Latin is an inflected language, and as such its nouns, pronouns, and adjectives must be declined in order to serve a grammatical function. A set of declined forms of the same word pattern is called a declension. There are five declensions, which are numbered and grouped by ending and grammatical gender.
Grammatical cases
A complete declension consists of seven grammatical cases:
- The nominative case, which is used to express the subject of a statement. It is also used with copulative verbs.
- The vocative case, which is used to address someone or something in direct speech.
- The genitive case, which expresses possession, measurement, or source. In English, the preposition of is used to denote this case.
- The dative case, which expresses the recipient of an action, the indirect object of a verb. In English, the prepositions to and for most commonly denote this case.
- The accusative case, which expresses the direct object of a verb.
- The ablative case, which expresses separation, indirection, or the means by which an action is performed. In English, the prepositions by, with, and from most commonly denote this case.
- The locative case, which is used to express the place in or on which, or the time at which, an action is performed. The locative case is extremely marginal in Latin, applying only to the names of cities and small islands and to a few other isolated words, and is identical to the genitive case (in the singular of the first and second declension) and the ablative case otherwise.
Syncretic trends
Syncretism, where one form in a paradigm shares the ending of another form in the paradigm, is common in Latin. The following are the most notable patterns of syncretism:
- The accusative is always identical to the nominative in the neuter (both singular and plural, across all declensions). In addition, the accusative is the same as the nominative in the plural of the third, fourth and fifth declensions (but note the alternative –īs accusative plural ending for i-stem nominals, different from nominative –ēs).
- The vocative is always identical to the nominative in the plural, and also in the singular except in the second declension and a few Greek nouns. For example, the vocative of Aeneās is Aenea, although Aeneās is first declension.
- The dative is always the same as the ablative in the plural, and in the singular in the second declension, the third-declension full i-stems i.e. neuter i-stems, adjectives), and fourth-declension neuters.
- The genitive singular is the same as the nominative plural in first-, second-declension, and fourth declension nouns that are not neuter.
- The dative singular is the same as the genitive singular in first- and fifth-declension nouns.
- Plural neuter nominative/accusative always ends in -a (with a few exceptions: demonstrative hic and related istic and illic, relative/interrogative quī and friends; in all of them, the neuter plural takes the same form as feminine singular nominative).
- The accusative singular ends in short vowel plus -m, except for a few neuters with unusual base forms.
- The accusative plural (assuming not neuter) ends in a long vowel plus -s; so does the nominative plural of the third, fourth and fifth declensions (again assuming not neuter).
Noun declensions
There are six declensions of nouns in Latin.
First declension (a)
Nouns of this declension usually end in –a and are typically feminine. The predominant letter in the ending forms of this declension is a.
Note that Latin does not have articles and as such there is no grammatical distinction between a girl and the girl; the same word, puella, represents both.
| Case | Ending | Declined Form | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | |||
| Nominative | –a | puella | (a, the) girl |
| Vocative | –a | Puella! | Girl! |
| Genitive | –ae | puellae | of (a, the) girl |
| Dative | –ae | puellae | to, for (a, the) girl |
| Accusative | –am | puellam | (a, the) girl |
| Ablative | –ā | puellā | by, with, from (a, the) girl |
| Plural | |||
| Nominative | –ae | puellae | (the) girls |
| Vocative | –ae | Puellae! | Girls! |
| Genitive | –ārum | puellārum | of (the) girls |
| Dative | –īs | puellīs | to, for (the) girls |
| Accusative | –ās | puellās | (the) girls |
| Ablative | –īs | puellīs | by, with, from (the) girls |
Second declension (o)
Nouns of this declension usually end in –us, –um, or –r and are typically masculine or neuter. The predominant letter in the ending forms of this declension is o.
| Case | Ending | Declined Form | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | |||
| Nominative | –us | hortus | (a, the) garden |
| Vocative | –e | Horte! | (The) Garden! |
| Genitive | –ī | hortī | of (a, the) garden |
| Dative | –ō | hortō | to, for (a, the) garden |
| Accusative | –um | hortum | (a, the) garden |
| Ablative | –ō | hortō | by, with, from (a, the) garden |
| Plural | |||
| Nominative | –ī | hortī | (the) gardens |
| Vocative | –ī | Hortī! | (The) Gardens! |
| Genitive | –ōrum | hortōrum | of (the) gardens |
| Dative | –īs | hortīs | to, for (the) gardens |
| Accusative | –ōs | hortōs | (the) gardens |
| Ablative | –īs | hortīs | by, with, from (the) gardens |
| Case | Ending | Declined Form | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | |||
| Nominative | –um | verbum | (a, the) word |
| Vocative | –um | Verbum! | (The) Word! |
| Genitive | –ī | verbī | of (a, the) word |
| Dative | –ō | verbō | to, for (a, the) word |
| Accusative | –um | verbum | (a, the) word |
| Ablative | –ō | verbō | by, with, from (a, the) word |
| Plural | |||
| Nominative | –a | verba | (the) words |
| Vocative | –a | Verba! | (The) Words! |
| Genitive | –ōrum | verbōrum | of (the) words |
| Dative | –īs | verbīs | to, for (the) words |
| Accusative | –a | verba | (the) words |
| Ablative | –īs | verbīs | by, with, from (the) words |
| Case | Ending | Declined Form | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | |||
| Nominative | – | agerTemplate:Ref 1 | (a, the) field |
| Vocative | – | Ager! | (The) Field! |
| Genitive | –ī | agrī | of (a, the) field |
| Dative | –ō | agrō | to, for (a, the) field |
| Accusative | –um | agrum | (a, the) field |
| Ablative | –ō | agrō | by, with, for (a, the) field |
| Plural | |||
| Nominative | –ī | agrī | (the) fields |
| Vocative | –ī | Agrī! | (The) Fields! |
| Genitive | –ōrum | agrōrum | of (the) fields |
| Dative | –īs | agrīs | to, for (the) fields |
| Accusative | –ōs | agrōs | (the) fields |
| Ablative | –īs | agrīs | by, with, from (the) fields |
Template:Ref 1—Note that the e in the nominative singular form was inserted to ease pronunciation and is omitted in the other cases. There are some words for which the e is part of the stem proper; for these words, the letter cannot be omitted. These include gener (m.), son-in-law; socer (m), father-in-law; puer (m.), boy; vesper (m.), evening; and līberī (m. pl.), children.
Third declension (mixed)
Nouns of this declension end in a consonant; there are feminine, masculine, and neuter nouns.
| Case | Ending | Declined Form | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | |||
| Nominative | – | rēx | (a, the) king |
| Vocative | – | Rēx! | (The) King! |
| Genitive | –is | rēgis | of (a, the) king |
| Dative | –ī | rēgī | to, for (a, the) king |
| Accusative | –em | rēgem | (a, the) king |
| Ablative | –e | rēge | by, with, from (a, the) king |
| Plural | |||
| Nominative | –ēs | rēgēs | (the) kings |
| Vocative | –ēs | Rēgēs! | (The) Kings! |
| Genitive | –um | rēgum | of (the) kings |
| Dative | –ibus | rēgibus | to, for (the) kings |
| Accusative | –ēs | regēs | (the) kings |
| Ablative | –ibus | rēgibus | by, with, from (the) kings |
| Case | Ending | Declined Form | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | |||
| Nominative | – | nōmen | (a, the) name |
| Vocative | – | Nōmen! | (The) Name! |
| Genitive | –is | nōminis | of (a, the) name |
| Dative | –ī | nōminī | to, for (a, the) name |
| Accusative | – | nōmen | (a, the) name |
| Ablative | –e | nōmine | by, with, from (a, the) name |
| Plural | |||
| Nominative | –a | nōmina | (the) names |
| Vocative | –a | Nōmina! | (The) Names! |
| Genitive | –um | nōminum | of (the) names |
| Dative | –ibus | nōminibus | to, for (the) names |
| Accusative | –a | nōmina | (the) names |
| Ablative | –ibus | nōminibus | by, with, from (the) names |
| Case | Ending | Declined Form | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | |||
| Nominative | –is | hostis | (an, the) enemy |
| Vocative | –is | Hostis! | (The) Enemy! |
| Genitive | –is | hostis | of (an, the) enemy |
| Dative | –ī | hostī | to, for (an, the) enemy |
| Accusative | –emTemplate:Ref 1 | hostem | (an, the) enemy |
| Ablative | –eTemplate:Ref 2 | hoste | by, with, from (an, the) enemy |
| Plural | |||
| Nominative | –ēs | hostēs | (the) enemies |
| Vocative | –ēs | Hostēs! | (The) Enemies! |
| Genitive | –ium | hostium | of (the) enemies |
| Dative | –ibus | hostibus | to, for (the) enemies |
| Accusative | –ēsTemplate:Ref 3 | hostēs | (the) enemies |
| Ablative | –ibus | hostibus | by, with, from (the) enemies |
The following alternate endings are also possible:
- Accusative singular, –im, declined hostim
- Ablative singular, –ī, declined hostī
- Accusative plural, –īs, declined hostīs
Fourth declension (u)
Nouns of this declension end in (nominative ending) –us, which are usually masculine, or –ū, which are always neuter. The predominant letter in the ending forms of this declension is u.
Example I, nouns ending in -us(paradigma lacus -lake)
| Latin Noun Case: Fourth Declension Masculine | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | ||||
| Case | Suffix | English prep. | Sample | Translation |
| Nominative | us | - | lacus | the lake |
| Vocative | us | - | lacus! | lake! |
| Genitive | ūs | -of | lacūs | of the lake |
| Dative | uī | -to, -for | lacuī | to the lake |
| Accusative | um | - | lacum | the lake |
| Ablative | ū | -with, -by | lacū | with the lake |
| Plural | ||||
| Case | Suffix | English prep. | Sample | Translation |
| Nominative | ūs | - | lacūs | of the lakes |
| Vocative | ūs | - | lacūs | lakes! |
| Genitive | uum | -of | lacuum | of the lakes |
| Dative | ibus | -to, -for | lacibus | to the lakes |
| Accusative | ūs | - | lacūs | the lakes |
| Ablative | ibus | -with, -by | lacibus | with the lakes |
Example II, neuter nouns ending in -ū (paradigma cornū - horn)
| Latin Noun Case: Fourth Declension Neuter | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | ||||
| Case | Suffix | English prep. | Sample | Translation |
| Nominative | ū | - | cornū | the horn |
| Vocative | ū | - | cornū! | horn! |
| Genitive | ūs | -of | cornūs | of the horn |
| Dative | ū | -to, -for | cornū | to the horn |
| Accusative | ū | - | cornū | the horn |
| Ablative | ū | -with, -by | cornū | with the horn |
| Plural | ||||
| Case | Suffix | English prep. | Sample | Translation |
| Nominative | ua | - | cornua | of the horns |
| Vocative | ua | - | cornua | horns! |
| Genitive | uum | -of | cornuum | of the horns |
| Dative | ibus | -to, -for | cornibus | to the horns |
| Accusative | ua | - | cornua | the horns |
| Ablative | ibus | -with, -by | cornibus | with the horns |
Fifth declension (e)
Nouns of this declension end in –ēs and are almost always feminine. The most notable exception is diēs, which is masculine.
Example I (paradigma rēs - thing)
| Latin Noun Case: Fifth Declension Feminine | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | ||||
| Case | Suffix | English prep. | Sample | Translation |
| Nominative | ēs | - | rēs | the thing |
| Vocative | ēs | - | rēs! | thing! |
| Genitive | eī | -of | reī | of the thing |
| Dative | eī | -to, -for | reī | to the thing |
| Accusative | em | - | rem | the thing |
| Ablative | ē | -with, -by | rē | with the thing |
| Plural | ||||
| Case | Suffix | English prep. | Sample | Translation |
| Nominative | ēs | - | rēs | of the things |
| Vocative | ēs | - | rēs | things! |
| Genitive | ērum | -of | rērum | of the things |
| Dative | ēbus | -to, -for | rēbus | to the things |
| Accusative | ēs | - | rēs | the things |
| Ablative | ēbus | -with, -by | rēbus | with the things |
Example II (paradigma diēs - day )
| Latin Noun Case: Fifth Declension Masculine | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | ||||
| Case | Suffix | English prep. | Sample | Translation |
| Nominative | ēs | - | diēs | the day |
| Vocative | ēs | - | diēs! | day! |
| Genitive | ēī | -of | diēī | of the day |
| Dative | ēī | -to, -for | diēī | to the day |
| Accusative | em | - | diem | the day |
| Ablative | ē | -with, -by | diē | with the day |
| Plural | ||||
| Case | Suffix | English prep. | Sample | Translation |
| Nominative | ēs | - | diēs | of the days |
| Vocative | ēs | - | diēs | days! |
| Genitive | ērum | -of | diērum | of the days |
| Dative | ēbus | -to, -for | diēbus | to the days |
| Accusative | ēs | - | diēs | the days |
| Ablative | ēbus | -with, -by | diēbus | with the days |
Note that nouns ending in iēs have long ēī in the dative and genitive, while nouns ending in a consonant + ēs have short eī in these cases.
This declension class is the last to develop in Latin; the only nouns that have the full declension are diēs and fidēs.
From rēs we get rēs pūblica, or republic: thing of the people.
Adjective declensions
Adjectives are divided into two declension classes. The first (called the "first and second declension") combines the a and o declensions of nouns, with the a endings added when the adjective is feminine, and the o forms for masculines. Neuter adjectives of this class follow the pattern for o class neuter nouns.
The other class for adjectives (called the "third declension") is similar to the third class for nouns, with the important difference that nearly all these adjectives form the ablative singular in -ī, not in -e. The nominative singular of these adjectives is also often marked for gender in various ways.
A small class of adjectives follows the "pronominal declension", described below.
Pronoun declensions
Relative and demonstrative pronouns are generally declined like first and second declension adjectives, with the following differences:
- the nominatives are often irregular
- the dative singular ends in -ī: rather than -ae or -ō.
- the genitive singular ends in -īus rather than -ae or -ī.
These differences identify the "pronominal" declension, and a few adjectives also follow this pattern.
Demonstrative Pronouns
| Demonstrative Pronoun: is/ea/id | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Case | Singular | Plural | ||||
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | |
| Nominative | is | ea | id | eī | eae | ea |
| Genitive | eius | eius | eius | eōrum | eārum | eōrum |
| Dative | eī | eī | eī | eīs | eīs | eīs |
| Accusative | eum | eam | id | eōs | eās | ea |
| Ablative | eō | eā | eō | eīs | eīs | eīs |
| Demonstrative Pronoun: ille/illa/illud | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Case | Singular | Plural | ||||
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | |
| Nominative | ille | illa | illud | illī | illae | illa |
| Genitive | illīus | illīus | illīus | illōrum | illārum | illōrum |
| Dative | illī | illī | illī | illīs | illīs | illīs |
| Accusative | illum | illam | illud | illōs | illās | illa |
| Ablative | illō | illā | illō | illīs | illīs | illīs |
| Demonstrative Pronoun: hic/haec/hoc | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Case | Singular | Plural | ||||
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | |
| Nominative | hic | haec | hoc | hī | hae | haec |
| Genitive | huius | huius | huius | hōrum | hārum | hōrum |
| Dative | huic | huic | huic | hīs | hīs | hīs |
| Accusative | hunc | hanc | hoc | hōs | hās | haec |
| Ablative | hōc | hāc | hōc | hīs | hīs | hīs |
| Relative Pronoun: qui/quae/quod | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Case | Singular | Plural | ||||
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | |
| Nominative | quī | quae | quod | quī | quae | quae |
| Genitive | cuius | cuius | cuius | quōrum | quārum | quōrum |
| Dative | cui | cui | cui | quibus | quibus | quibus |
| Accusative | quem | quam | quod | quōs | quās | quae |
| Ablative | quō | quā | quō | quibus | quibus | quibus |
Personal Pronouns
| 1st Personal Pronoun Declension | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | |||
| Case | English prep. | Sample | Translation |
| Nominative | - | ego | I |
| Genitive | -of | meī | my |
| Dative | -to, -for | mihi | to me |
| Accusative | - | mē | me |
| Ablative | -with, -by | mē | with me |
| Plural | |||
| Case | English prep. | Sample | Translation |
| Nominative | - | nōs | we |
| Genitive | -of | nostrī/um | our |
| Dative | -to, -for | nōbīs | to us |
| Accusative | - | nōs | us |
| Ablative | -with, -by | nōbīs | with us |
| 2nd Personal Pronoun Declension | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | |||
| Case | English prep. | Sample | Translation |
| Nominative | - | tū | you |
| Genitive | -of | tuī | your |
| Dative | -to, -for | tibi | to you |
| Accusative | - | tē | you |
| Ablative | -with, -by | tē | with you |
| Plural | |||
| Case | English prep. | Sample | Translation |
| Nominative | - | vōs | you |
| Genitive | -of | vestrī/um | your |
| Dative | -to, -for | vōbīs | to you |
| Accusative | - | vōs | you |
| Ablative | -with, -by | vōbīs | with you |