Latin for beginners (1911)/Part II/Lesson XIII

by Benjamin Leonard D'Ooge

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LESSON XIII

SECOND DECLENSION (Continued)

91. Declension of Nouns in -er and -ir. In early Latin all the masculine nouns of the second declension ended in -os. This -os later became -us in words like servus, and was dropped entirely in words with bases ending in -r, like puer, boy; ager, field; and vir, man. These words are therefore declined as follows:

92.

puer, m., boy		ager, m., field	vir, m., man
Base puer-		Base agr-	Base vir-
Singular				Terminations
Nom.	puer	ager	vir	—
Gen.	puerī	agrī	virī	-ī
Dat.	puerō	agrō	virō	-ō
Acc.	puerum	agrum	virum	-um
Abl.	puerō	agrō	virō	-ō
Plural
Nom.	puerī	agrī	virī	-ī
Gen.	puerōrum	agrōrum	virōrum	-ōrum
Dat.	puerīs	agrīs	virīs	-īs
Acc.	puerōs	agrōs	virōs	-ōs
Abl.	puerīs	agrīs	virīs	-īs

a. The vocative case of these words is like the nominative, following the general rule (§74.a).

b. The declension differs from that of servus only in the nominative and vocative singular.

c. Note that in puer the e remains all the way through, while in ager it is present only in the nominative. In puer the e belongs to the base, but in ager (base agr-) it does not, and was inserted in the nominative to make it easier to pronounce. Most words in -er are declined like ager. The genitive shows whether you are to follow puer or ager.

93. Masculine adjectives in -er of the second declension are declined like nouns in -er. A few of them are declined like puer, but most of them like ager. The feminine and neuter nominatives show which form to follow, thus,

Masc.	Fem.	Neut.
līber	lībera	līberum	(free)	is like puer
pulcher	pulchra	pulchrum	(pretty)	is like ager

For the full declension in the three genders, see §469.b.c.

94. Decline together the words vir līber, terra lībera, frūmentum līberum, puer pulcher, puella pulchra, oppidum pulchrum.

95.

Italia^[1]

First learn the special vocabulary, p. 286.

Magna est Italiae fāma, patriae Rōmānōrum, et clāra est Rōma, domina orbis terrārum.^[2] Tiberim,^[3] fluvium Rōmānum, quis nōn laudat et pulchrōs fluviō fīnitimōs agrōs? Altōs mūrōs, longa et dūra bella, clārās victōriās quis nōn laudat? Pulchra est terra Italia. Agrī bonī agricolīs praemia dant magna, et equī agricolārum cōpiam frūmentī ad oppida et vīcōs portant. In agrīs populi Rōmānī labōrant multī servī. Viae Italiae sunt longae et lātae. Fīnitima Italiae est īnsula Sicilia.

96. DIALOGUE

Marcus and Cornelius

C. Ubi est, Mārce, fīlius tuus? Estne in pulchrā terrā Italiā?

M. Nōn est, Cornēlī, in Italiā, Ad fluvium Rhēnum properat cum cōpiīs Rōmānīs quia est^[4] fāma novī bellī cum Germānls. Liber Germāniae populus Rōmānōs nōn amat.

C. Estne fīlius tuus cōpiārum Rōmānārum lēgātus?

M. Lōgātus nōn est, sed est apud legiōnāriōs.

C. Quae^[5] arma portat^[6]?

M. Scūtum magnum et iōrīcam dūram et galeam pulchram portat.

C. Quae tēla portat?

M. Gladium et pīlum longum portat

C. Amatne lēgātus fīlium tuum?

M. Amat, et saepe filiō meō praemia pulchra et praedam multam dat.

C. Ubi est terra Germānōrum?

M. Terra Germānōrum, Cornēlī, est fīnitima Rhēnō, fluviō magnō et altō.

LEGIONARIUS

LEGIONARIUS

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References

1. In this selection note especially the emphasis as shown by the order of the words.
2. orbis terrārum, of the world.
3. Tiberim, the Tiber, accusative case.
4. est, before its subject, there is; so sunt, there are.
5. Quae, what kind of, an interrogative adjective pronoun.
6. What are the three possible translations of the present tense?