Five Families of Nouns
Each declension has its own set of case endings.
How It Works
| Declension | Genitive ending | Dictionary form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| first | -ae | puella, puellae | girl |
| second | -i | amicus, amici | friend |
| second (neuter) | -i | verbum, verbi | word |
| third | -is | rex, regis | king |
| fourth | -us | manus, manus | hand |
| fifth | -ei | res, rei | thing |
The first two declensions hold most of the words you meet at the start. The third is the biggest group. The fourth and fifth are small, but they hold common words such as manus (hand), domus (house) and res (thing). This course teaches them in order.
One declension can hold more than one gender. The second declension holds masculine nouns such as amicus and neuter nouns such as verbum. Learn the gender with each noun.
Examples (5)
- Puella rosam habet.
The girl has a rose.
Puella and rosa are first declension nouns (genitive -ae).
- Amicus librum legit.
The friend reads a book.
Amicus and liber are second declension nouns (genitive -i).
- Rex in foro est.
The king is in the forum.
Rex is third declension (genitive regis). Forum is second declension.
- Manus puellae parva est.
The girl's hand is small.
Manus is fourth declension (genitive manus). Parva agrees with it.
- Res bona est.
The matter is good.
Res is fifth declension (genitive rei). It means a thing or a matter.
How It Connects
Learn This First
The declensions are families of case endings, so the idea of cases comes first.
Related Patterns
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Practice Five Families of Nouns in Bubblegum
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