Adjectives: miser, pulcher

Adjectives: Miser and Pulcher

Level 2

Two kinds of -er adjectives.

How It Works

Gendermiser (keeps e)pulcher (drops e)
masculinemiserpulcher
femininemiserapulchra
neutermiserumpulchrum
genitive masculinemiseripulchri

A dictionary shows which kind it is by listing the feminine: pulcher, pulchra, pulchrum or miser, misera, miserum.

Nouns do the same. Puer keeps its e (pueri) and ager drops it (agri).

Pulcher sounds like POOL-kehr in classical Latin and in Church Latin, because ch sounds like k in Latin.

English borrowed miser for a person who hoards money, but in Latin the word only means unhappy. Other adjectives like it: liber (free) keeps the e, and noster (our) drops it in nostra.

Examples (5)

  1. Puer miser est.

    The boy is unhappy.

    Miser is masculine and keeps its e.

  2. Puella misera est.

    The girl is unhappy.

    Misera is feminine.

  3. Pulcher puer legit.

    The beautiful boy reads.

    Pulcher is masculine nominative.

  4. Villa pulchra est.

    The house is beautiful.

    Pulchra is feminine and has lost the e.

  5. Donum pulchrum est.

    The gift is beautiful.

    Pulchrum is neuter and has lost the e.

Common Mistakes

  • Giving pulcher the ordinary -us ending.

    Puer pulchrus est.
    Puer pulcher est.

    The masculine nominative singular of pulcher ends in -er. Only the other forms have pulchr-.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Adjectives: miser, pulcherLevel 2Adjectives: Miser and Pulcher

Learn This First

These adjectives follow bonus and use the forms of puer and ager.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

miserpulcher