Download Chapter 3 Notes

Chapter 3 Notes
Verb Forms:
In Latin, verbs are placed into groups called conjugations. These conjugations sort verbs by what letter
their stems (the verb without the ending) end in. So:
1st Conjugation:
2nd Conjugation:
3rd Conjugation:
4th Conjugation:
Stem ends in –a
Stem ends in –e
Stem ends in consonant
Stem ends in –i
Examples: Parat, Vocat, Laudat
Examples: Sedet, Monet
Examples: Regit, Scribit, Legit
Examples: Audit, Dormit
Nouns
In Latin, Nouns are placed into groups called declensions. We can tell what declension a noun is by
looking at its nominative (subject) ending.
1st Declension:
2nd Declension:
Nom. Sing. Ends in –a
Nom . Sing. Ends in –us or r
Examples: puella, Horatia, casa
Examples: Argus, ager, puer
So far we have these endings for our declensions.
1st Declension:
Nom. Sing. Ends in –a
Acc. Sing. Ends in –am
2nd Declension:
Nom. Sing Ends in –us or r
Acc. Sing Ends in –um
Nouns and Gender:
In Latin, much like other languages, nouns have genders. How do we tell what gender a noun is? Mainly
by its endings and declension.
Nouns that are in the first declension are usually feminine, though there are some exceptions.
Nouns that are in the second declension are usually masculine, though once again, there are exceptions.
Adjective Agreement
When a noun and an adjective go together, they must agree in case, number, and gender. Right now,
this is really easy, given that we know only two cases, everything is singular, and we have only two
genders. So, when matching adjectives with nouns, all you have to know is that for the most part, the
adjective ending must match the noun it agrees with. The only exception is for 2nd declension nouns that
end in –r, which have agreeing adjectives that end in –us.