Irregular Nouns: vis, bos, senex

Level 5

Learn these nouns by their stems: vir-, bov-, sen- and Iov-.

How It Works

Case	vis	bos	senex
nominative	vis	bos	senex
genitive	vis	bovis	senis
dative	vi	bovi	seni
accusative	vim	bovem	senem
ablative	vi	bove	sene
plural nominative	vires	boves	senes
plural genitive	virium	boum	senum
plural dative and ablative	viribus	bobus	senibus

Iuppiter has Iovis in the genitive, Iovi in the dative, Iovem in the accusative and Iove in the ablative.

The singular vis means force, and the plural vires means strength. The plural genitive of bos is boum, and bovum is a rarer form.

Build every case from the stem the genitive shows, never from the nominative.

Vim vi repellere licet.
It is lawful to repel force with force.
A well-known legal saying. Vim is the accusative and vi is the ablative of vis.
Magnis viribus Marcus saxum movet.
Marcus moves the rock with great strength.
Viribus is the ablative plural of vis, and the plural means strength.
Senex bovem ad aquam ducit.
The old man leads the ox to the water.
Senex is the nominative and bovem is the accusative, with the stem bov-.
Cognovit bos possessorem suum, et asinus praesepe domini sui.
The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its lord's manger.
Isaiah 1:3. Bos is the nominative singular.
Romani Iovi templum aedificant.
The Romans build a temple for Jupiter.
Iovi is the dative of Iuppiter.

Building a case from the nominative.
Senex bosem ad aquam ducit.
Senex bovem ad aquam ducit.
The accusative comes from the stem bov-, which the genitive bovis shows. Never add the ending to the nominative bos.

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

Irregular Nouns: vis, bos, senexLevel 5

These nouns bend the rules of the third family.

visbossenexIuppiterIovis

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