellam __________ _____ ____________________ 3. potenti regi __________ _____ ____________________ 4. potentibus viris __________ _____ ____________________ 5. fortes feminae __________ _____ ____________________ 6. fortis feminae __________ _____ ____________________ 7. forti feminae __________ _____ ____________________ 8. acres mortes __________ _____ ____________________ 9. acri memoria __________ _____ ____________________ 10. acri bello __________ _____ ____________________
adiuvo Despite its appearance, the verb is not a regular first conjugation. Look carefully at its principal parts: "adiuvo, -are, -iuvi, -iutus". (The "ad-" prefix only adds a little extra emphasis, as with the difference in English between "to help" and "to help out".) quam This adverb is used to emphasize an adjective. It doesn't mean "how" as in "in what way". It's used to modify adjectives and means "how" as in "How sweet it is!" or "How tall that young man is!"01/08/93