Return to CLAA Classical Grammar I
We now continue our study of adjective nouns by turning to those that follow the forms of the Third Declension. In the previous lesson we began to see what adjectives truly are: words that cannot stand alone, but must attach themselves to a substantive, either expressed or understood, in order to speak meaningfully. We also learned the chief rule that governs their use, namely that an adjective must agree with its substantive in three things: gender, number, and case. This rule is not a decorative principle. It is the very mechanism by which Latin binds words together and makes their relationships clear.
In our first work with adjectives we studied those that take their masculine forms from the pattern of dominus, their feminine forms from the pattern of musa, and their neuter forms from the pattern of templum. Those adjectives are comfortable because their three genders are visibly distinct in the Nominative form itself: one ending for masculine, one for feminine, one for neuter. We are now ready to meet another great family of adjectives, the ones that decline according to the Third Declension patterns. This will feel familiar, because we already learned the Third Declension nouns and grew accustomed to its chief mark: its Genitive singular ending. When we saw nouns with a Genitive singular in -is, we learned to recognize them as Third Declension and to build their other cases from the stem found in that Genitive form.
Third Declension adjectives behave in the same spirit. Their endings will look like the endings we already met in Third Declension nouns, and the skill we have been practicing—finding the case, number, and function of a form—will now serve us in a fuller way, because we will often be reading a noun and an adjective side by side, both changing form, both revealing their grammatical identity by their endings, and both agreeing with one another.
There are three common shapes that Third Declension adjectives take in the Nominative case. Some have three different Nominative forms, one for each gender. The model is acer, acris, acre. Here we see a masculine form (acer), a feminine form (acris), and a neuter form (acre). When we use such an adjective, we choose the Nominative form according to the gender of the substantive. If we speak of a man, we say homo acer, a sharp man. If we speak of a woman, we say femina acris, a sharp woman. If we speak of a word, we say verbum acre, a sharp word. The noun tells us which Nominative form we must use.
But the real work begins when we move beyond the Nominative. The adjective does not merely change its Nominative ending; it declines through the cases, and it does so by following Third Declension patterns. The masculine and feminine forms decline like the familiar masculine and feminine Third Declension nouns we already learned, and the neuter follows the neuter pattern we learned, with its special feature that the Nominative, Accusative, and Vocative are always alike in each number. So as we decline acer, acris, acre, we are not learning an entirely new system. We are applying the system we already know to a new kind of word.
A second group of Third Declension adjectives has only two Nominative forms. In these, the masculine and feminine share the same form, and the neuter uses a second form. The model is brevis, breve. Here brevis serves for masculine or feminine, and breve serves for neuter. So we say dolor brevis, brief pain; we say vita brevis, a brief life; we say regnum breve, a brief kingdom. Again, the gender of the substantive determines whether we choose brevis or breve in the Nominative.
When we decline these adjectives into other cases, we again lean on what we already know. The masculine and feminine forms take the same outer shapes as the Third Declension noun patterns, and the neuter behaves like the neuter nouns, especially in the way that its Nominative, Accusative, and Vocative match. The adjective is not inventing its own language; it is living by the law of agreement, taking on whatever case, number, and gender the substantive requires.
A third group is simpler in appearance at first glance, because it has only one Nominative form for all genders. The model is felix. Here the same Nominative form stands with masculine, feminine, and neuter substantives: homo felix, a happy man; femina felix, a happy woman; verbum felix, a happy word. But although the Nominative looks simpler, we must not be misled. Once we enter the other cases, the word declines fully, and we again rely on the Third Declension patterns to understand what we see.
It is important for us to keep in mind that the Nominative form of an adjective is only the beginning of our knowledge. In reading, we will meet adjectives in every case and number, and we must learn to recognize them as quickly as we recognize nouns. We are therefore not merely memorizing word lists. We are training our eyes and minds to see form, to identify case, and to understand agreement.
Let us return to the practical method we have been using. Consider again the sentence Fuit homo missus a Deo, “There was a man sent from God.” Suppose we wish to add an adjective and say, “There was a brave man sent from God.” The process is the same as before. We find the Latin adjective that means “brave.” In a dictionary we discover fortis, forte. Immediately we notice that only two Nominative forms are listed, which tells us that this adjective belongs to the group with two terminations, like brevis, breve. That is enough to guide our choice of form.
Next we determine the gender of the substantive homo. It is masculine. Since masculine and feminine share fortis, we take the masculine form fortis. Then we determine the number. Homo is singular, so our adjective must be singular. Finally we determine the case. Homo is the subject, therefore it is Nominative. So we use the masculine/feminine singular Nominative form fortis, and we write homo fortis. By doing so, we have obeyed the law of agreement, and the Latin becomes correct and natural.
This is the heart of the matter. The rule does not change when the declension changes. Whether an adjective declines like the first and second patterns or like the third, it is still governed by the substantive. The adjective does not lead; it follows. It takes the gender, number, and case required by the noun, and by that agreement it becomes intelligible and useful in speech.
Now we should become familiar with the actual declensional forms of our three models.
With acer, acris, acre, we find in the singular the Nominative forms acer, acris, acre. In the Genitive, the form is acris. In the Dative, acri. In the Accusative, we find acrem for masculine and feminine, and acre for neuter. In the Ablative, we find ab acri. In the plural, we find acres for masculine and feminine, and acria for neuter. The Genitive plural is acrium, and the Dative and Ablative plural is acribus. The Accusative plural matches the Nominative plural: acres, acres, acria. These forms should not feel foreign, because we are seeing the Third Declension endings we already know, now applied to an adjective.
With brevis, breve, the singular Nominative is brevis for masculine and feminine and breve for neuter. The Genitive is brevis. The Dative is brevi. The Accusative is brevem for masculine and feminine and breve for neuter. The Ablative is a brevi. In the plural, we find breves for masculine and feminine and brevia for neuter. The Genitive plural is brevium. The Dative and Ablative plural is brevibus. Again, the patterns are familiar, but we must become fluent in them.
With felix, the singular Nominative is felix for all genders. The Genitive is felicis. The Dative is felici. The Accusative is felicem for masculine and feminine and felix for neuter. The Ablative may appear as felice or felici, depending on usage. In the plural, we find felices for masculine and feminine and felicia for neuter. The Genitive plural is felicium. The Dative and Ablative plural is felicibus. Here too, the adjective follows the Third Declension logic we already possess.
There are also a few important habits of Latin spelling and form that we must keep in mind as we encounter more adjectives in reading. Many adjectives that end in -cer or -is expand in the Genitive by adding a syllable near the end, and we must become accustomed to recognizing the stem that appears there. Likewise, neuter adjectives ending in -e often take -i in the Ablative. Many others allow either -e or -i. This is not something we should try to systematize to death right now. We learn it by seeing it, memorizing it, and using it. Finally, when an adjective uses -i in the Ablative, or allows -e and -i, we commonly find -ia in the neuter plural for the Nominative, Accusative, and Vocative, as we saw in brevia and felicia. These are the kinds of details that become easy only after repeated exposure.
But we must not lose sight of what matters most. The purpose of this lesson is not to bury ourselves under notes, but to become competent and confident in reading and writing adjective-noun phrases. If we know how Third Declension nouns behave, we already possess the main skill. We are now simply applying that skill to adjectives, while never letting go of the rule of agreement that governs them.
So as we practice, we should constantly ask the same simple questions. What substantive is this adjective attached to? What is the gender of that substantive? Is it singular or plural? What case is it in? Once we answer those questions, the form of the adjective is no longer mysterious. It is determined for us. And when we write, we follow the same steps in reverse, choosing the adjective and then letting the substantive dictate its form.
This is how Latin becomes clear. Latin does not rely on word order to do most of its work. It relies on form and agreement. The more we train ourselves to see gender, number, and case, the more naturally we will read, and the more accurately we will write.
Memory Work
1. How are adjective nouns of the Third Declension declined?
Adjectives of the Third Declension have either three terminations in the Nominative case, as hic Acer, haec Acris & hoc Acre; or Two, as hic & haec Brevis, hoc Breve; or One, which agrees with substantives of all genders, as hic, haec & hoc Felix.
2. Decline the Third Declension adjective of three terminations: hic Acer, haec Acris, hoc Acre.
Singulariter: Nominativo, Acer, Acris, Acre, sharp; Genitivo, Acris; Dativo, Acri; Accusativo, Acrem, Acrem, Acre; Vocativo, O Acer, Acris, Acre; Ablativo, ab Acri.
Pluraliter: Nominativo, Acres, Acres, Acria; Genitivo, Acrium; Dativo, Acribus; Accusativo, Acres, Acres, Acria; Vocativo, O Acres, Acres, Acria; Ablativo, ab Acribus.
3. Decline the Third Declension adjective of two terminations: hic & haec Brevis, hoc Breve.
Singulariter: Nominativo, Brevis, Breve, short; Genitivo, Brevis; Dativo, Brevi; Accusativo, Brevem, Breve; Vocativo, O Brevis, Breve; Ablativo, a Brevi.
Pluraliter: Nominativo, Breves, Brevia; Genitivo, Brevium; Dativo, Brevibus; Accusativo, Breves, Brevia; Vocativo, O Breves, Brevia; Ablativo, a Brevibus.
4. Decline the Third Declension adjective of all genders: hic, haec & hoc Felix.
Singulariter: Nominativo, Felix, happy; Genitivo, Felicis; Dativo, Felici; Accusativo, Felicem, Felix; Vocativo, O Felix; Ablativo, a Felice or Felici.
Pluraliter: Nominativo, Felices, Felicia; Genitivo, Felicium; Dativo, Felicibus; Accusativo, Felices, Felicia; Vocativo, O Felices, Felicia; Ablativo, a Felicibus.
5. Note 1. Almost all adjectives that end in -CER or -IS receive an extra syllable in the Genitive case. The syllable added is the next to last.
6. Note 2. All adjectives that in the neuter gender end in -E have -I in the Ablative case. Almost all other adjectives may have -E and -I. Excepted from this rule are Pauper (poor) and Hospes (safe), which have only -E; and Memor (mindful) which has only -I.
7. Note 3. All adjectives which have -I in the Ablative case, or -E and -I have -IA in the neuter gender of the Nominative, Accusative and Vocative plural; as, Gravis (heavy) has Gravia and Felix (happy) has Felicia. Excepted from this rule are Comparative forms, which have only -A; as Brevior (shorter) Breviora; Vetus (old) Vetera. The same may be said of the Genitive plural, which in most adjectives ends in -IUM, Comparatives again being excepted and the adjectives: Vetus (old), Uber (plentiful), Vigil (watchful), Inops (poor), Memor (mindful), Supplex (humbly praying), Degener (degenerating), Artifex (workman-like).
8. First Concord: Nouns, Adjectives, Pronouns and Participles agree with their Substantives in Gender, Number and Case.
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