3rd+declension

How to Think About Third Declension

Third Declension is the most interesting of the five declensions. Because of its variety, exceptions, and range of forms, it is more “colorful”. There seem to be more of them and somehow they seem to be the heart of the Latin language, or nouns, at any rate. No longer are the nouns limited to “-a, -us, -er, -um” – they seem to end in almost anything. gladiator, libertas, leo, rex, multitudo, natio, animal, canis, arbor, – you know or can guess the meaning of all of these. Check your knowledge by scrolling down to ** A **. All of these are nominative singular. There doesn’t seem to be a logical reason to put them all in the same group. Now look at the genitive singular and notice the pattern. gladiatoris, libertatis, leonis, regis, multitudinis, nationis, animalis, canis, arboris What is the pattern? Answer here. The stem for 3rd declension nouns is formed by dropping the –is of the genitive. The genitive and the nominative are often vastly different. What are the stems for gladiatoris, libertatis, leonis, regis, multitudinis, nationis, animalis, canis, arboris Check at ** B **. Learning the nominative and the genitive forms of a noun (along with the English meaning) will save much trouble. Example: regem video. – “I see the ... erm, what’s //regem//?” The enterprising student will look up “regem” – Is it //regia//, palace, //regina//, queen, or //regio//, region, or //rego//, rule? None of these. It’s //rex//, king. You will only see the –//x// when //rex// is nominative singular; the rest of the cases will begin with the stem //reg//-. Compare the 3rd declension with the 1st and 2nd. Accusative singular: aquam equum regem Accusative plural: aquās equōs regēs Ablative singular: aquā equō regē Genitive singular aquae equī regis (!) Nominative plural: aquae equī regēs (!) Genitive plural: aquārum equōrum regum (!) Ablative and Dative plural: aquīs equīs regibus (!) So there are some similarities but also some striking differences. hostis, miles, caput, urbs, flumen, salus, piscis, pes – these are slightly harder. What are the genitive forms? Scroll to ** C ** below. The 3rd declension can be all three genders, M, F, N. Note the gender when learning the word. At this point it’s much more important to notice the stem than the gender. You will develop a feel for the gender of nouns by reading and experience; it’s logical for you to know that //miles//, soldier is masculine, and //mare//, sea is neuter but not so obvious that //navis//, ship, //urbs//, city, and //libertas//, liberty, are feminine. The endings for masculine and feminine nouns: Sing. Plural Nom. – (variable) -ēs Gen. -is -um Dat. -ī -ibus Acc. -em ēs Abl. -e -ibus Decline miles, militis, m.   Check ** D ** below or page 498 (first year book). Now decline leo, leonis, m.   Check ** E **. Now libertas, libertatis, f.   Check ** F **. The endings for neuter nouns: Sing. Plural Nom. – (variable) -a Gen. -is -um Dat. -ī -ibus Acc. – (same as nom.) -a Abl. -e -ibus Now decline nomen, nominis, n. – name Check ** G **. For practice with adjective agreement continue. We will use examples of adjective of the 1st and 2nd declension with 3rd declension nouns. They will not “rhyme.” Example: Decline “good king” – bonus rex (rex, regis, m. – king) bonus rex bonī regēs bonī regis bonōrum regum bonō regī bonīs regibus bonum regem bonōs regēs bonō rege bonīs regibus Decline: “excellent law” – egregia lex (lex, legis, f. – law) Check ** H **. Decline: “big work” – magnum opus (opus, operis, n. – work [of art]) Check ** I **. Recap: Learn the nominative and genitive along with English meaning. At least take note of the gender. If the genitive ending is –is, you know you are looking at a 3rd declension noun. (Remember, when you look up a word in the glossary, the second entry for a noun is the genitive form! This helps you determine to which declension the word belongs.) Watch for patterns of 3rd declension nominatives: -x, -tudo, -tas, -or, -o, -tio and others. Practice the case endings until they are automatic. Further and related topics: I-stem nouns of the 3rd declension 3rd declension adjectives Present participles A    gladiator, libertas, leo, rex, multitudo, natio, animal, canis, arbor are gladiator, liberty, lion, king, multitude, nation, animal, dog, tree B    gladiator-, libertat-, leon-, reg-, multitudin-, nation-, animal-, can-, arbor- **  C   ** hostis, militis, capitis, urbis, fluminis, salutis, piscis, pedis **  D   ** miles milites militis militum militi militibus militem milites milite militibus **  E   ** leo leones leonis leonum leoni leonibus leonem leones leone leonibus **  F   ** libertas libertates libertatis libertatum libertati libertatibus libertatem libertates libertate libertatibus **  G   ** nomen nomina nominis nominum nomini nominibus nomen nomina nominee nominibus **  H   ** egregia lex egregiae leges egregiae legis egregiarum legume egregiae legi egregiis legibus egregiam legem egregias leges egregia lege egregiis legibus **  I   ** magnum opus magna opera magni operas magnorum operum magno operi magnis operibus magnum opus magna opera magno opera magnis operibus