Noun Stem
The stem of a Latin noun is always determined by removing the declension ending from its genitive singular form.
EXAMPLE
stella, stellae (star) → “stell-”; nauta, nautae (sailor) → “naut-”
dominus, dominī (master) → “domin-”
Number
Latin nouns have the category of number. The singular form of a noun is used whenever the noun refers to a single thing and the plural form is used whenever the noun refers to multiple instances of the same thing.
Building the singular and plural form of a noun is done by adding the appropriate ending to its stem. Every noun takes on different endings depending on its declension and case.
Declension
Latin nouns are grouped into fived categories, called declensions, depending on how they are inflected to reflect their case and number. The declension to which a noun belongs is determined solely by the genitive singular ending of the noun.
| Genitive Singular Ending | -ae | -ī | -is | -ūs | -ēī (-eī) / -e |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Declension | First | Second | Third | Fourth | Fifth |
First Declension
| Number | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | ||
| Case | Nominative | -a | -ae |
| Genitive | -ae | -ārum | |
| Dative | -ae | -īs | |
| Accusative | -am | -ās | |
| Ablative | -ā | -īs | |
| Locative | -ae | -īs | |
| Vocative | -a | -ae | |
Tip: Nominative and Vocative
The nominative and vocative forms are the same.
Tip: Dative and Locative
The dative and locative forms are the same.
Second Declension
There are two charts for nouns in the second declension depending on their gender.
| Number | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | ||
| Case | Nominative | -us, -er | -ī |
| Genitive | -ī | -ōrum | |
| Dative | -ō | -īs | |
| Accusative | -um | -ōs | |
| Ablative | -ō | -īs | |
| Locative | -ī | -īs | |
| Vocative | -e, -ī, -er | -ī | |
| Number | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | ||
| Case | Nominative | -um | -a |
| Genitive | -ī | -ōrum | |
| Dative | -ō | -īs | |
| Accusative | -um | -a | |
| Ablative | -ō | -īs | |
| Locative | -ī | -īs | |
| Vocative | -a | -ī | |
For nouns which end in “-er”, the vocative and nominative forms are identical. If the noun’s nominative singular form ends in “-ius” or “-ium”, then the noun’s vocative singular form ends in “-ī” and not “-iī”, i.e. “Vergilius” becomes “Vergilī”. Moreover, the stress this form is always on the same syllable is in the nominative singular.
Tip: Dative and Ablative
The dative and ablative forms are the same.