Good People and Many Things

Level 3

The masculine plural means people, and the neuter plural means things.

How It Works

FormGender and numberMeaning
bonimasculine pluralgood people
bonaefeminine pluralgood women
bonumneuter singularthe good, a good thing
bonaneuter pluralgood things
multimasculine pluralmany people
multaneuter pluralmany things
omnesmasculine and feminine pluraleveryone
omnianeuter pluraleverything

The neuter plural is the usual way to say everything or many things: omnia, multa. The masculine plural is the usual way to say everyone or many people: omnes, multi.

A describing word still agrees with these forms: omnes laeti (everyone happy) and omnia nova (everything new).

Examples (5)

  1. Omnes laeti sunt.

    Everyone is happy.

    Omnes is masculine plural, so it means all people; laeti agrees with it.

  2. Multa video.

    I see many things.

    Multa is neuter plural and the object of video.

  3. Boni Deum laudant.

    Good people praise God.

    Boni is masculine plural and stands without a noun.

  4. Marcus omnia scit.

    Marcus knows everything.

    Omnia is neuter plural, "all things".

  5. Multi in ecclesia sunt.

    Many people are in the church.

    Multi is masculine plural, "many people".

Common Mistakes

  • Using the masculine plural when you mean things.

    Multos video.
    Multa video.

    Multos is masculine, so the sentence says that I see many people. To say many things, use the neuter multa. The intended meaning was: I see many things.

  • Leaving the describing word in the singular.

    Omnes laetus sunt.
    Omnes laeti sunt.

    Omnes is plural, so the word that goes with it must be plural too: laeti.

How It Connects

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

Good People and Many ThingsLevel 3

Learn This First

An adjective can stand alone for a person or a thing, so adjectives and plurals come first.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.