Latin 1 Guide

Nouns
Stem
It is the base where stem endings are added when declining (i.e. altering of endings
to show grammatical gender, number, and case). The stem of a noun can be
obtained by removing the stem ending of its genitive singular form.

Inflections
It refers to changes in the form of a word that express grammatical distinctions, such
as case, gender, number, tense, person, mood, or voice. These changes can involve
adding suffixes or altering the base form without changing its class.

1. Gender
- The options are either masculine, feminine, or neuter. Each declension may
have different combinations of genders.

2. Number
- The options are either singular or plural. Proper nouns do not have a plural
form.

3. Case
- The major options are nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, and ablative.
The minor options are vocative and locative. Here is a table for it:

Case Sign Words Function

Nominative The, A, An Subject
Of 's/s' Possession, ownership, or
Genitive modifier
Dative To a/the, For a/the Indirect object
the, a, an Direct object or object of
Accusative the verb
Ablative by, with, from, in Object of the preposition
Vocative - To call a person
Locative - To show the location

4. Declensions
- Will have its own subset because of its intricacy.
Declensions
It is the systematic set of patterns of case endings to which Latin words are declined.
These are applied to nouns, pronouns, and adjectives.

I. First Declension

Grammatical Markers
Declension Clue: ae
Possible Genders: Male and Female

Gender Rules
1. All nouns naming individual male persons are masculine.
2. All other nouns are feminine.

Stem Ending Patterns

First Declension
Masculine and Feminine
Case Singular Plural
Nominative a ae
Genitive ae arum
Dative ae is
Accusative am as
Ablative a is

Nouns that follow this pattern are:

● Agricola, Agricolae - Farmer
● Gallia, Galliae - Gaul
● Gloria, Gloriae - Fame or Glory
● Magistra, Magistrae - Teacher
● Maria, Mariae - Mary
● Nauta, Nautae - Sailor
● Papa, Papae - Pope
● Porta, Portae - Gate
● Provincia, Provinciae - Province
● Roma, Romae - Rome
● Silva, Silvae - Forest
● Terra, Terrae - Earth or Land
● Via, Viae - Road, Street, or Way
 ● Victoria, Victoriae - Victory

II. Second Declension

Grammatical Markers
Declension Clue: i
Possible Genders: Masculine and Neuter

Gender Rules
1. If its genitive singular form ends in us, it is masculine.
2. If its genitive singular form ends in um, it is neuter

Stem Ending Patterns

Second Declension
Masculine
Case Singular Plural
Nominative us/r i
Genitive i orum
Dative o is
Accusative um os
Ablative o is

Nouns that follow the ‘us’ pattern are:

● Amicus, Amici - Friend
● Christianus, Christiani - Christian
● Christus, Christi - Christ
● Deus, Dei - God, god
● Filius, Filii - Son
● Gallus, Galli - A Gaul
● Gladius, Gladii - Sword
● Romanus, Romani - A Roman
● Servus, Servi - Servant, Slave

Words that follow the ‘r’ pattern are:

● Puer, Pueri - Boy
 Second Declension
Neuter
Case Singular Plural
Nominative um a
Genitive i orum
Dative o is
Accusative um a
Ablative o is

Nouns that follow this pattern are:

● Bellum, Belli - War
● Caelum, Caeli - Heaven, Sky
● Imperium, Imperii - Command, Empire, Power
● Praemium, Praemii - Reward
● Periculum, Periculi - Danger
● Regnum, Regni - Kingdom, Royal Power
● Oppidum, Oppidi - Town

III. Third Declension

Grammatical Markers
Declension Clue: is
Possible Genders: Masculine, Feminine, and Neuter

Gender Rules
1. All nouns naming individual male persons are masculine.
2. All nouns naming individual female persons are feminine.
3. Based on the nominative singular ending.
a. Male - ER, R, OR
b. Female - S, O, X
c. Neuter - L, A, N, C, E, T

*With the exceptions of bridge, hill, and mountain.

Stem Ending Patterns
Third Declension
Masculine and Feminine
Case Singular Plural
Nominative - es
Genitive is um/ium
Dative i ibus
Accusative em es
Ablative e ibus

Nouns that follow the ‘um’ pattern are:

● Caesar, Caesaris - Caesar
● Clamor, Clamoris - Shout, Shouting
● Corpus, Corporis - Body
● Dux, Ducis - Leader, Duke
● Frater, Fratris - Brother
● Homo, Hominis - Man
● Imperator, Imperatoris - Commander in Chief, General
● Iter, Itineris - March, Journey, Route
● Lex, Legis - Law
● Lux, Lucis - Light
● Mater, Matris - Mother
● Pater, Patris - Father
● Princeps, Principis - Chief, Leading Man
● Rex, Regis - King
● Salus, Salutis - Safety, Salvation, Welfare
● Timor (Domini), Timoris (Domini) - Fear (of the Lord)
● Veritas, Veritatis - Truth
● Vox, Vocis - Cry, Voice
● Vulnus, Vulneris - Wound

Nouns that follow the ‘ium’ pattern are:

● Caedes, Caedis - Slaughter
● Collis, Collis - Hill
● Gens, Gentis - Tribe
● Hostis, Hostis - Enemy (In war)
● Inimicus, Inimici - Enemy (Personal)
● Mons, Montis - Mountain
● Pars, Partis - Part
 ● Pons, Pontis - Bridge

Third Declension
Neuter
Case Singular Plural
Nominative - a
Genitive is um
Dative i ibus
Accusative - a
Ablative e ibus

Nouns that follow this pattern are:

● Agmen, Agminis - Army (On the march), Column (of soldiers)
● Flumen, Fluminis - River
● Nomen, Nominis - Name

IV. Fourth Declension

Grammatical Markers
Declension Clue: us
Possible Genders: Idk

Gender Rules
The majority of words in the 4th declension are masculine. A smaller group is
feminine, while the smallest group is neuter. The only way to get the gender is to
memorize the exceptions.
Stem Ending Patterns
Fourth Declension
Idk
Case Singular Plural
Nominative us us
Genitive us uum
Dative ui ibus
Accusative um us
Ablative u ibus

Masculine nouns that follow this pattern are:

● Adventus, Adventus - Arrival, Coming
● Equitatus, Equitatus - Cavalry
● Exercitus, Exercitus - Army
● Impetus, Impetus - Attack
● Metus, Metus - Fear
● Portus, Portus - Harbor
● Senatus, Senatus - Senate
● Spiritus, Spiritus - Breath

Feminine nouns that follow this pattern are:

● Domus, Domus - House
● Manus, Manus - Hand

Neuter nouns that follow this pattern are:

● Cornu, Cornus - Horn
● Genu, Genus - Knee

V. Fifth Declension

Grammatical Markers
Declension Clue: ei
Possible Genders: Masculine and Feminine

Gender Rules
It primarily consists of feminine nouns, but there are two exceptions.
Stem Ending Patterns
Fifth Declension
Masculine and Feminine
Case Singular Plural
Nominative es es
Genitive ei erum
Dative ei ebus
Accusative em es
Ablative e ebus

Masculine nouns that follow this pattern are:

● Dies, Diei - Day

Feminine nouns that follow this pattern are:

● Acies, Aciei - Battle Line
● Fides, Fidei - Faith, Faithfulness, Reliability
● Res, Rei - Affair, Thing
● Spes, Spei - Hope

Verbs

1. (Whatever verb type these are)

Final Personal
Translation 1 Translation 2 Translation 3
Ending/Sign
He/She/It/(Nam (Pronoun/Name (Pronoun/Name
Singular t
e) (Noun)s ) is (Noun)ing ) does (Noun)
They are
Plural nt They (Noun) They do (Noun)
(Noun)ing

Regular verbs that follow this pattern:

● Lauda - Praise
● Ora - Pray
● Vide - See

Irregular verbs that follow this pattern:

● Audivit, Audiverunt - Heard
 ● Dedit, Dederunt - Gave
● Fecit, Fecerunt - Made
● Occidit, Occiderunt - Killed
● Posuerit, Posuerunt - Placed
● Venit, Venerunt - Came

Singular Plural

First Person Do = I give Damus = We give

Second Person Das = You give Datis = You give

Third Person Dat = He/She/It gives Dant = They give

Rules
- Remember that verbs must agree (i.e. be consistent) with the number of the
subject.

2. Linking Verbs

A linking verb (i.e. copular verb) connects the subject of the sentence with a subject
complement. In Latin, they can also serve as Final Personal Endings.

Singular Plural

First Person Sum = (I) am Sumus = (We) are

Second Person Es = (You) are Estis = (You) are

Third Person Est = (He/She/It) is Sunt = (They) are

Adverbs

Adverbs are placed before the word it modifies.

Adverbs
● Non - Not
● Nunc - Now
 Conjunctions

Conjunctions are words used to connect clauses or sentences, or to coordinate words

in the same clause.

Conjunctions
● Autem - However
● Quod - Because
● Sed - But

Prepositions

In Latin, prepositions are followed by either the ablative or accusative case.

Prepositions
Followed by Accusative Followed by Ablative
Latin English Latin English
Against, In, Into, On,
In Upon (Action or Cum With
movement)
In, On (Position or
Post After, Behind In
Location)
Propter On account of

Predicate Nouns

It is a noun or noun phrase that follows a linking verb to provide additional

information about the subject of the sentence. In Latin, after the linking verb, the
predicate noun is put in the same case as the subject (nominative).
 Appositives

It is a noun phrase that comes after another noun phrase (i.e. its antecedent) to
provide extra information above it. An appositive agrees with its noun in number and
case.

Expletives

An expletive is a word or phrase used to fill out a sentence, but is not necessary for its
basic meaning. They often serve as placeholders or to add emphasis. These are
placed in the beginning of the sentence.

Expletives
● Est - There is
● Sunt - There are

Sentence Construction

Syntax
- For declarative sentences, put the verb at the end.
- For interrogative sentences, the syntax is “(Verb)ne (Noun)?”.

Common Errors
- Wrong division of sentences.
- Wrong translation of words.
- Wrong analysis of functions.

Exercises
“Divide and conquer.”

1. Maria orat. = Mary prays. | Mary is praying. | Mary does pray.

2. Papa Mariae orat. = The pope prays to Mary. | The pope is praying to Mary. |
The pope does pray to Mary.
3. Agricolae Maria non orant. = The farmers are not praying to Mary.
4. Maria provinciam laudat. = Mary praises the province. | Mary is praising the
province. | Mary does praise the province.
5. Laudatne Maria provinciam? = Is Mary praising the province? | Does Mary
praise the province?
6. Provinciam laudat. = He/She/It praises the province.
7. He gave the sword to the farmer. = Gladium agricolae dedit.
8. They gave glory to God. = Gloriam Deo dederunt.
9. The sailors give glory to God. = Nautae gloriam Deo dant.
10. Mary gives glory to Christ. = Maria gloriam Christo dat.
11. The Christians gave glory to God. = Christiani gloriam Deo dederunt.
12. The Son of God gave heaven to the Christians. = Filius Dei caeulum
Christianis dedit.
13. Christus est Filius Dei. = Christ is the Son of God.
14. Christians are sons of God. = Christiani sunt filii Dei.
15. A Christian is a son of God. = Christianus est filius Dei.
16. Homo sum. = I am a man.
17. Christianus es. = You are a Christian.
18. He is a farmer. = Agricola est.
19. We are Christians. = Christiani sumus.
20. You are Romans. = Romani estis.
21. They are Christians. = Christiani sunt.
22. I am a servant of Christ because Christ is God. = Servus Christi sum quod
Christus Deus est.
23. Mary is the Mother of God because Christ is God. = Maria Mater Dei est quod
Christus Deus est.
24. Mary, the Mother of Christ, is the Mother of men. = Maria, Mater Christi, est
Mater hominum. | Maria, Mater Christi, Mater hominum est.
25. Mary is the Mother of God, (of) the Son. = Maria est Mater Dei, Filii. | Maria
Mater Dei, Filii, est.
26. Christ gave the reward to the Christians, the servants of Mary. = Christus
praemium Christianis, servis Mariae, dedit.
27. God gave the reward, heaven, to the Christians. = Deus praemium, caelum,
Christianis dedit.
28. Mary and Christ are with God, the Father. = Maria et Christus sunt cum Deo,
Patre.
29. Est rex in Gallia. = There is a king in Gaul.
30. Rex est in Gallia. | Rex in Gallia est. = The king is in Gaul.
31. Sunt pericula in Gallia. = There are dangers in Gaul.
32. Pericula sunt in Gallia. | Pericula in Gallia sunt. = The dangers are in Gaul.
33. In silvam venit. = He came into the forest.
34. In colle est. = He is on the hill.
35. In hostes impetum fecerunt. = They made an attack against/upon the
enemies.
36. In silva sunt. = They are in the forest.
37. Maria est in Caelo. = Mary is in Heaven.
38. Maria assumpta est in Caelum. = Mary is assumed into Heaven.

Sources
● Mr. Capacia’s PDF files.
● Internet

By Yosef Rodil