| General Grammar |
|
Nouns, verbs, and adjectives have principal parts. All nouns, verbs, and adjectives are listed alphabetically according to their principal parts in all Latin dictionaries. The principal parts are used to obtain stems. Stems become the base of that word for its function.
Principal Parts Menu:
There are three principal parts for every noun:
Exempli Gratia:
culina, culinae, feminine. Nota Bene! The principal parts of a noun usually are given in this format in a dictionary:
culina, -ae f. kitchen
The stem of a noun comes from the genitive singular, also called the 2nd
principal part of a noun. The rule states: Drop the genitive singular ending of a
noun for the base (stem).
Example: culina, culinae, f. kitchen. The stem/base is
culin- . All other case endings are added to this stem.
Nouns are declined in cases. By putting different endings onto the stem
of a noun you change the case, thus the function. The nominative case is used
for the subject of the verb or the predicate nominative noun. The genitive case
is used to show possession.
Each case has a singular and plural form.
Nouns and adjectives belong to families just as you and I do. These families are
called declensions. There are 5 declensions but you will be leaning only the first three
in the beginning of this course. Words CANNOT leave their families and we
understand the declension or family to which a noun belongs by the genitive case.
The following chart shows you the nominative and genitive forms of the 5 declensions.
| Declension | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th |
| Nominative singular | via | amicus | mïles | arcus | reiës |
| Genitive singular (stem) | viae | amicï | mïlitis | arcüs | reëï |
| Gender | f. | m. | m. | m. | f. |
| Nominative (subject) | culina (sg.)
culinae (pl.) |
The/A kitchen (sg.)
The kitchens (pl.) |
| Genitive (possession) | culinae (sg.)
culinärum (pl.) |
of the kitchen/the kitchen's
of the kitchens/the kitchens' |
Genders are not a complex idea. Many words by their very meaning will have a gender
that is easy to remember: puella, puellae f. girl, vir, viri m. man, nomen nominis n.
name are a few. There are a few hints that might help remembering the 'unusual' genders
more memorable:
1st declension words are ALL feminine EXCEPT those words which refer to a masculine
vocation such as chariot driver or sailor. These words are masculine. There are NO neuter
words in the first declension, sometimes called the A declension.
2nd declension words are either masculine or neuter and never feminine. Words whose
nound end in -us, or -er in the nominative form are masculine. Words who nominative
singular end in -um are neuter.
Third declension words are of all genders and most which seem neuter to us are not.
I suggest that when you create your flashcards for vocabulary that you color key them
by gender. Use a red pen for the feminine words and a blue for the masculine, black
for neuter. If you do better with imagery, draw a picture on your flashcard...put bows
in the branches of the arbor, arboris f. tree or put a mustache on a mountain. Personify
the words. It may sound a bit goofy but it does work.
Fourth declension words are mostly masculine with a few neuter ones.
Fifth declension words are generally feminine with a few neuter ones.
All of this is not covered in the textbook at the beginning of Latin I. You need
to understand the basics of principal parts now. Your textbook will introduce principal
parts for nouns on page 81 without calling it principal parts. Check that page to see
the set-up.
Memoria tene! (Remember!)At the beginning of Latin I you will have to
memorize certain things that can only begin to make sense as you build your grammar, etc.
Go to: Parts of Speech (another folder in Grammatica)
Here you can see:
Principal Parts Menu:
| Copyright © 2008, KET |