Adjectives: bonus, bona, bonum
Three forms of one word: -us, -a, -um.
How It Works
| Case | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | bonus | bona | bonum |
| genitive | boni | bonae | boni |
| dative | bono | bonae | bono |
| accusative | bonum | bonam | bonum |
| ablative | bono | bona | bono |
The plural nominative is boni, bonae, bona. The adjective matches the noun in gender, number and case, though the two endings are not always the same letters. Puella bona and puer bonus show the match.
A masculine noun like nauta takes a masculine adjective: nauta bonus.
To pick the right form, ask three questions about the noun: its gender, whether it is one or several, and which case it is in. Then find that cell in the table.
The same endings work for hundreds of adjectives, such as magnus (big), parvus (small), laetus (happy) and sanctus (holy).
Examples (5)
- Bonus puer legit.
The good boy reads.
Bonus is masculine singular nominative and agrees with puer.
- Bona puella videt.
The good girl sees.
Bona is feminine singular nominative and agrees with puella.
- Donum bonum est.
The gift is good.
Bonum is neuter and agrees with donum.
- Boni pueri in horto sunt.
The good boys are in the garden.
Boni is masculine plural nominative.
- Ego sum pastor bonus.
I am the good shepherd.
A line from the Gospel of John. Bonus agrees with pastor.
Common Mistakes
Using the masculine form with a feminine noun.
Puella bonus est.Puella bona est.Puella is feminine, so the adjective needs the feminine form bona.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Adjectives use masculine, feminine and neuter endings of two noun families you know, so neuter nouns come first.
Related Patterns
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
- Ave verum corpusHail, True BodyLevel 2
- Possessives: meus, tuus, noster, vesterMy, Your, Our, YourLevel 2
- Counting One to TenLevel 2
- Good People and Many ThingsLevel 3
- This: hic, haec, hocLevel 3
- nemo, nihil, nullus (No One, Nothing, None)No One, Nothing, NoneLevel 3
- quam (How Big! How Good!)How Big! How Good!Level 3
- Third Declension Adjectives: omnis, fortisAdjectives: Omnis, FortisLevel 3
And 3 more in the full list.
Words in This Pattern
Practice Adjectives: bonus, bona, bonum in Bubblegum
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