Second Declension: puer, ager, liber

Level 1

Check the genitive to see whether the e stays.

How It Works

NominativeGenitiveAccusativePlural
puer (boy)pueripuerumpueri
ager (field)agriagrumagri
liber (book)librilibrumlibri
vir (man)virivirumviri

Magister (teacher) works like ager: magistri.

The dictionary prints the genitive, so you always know: puer, pueri and ager, agri.

A short list of nouns keep the e, such as puer (boy), socer (father-in-law) and gener (son-in-law). Most of the rest drop it, like ager (field), liber (book) and faber (smith). The genitive settles it every time.

Adjectives such as pulcher (beautiful) and noster (our) follow the same two patterns: pulchra, nostra.

Examples (5)

  1. Puer librum legit.

    The boy reads a book.

    Puer keeps its e. Librum comes from liber, libri.

  2. Vir agrum videt.

    The man sees the field.

    Agrum is the accusative of ager. The e is gone.

  3. Pueri agros vident.

    The boys see the fields.

    Pueri is nominative plural. Agros is accusative plural.

  4. Magister libros portat.

    The teacher carries the books.

    Libros is accusative plural of liber.

  5. Viri in agro sunt.

    The men are in the field.

    Viri is nominative plural, and agro is ablative.

Common Mistakes

  • Keeping the e in the stem of ager.

    Vir agerum videt.
    Vir agrum videt.

    The stem of ager is agr-, so the accusative is agrum. Check the genitive, agri.

How It Connects

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

Second Declension: puer, ager, liberLevel 1

Learn This First

These nouns follow the second family, so servus comes first.

Words in This Pattern

pueragerlibervir