Chapter 7
Now is where we, as students of Latin, have to buckle down a bit. The third declension and conjugations can really become difficult if you let them get away from you. Every thing that you learned about nouns in the first and second declension will be applicable here also. They will have genders, and number and cases. However, none of this matter will be new. However, and it cannot be stated often enough, when learning a noun, you must learn the nominative and genitive forms. In the third declension, we will discover that, more frequently than not, the genitive form appears to be considerably different from the nominative. It is precisely this genitive case where the remaining cases are formed, not the nominative. Also it’s imperative to note that the nominative and genitive must be given to you to learn a word.
In the third declension, all three genders exist. That means that there are Masculine words in this declension; there are feminine words in this declension and there are neuter words in this declension. But again there are tricks to learn which will assist you. And it’s my job to teach you these tricks.
Let’s begin by looking at the endings of the third declension.
Singular Plural
Nom T.B.L es (a)
Gen is um
Dat I ibus
Acc em (T.B.L.) es (a)
Abl e ibus
To Begin, These are all the endings for the third Declension. The ones in parentheses are the neuter endings. Notice again the nominatives and the accusatives. For the neuters, they are always the same. Not only that, but in the plural, they are always “a”.
The first thing, which may have caught you eye, is that “T.B.L.” You’re probably wondering what is that. Are those the endings for the nominative and neuter accusatives? To that the answer is “NO”. T.B.L. is my abbreviation for TO BE LEARNED. What ever they happen to give you for the nominative, you just learn it. It’s as simple as that. And except for the neuter words, that will be the only place you will see that particular form. All other forms, again, are formed on the stem, found by removing, in this case the “is” off of the genitive singular. What remains is the stem upon which the remaining endings will be added. It doesn’t matter whether the noun is masculine or feminine at this point. You do the same thing. Genders will come into play when we add an adjective to modify the noun.
So let’s look at a few third declension nouns.
Rex Regis M King
Nom Rex Reges
Gen Regis Regum
Dat Regi Regibus
Acc Regem Reges
Abl Rege Regibus
Mater Matris F. Mother
Nom Mater Matres
Gen Matris Matrum
Dat Matri Matribus
Acc Matrem Matres
Abl Matre Matribus
Nomen Nominis N Name
Nom Nomen Nomina
Gen Nominis Nominum
Dat Nomini Nominibus
Acc Nomen Nomina
Abl Nomine Nominibus
So if you learn the nouns properly, then there isn’t too much difficulty. Look at the endings closely. Just because a word such as Agricolis ends in “is” doesn’t make it a Genitive singular. It all depends on which declension the noun is in. Again this is determined by the Genitive singular when learning a noun.
One other small point before we try a few ourselves. The Genders.
Fr. Anthony’s Gender rules for the Third Declension
All noun whose nominative singular ends in “S”, “O”
or “X”, SOX words are
feminine unless they specifically designate a male being. E.G. Homo Hominis
M
All nouns whose nominative singular ends in an “ER”, “R”
or “OR”, ERROR
words are masculine unless they specifically designate a female being. E.G.
Mater Matris F
All nouns whose nominative singular ends in a “L”, “A”,
“N”, “C”, “E”, or “T”,
LANCET are neuter, unless they specifically designate
a male or female being.
E.G. Animal Animalis N
Now are these rules100% flawless? No. But they will definitely help when you happen to forget the gender of a noun.
Let’s try a few by our selves. You are to tell me the gender as well as declining the noun.
Miles militis Soldier
Pax Pacis Peace
Corpus Corporis Body
Now let’s try declining a good soldier. Good Luck. Remember the rule about adjectives and genders. They must agree how? But don’t have to what? That’s a big hint!!
Now let’s go back to our workbook.