Gildersleeve's Latin Grammar

GILDERSLEEVE’S

LATIN

GRAMMAR

B. L. Gildersleeve

AND

G. Lodge

DOVER PUBLICATIONS, INC.

New York

CONTENTS

LATIN GRAMMAR

ETYMOLOGY

CONSONANT STEMS

VOWEL STEMS

ADJECTIVES

ADVERBS

PRONOUNS

THE VERB

DEPONENTS

FORMATION OF WORDS

SYNTAX

SYNTAX OF THE SIMPLE SENTENCE

TENSES

MOODS

PRONOUNS

APPOSITION

DATIVE

LOCATIVE

PREPOSITION

INFINITIVE

ADVERB

PRINCIPAL RULES OF SYNTAX

PROSODY

QUANTITY

VERSIFICATION

APPENDIX

INDEX OF WORDS

GENERAL INDEX

LATIN GRAMMAR

__________

ETYMOLOGY.

Alphabet.

1. THE Latin alphabet has twenty-three letters:

ABCDEFGHIKLMNOPQRSTVXYZ

REMARKS.—1. The sounds represented by C and K were originally distinct, C having the sound of G, but they gradually approximated each other, until C supplanted K except in a few words, such as Kalendae, Kaesō, which were usually abbreviated, Kal., K. The original force of C is retained only in C. (for Gāius) and Cn. (for Gnaeus).

2. J, the consonantal form of I, dates from the middle ages. V represented also the vowel u in the Latin alphabet; and its resolution into two letters—V for the consonant, and U for the vowel—also dates from the middle ages. For convenience, V and U are still distinguished in this grammar.

3. Y and Z were introduced in the time of Cicero to transliterate Greek υ and ζ. In early Latin υ was represented by u (occasionally by i or oi), and ζ by ss or s. Z had occurred in the earliest times, but had been lost, and its place in the alphabet taken by G, which was introduced after C acquired the sound of K.

NOTE.—The Latin Dames for the letters were: a, be, ce, de, e, ef, ge, ha, i, ka, el, em, en, o, pe, qu (= cu), er, es, te, u, ex (ix), to be pronounced according to the rules given in 3, 7. For Y the sound was used, for Z the Greek name (zēta).

Vowels.

2. The vowels are a, e, i, o, u, (y); and are divided:

1. According to their quality (i, e., the position of the organs used in pronunciation), into

guttural (or back), a, o, u;palatal (or front), e, i, (y).

2. According to their quantity or prolongation (i. e., the time required for pronunciation), into

REMARK.—Vowels whose quantity shifts in poetry are called common (see 13), and are distinguished thus:

3.Sounds of the Vowels.

REMARK.—The short sounds are only less prolonged in pronunciation than the long sounds, and have no exact English equivalents.

Diphthongs.

4. There are but few diphthongs or double sounds in Latin. The theory of the diphthong requires that both elements be heard in a slur. The tendency in Latin was to reduce diphthongs to simple sounds; for example, in the last century of the republic ae was gliding into ē, which took its place completely in the third century A. D. Hence arose frequent variations in spelling: as glaeba and glēba, sod; so oboedīre and obēdīre, obey; faenum (foenum) and fēnum, hay.

OTE.—Before the time of the Gracchi we find ai and oi instead of ae and oe.

5. The sign .. (Diœrĕsis—Greek=separation) over the second vowel shows that each sound is to be pronounced separately; ā r, air; Oenomaüs, alo .

Consonants.

6. Consonants are divided:

1. According to the principal organs by which they are pronounced, into

NOTE.—Instead of dental and guttural, the terms lingual and palatal are often used.

2. According to their prolongation, into

A. Semi-vowels: of which

B. Mutes: to which belong

Those on the same line are said to be of the same organ.

Mutes are further divided into

Those on the same line are said to be of the same order.

The aspirates were introduced in the latter part of the second century B. C. in the transliteration of Greek words, and thence extended to some pure Latin words; as, pulcher, Gracchus.

3. Double consonants are: z = dz in adze; x = cs (ks), gs; i and u between two vowels are double sounds, half vowel, half consonant.

Sounds of the Consonants.

7. The consonants are sounded as in English, with the following exceptions:

C is hard throughout = k.

Ch is not a genuine Latin combination (6, 2). In Latin words it is a k; in Greek words a kh, commonly pronounced as ch in German.

G is hard throughout, as in get, give.

H at the beginning of a word is but slightly pronounced; in the middle of a word it is almost imperceptible.

I consonant (J) has the sound of a broad y; nearly like y in yule.

N has a guttural nasal sound before c, g, q, as in anchor, anguish.

Qu = kw (nearly); before o, qu = c. In early Latin qu was not followed by u. Later, when o was weakened to u, qu was replaced by e; thus quom became cum. Still later qu replaced c, yielding quum.

R is trilled.

S and X are always hard, as in hiss, axe.

T is hard throughout; never like t in nation.

U consonant (V) is pronounced like the vowel, but with a slur. In the third century A. D. it had nearly the sound of our w. In Greek it was frequently transliterated by Ού; so Ούαλέριος = Valerius.

Phonetic Variations in Vowels and Consonants.

8. Vowels.

1. Weakening.—In the formation of words from roots or stems short vowels show a tendency to weaken; that is, a tends to become e and then i, or o and then u, while o tends towards e or i, and u towards i. This occurs most frequently in compound words, to a less degree in words formed by suffixes. Diphthongs are less frequently weakened and long vowels very rarely. The principal rules for these changes are as follows, but it must be remembered that to all there are more or less frequent exceptions:

A.—1. In the second part of compound words, and in reduplicated words, the root-vowel ă is weakened to ě, which usually passes over into ĭ in open syllables (11, R.), and often to ŭ before l and labial mutes: cōn-seendō (scandō); con-cidō (cadō); dē-sultō (saltō); fefellī (fallō). 2. As final vowel of the stem ă is weakened in the first part of a compound word, usually to ĭ, rarely to ŏ or ŭ: aquili-fer (aquila-); causi-dicus (causa-). 3. In or before suffixes, ǎ becomes ǐ: domi-tus (doma-).

NOTE.—A frequently resists change, especially in verbs of the First and Second Conjugations: as, sē-parāre (parāre); circum-iacēre (iacēre); so satis-facere (facere) and others.

E.—1. In the second part of compound words, root vowel ĕ is usually retained in a close (11, R.) syllable, and weakened to ĭ in an open syllable; but it is invariably retained before r: īn-flectō (fleatō); ob-tineō (teneō); ad-vertō (vertō). 2. In or before suffixes, and in the final syllable of a word, it also becomes ǐ: geni-tor (gene-); ūn-decim (decem).

I.—At the end of a word ĭ is changed to ĕ: mare (mari).

O.—I. In composition final stem-vowel ŏ is usually weakened to ǐ; before labials sometimes to ŭ: agri-cola (agro-); auru-fex (usually auri-fex). 2. In suffixes, and in final syllables, it is weakened to ǐ: amīci-tia (arnico-); gracili-s (also gracilu-s).

U.—In composition final stem-vowel ŭ is usually weakened to ǐ; the same weakening occurs sometimes within a word or before a suffix: mani-fēstus (also manu-fēstus); lacrima (early lacruma).

AE, AU.—In the second part of a compound word root-diphthong ae is usually weakened to ī, but often there is no change; au is occasionally changed to ū: ex-quīrō (quaerō); con-clūdō (claudō).

2. Omission.—Vowels are frequently omitted both in simple and compound words, either within the word (syncope) or at the end (apocope): dextera and dextra; princeps (for prīmceps, from prīmiceps); pergō (for perregō); ut (utī); neu (nēve).

3. Epenthesiss.—Vowels are sometimes inserted to ease the pronunciation, but usually before liquids or in foreign words: ager (agro-) see 31; Daphinē (= Daphnē); drachuma (= drachma).

4. Assimilation.—Two vowels in adjoining syllables tend to become like each other; this assimilation is usually regressive (i. e., of the first to the second), especially when 1 separates them; it is rarely progressive. Compare facilis with faeul, familia with famulus, bene with bonus.

5. A vowel before a liquid tends to become ǔ, less often o or e: adulēscēns and adolēscēns; vulgus and volgus; decumus (decem); compare tempus with temporis; peperī (from pariō), etc.

9. Consonants.

1. Assimilation.—When two consonants come together in Latin, they tend to assimilate one to the other. This assimilation is usually regressive; sometimes it is progressive. It is either complete, that is, the two consonants become the same; or partial, that is, the one is made of the same order or same organ as the other. These changes occur both in inflection and in composition, but they are especially noteworthy in the last consonant of prepositions in composition.

Scrīp-tum for scrīb-tum (regressive partial); ac-cēdere for ad-cēdere (regressive complete); cur-sum for cur-tum (progressive partial); celer-rimus for celer-simus (progressive complete).

2. Partial Assimilation.—(a) The sonants g and b, before the surd t, or the sibilant s, often become surds (c, p); the surds p, c, t before liquids sometimes become sonants (b, g, d); the labials p, b before n become m; the labial m before the gutturals c, q, g, h, i (j), the dentalst, t, d, s, and the labials f, v, becomes n; the dental n before labials p, b, m, becomes m; rēc-tum (for rēg-tum); scrīp-sī (for scrīb-sī); seg-mentum m, (for sec-mentum); som-nus (for sop-nus); prīn-ceps (for prīm-ceps).

NOTE.—Similar is the change of q (qu) to c before t or s: coc-tum (for coqu-tum).

(b) After 1 and r, t of the suffixes tor, tus, tum, becomes s by progressive assimilation: cur-sum (for cur-tum).

3.Complete Assimilation.—There are many varieties, but the most important principle is that a mute or a liquid tends to assimilate to a liquid and to a sibilant: puella (puer); cur-rere (for cur-sere); cēs-sī (for cēd-sī); corōlla (corōna), etc.

4. Prepositions.—Ab takes the form ā before m or v, and in ā-fuī; appears as au in au-ferō, au-fugiō; as abs before c, t; as as before p. Ad is assimilated before c, g, l, p, r, s, t, with more or less regularity; before gn, sp, sc, st, it often appears as ā. Ante appears rarely as anti. Cum appears as com before b, m, p; con before c, d, f, g, i, q, s, v; cō before gn, n; assimilated sometimes before l and r. Ex becomes ē before b, d, g, i (j), l, m, n, r, v; ef or ec, before f. In usually becomes im before b, m, p; before l, r it is occasionally assimilated; the same holds good of the negative prefix in. Ob is usually assimilated before c, f, g, p; appears as o in o-mittō, o-periō, obs in obs-olēscō, and os in ostendō. Sub is assimilated before c, f, g, p, r; appears as sus in a few words, as sus-cipiō; occasionally sū before s, as sū-spiciō. Trāns sometimes becomes trā before d, i (j), n; trān before s. Amb- (inseparable) loses b before a consonant, and am is sometimes assimilated. Circum sometimes drops m before i. Dis becomes dif before f; dir before a vowel; dī before consonants, except c, p, q, t, s, followed by a vowel, when it is usually unchanged. The d of red and sēd is usually dropped before consonants.

NOTE.—In early Latin assimilation is much less common than in the Classical period.

5. Dissimilation.—To avoid the harshness of sound when two syllables begin with the same letter, the initial letter of the one is often changed; this is true especially of liquids, but occasionally of other letters: singu-lā-ris (for singu-lā-lis); merī-diē (for medī-diē).

NOTE.—This principle often regulates the use of -brum or -bulum, and of -erum or -culum in word formation (181, 6): compare perīculum with simulācrum.

6. Omission.—(a) When a word closes with a doubled consonant or a group of consonants, the final consonant is regularly dropped in Latin; sometimes after the preceding consonant has been assimilated to it. In the middle of a word, after a long syllable, ss and ll are simplified; ll is sometimes simplified after a short vowel, which is then lengthened if the syllable is accented (compensatory lengthening); but if the syllable is unaccented, such lengthening need not take place. In this case other doubled consonants may also be simplified.

fel (for fell); lac (for lact); vigil (for vigils); lapis (for lapid-s, lapiss); mīsī (for mīs-si); vīlla and vīlicus; but currus and cǔrūlis.

NOTE.—X is retained, even after l and r, as in calx, arx; also ps, be, as in stirps, urbs; ms is found in hiems only.

(b) In the tendency to easier pronunciation consonants are often dropped both at the beginning and in the middle of a word: stimulus (for stigmulus); pāstor (for pāsctor); āiō (for āhiō); nātus (for gnātus, retained in early Latin, rarely later); lātus (for tlātus), etc.

7. Epenthesis.—Between m and l, m and s, m and t, a p is generated: ex-em-p-lum (ex-imō); cōm-p-sī (cōmō); ēm-p-tus (emō).

8. Metathesis or transposition of consonants occurs sometimes in Latin, especially in Perfect and Supine forms: cernō; Pf. crē-vī, etc.

Syllables.

10. The syllable is the unit of pronunciation; it consists of a vowel, or a vowel and one or more consonants.

A word has as many syllables as it contains separate vowels and diphthongs.

In dividing a word into syllables, a consonant, between two vowels, belongs to the second; a-mō, I love; li-xa, a sutler.

Any combination of consonants that can begin a word (including mn, under Greek influence) belongs to the following vowel; in other combinations the first consonant belongs to the preceding vowel: a-sper, rough; fau-stus, lucky; li-brī, books; a-mnis, river.

REMARKS.—I. The combinations incapable of beginning a word are (a) doubled consonants: sic-cus, dry; (b) a liquid and a consonant: al-mus, fostering; am-bō, both; an-guis, snake; ar-bor, tree.

2. Compounds are treated by the best grammarians as if their parts were separate words: ab-igō, I drive off; rēs-pūblica, commonwealth.

11. The last syllable of a word is called the ultimate (ūltima, last); the next to the last the penult (paene, almost, and ūltima); the one before the penult, the antepenult (ante, before, and paenūltima).

REMARK.—A syllable is said to be open when it ends with a vowel; close, when it ends with a consonant.

Quantity.

12. 1. A syllable is said to be long by nature, when it contains a long vowel or diphthong: mōs, custom; caelum, heaven.

REMARKS.—I. A vowel before nf, ns, gm, gn, is long by nature: īnfēlīx, unlucky; mēnsa, table; āgmen, train; āgnus, lamb. In many cases, however, the n has disappeared from the written word; so in some substantival terminations: ōs (Acc. Pl., 2d decl.), ūs (Acc. Pl., 4th decl.); in adjectives in ōsus (fōrmōsus, shapely, for fōrmōnsus); in the numerical termination ēsimus (= ēnsimus). See 95, N. 5.

2. Before i consonant (j) a vowel is long by nature: Pompēius, Pompey; except in compounds of iugum, yoke (bĭ-iugus, two-horse), and in a few other words.

NOTE.—From about 134 to about 74 B. C. ā, ē, ū, were often represented by aa, ee, uu; ī by ei. From the time of Augustus to the second century ī was indicated by a lengthened I. From Sulla’s time until the third century long vowels (rarely, however, ī) were indicated by an Apex (′).

2. A syllable is said to be long by position, when a short vowel is followed by two or more consonants, or a double consonant: ărs, art; cŏllum, neck; ăbrumpŏ, I break off; pĕr mare, through the sea; nĕx, murder.

3. A syllable is said to be short when it contains a short vowel, which is not followed by two or more consonants: lŏcus, place; tăbǔla, picture.

REMARK.—A vowel is short by nature when followed by another vowel, or by nt, nd: dĕus, God; innocĕntia, innocence; amăndus, to be loved,

13. A syllable ending in a short vowel, followed by a mute with l or r, is said to be common (anceps, doubtful): ten brae, darkness.

REMARK.—1n prose such syllables are always short. In poetry they were short in early times, common in the Augustan period.

14. Every diphthong, and every vowel derived from a diphthong, or contracted from other vowels, is long: saevus, cruel; conclūdō, I shut up (from claudō, I shut); cōgō (from co agō), I drive together.

Accentuation.

15. 1. Dissyllabic words have the accent or stress on the penult: équǒs (= equus), horse.

2. Polysyllabic words have the accent on the penult, when the penult is long; on the antepenult, when the penult is short or common: mand re, to commit; mándĕre, to chew; int grum, entire; circúmdare, to surround; supérstitēs, survivors.

REMARKS.—1. The little appendages (enclitics), que, ve, ne, add an accent to the ultimate of words accented on the antepenult: l mináque, and lights; fl mináve, or rivers; v meréne ? from a ploughshare ? Dissyllables and words accented on the penult are said to shift their accent to the final syllable before an enclitic: egómet, I indeed; amāréve, or to love; but it is more likely that the ordinary rule of accentuation was followed.

2. Compounds (not prepositional) of facere and dare retain the accent on the verbal form: calefácit, vēnumdáre.

3. Vocatives and genitives of substantives in ius of the second declension, as well as genitives of substantives in ium, retain the accent on the same syllable as the nominative: Vergílī.

NOTE.—Other exceptions will be noted as they occur. In the older language the accent was not bounded by the antepenult: áccipiō (accípiō), cóncutiō (cóncutiō).

Parts of Speech.

16. The Parts of Speech are the Noun (Substantive and Adjective), the Pronoun, the Verb, and the Particles (Adverb, Preposition, and Conjunction), defined as follows:

1. The Substantive gives a name: vir, a man; Cocles, Codes; dōnum, a gift.

2. The Adjective adds a quality to the Substantive: bonus vir, a good man.

3. The Pronoun points out without describing: hīe, this; ille, that; ego, I.

4. The Verb expresses a complete thought, whether assertion, wish, or command; amat, he loves; amet, may he love; amā, love thou !

5. The Adverb shows circumstances.

6. The Preposition shows local relation.

7. The Conjunction shows connection.

REMARKS.—1. Substantive is short for noun-substantive, and adjective for noun-adjective. Substantives are often loosely called nouns.

2. The Interjection is either a mere cry of feeling: āh ! ah ! and does not belong to language, or falls under one of the above-mentioned classes.

3. The Particles are mainly mutilated forms of the noun and pronoun.

NOTES.—1. The difference between substantive and adjective is largely a difference of mobility; that is, the substantive is fixed in its application and the adjective is general.

2. Noun and pronoun have essentially the same inflection; but they are commonly separated, partly on account of the difference in signification, partly on account of certain peculiarities of the pronominal forms.

Inflection.

17. Inflection (īnflexiō, bending) is that change in the form of a word (chiefly in the end) which shows a change in the relations of that word. The noun, pronoun, and verb are inflected; the particles are not capable of further inflection.

The inflection of nouns and pronouns is called declension, and nouns and pronouns are said to be declined.

The inflection of verbs is called conjugation, and verbs are said to be conjugated.

The Substantive.

18. A Substantive is either concrete or abstract; concrete when it gives the name of a person or thing; abstract when it gives the name of a quality; as amīcitia, friendship.

Concrete substantives are either proper or common:

Proper when they are proper, or peculiar, to certain persons, places, or things: Horātius, Horace; Neāpolis, Naples; Padus, Po.

Common when they are common to a whole class: dominus, a lord; urbs, a city; amnis, a river.

Gender of Substantives.

19. For the names of animate beings, the gender is determined by the signification; for things and qualities, by the termination.

Names of males are masculine; names of females, feminine. Masculine: Rōmulus; Iūppiter; vir, man; equus, horse. Feminine: Cornēlia; Iūnō; fēmina, woman; equa, mare.

20. Some classes of words, without natural gender, have their gender determined by the signification:

I. All names of months and winds, most names of rivers, and many names of mountains are masculine; as: Aprīlis, April, the opening month; Aquilo, the north loind; Albis, the River Elbe; Ath s, Mount Athos.

REMARKS.—1. Names of months, winds, and rivers were looked upon as adjectives in agreement with masculine substantives understood (mēnsis, month; ventus, wind; fluvius, amnis, river).

2. Of the rivers, Allia, Lēthē, Matrona, Sagra, Styx are feminine; Albula, Acherōn, Garumna vary, being sometimes masculine, sometimes feminine.

3. Of the mountains, Alpēs, the Alps, is feminine; so, too, sundry (Greek) names in a (G. ae), ē (G. ēs): Aetna (usually), Calpē, Cyllēnē, Hybla, Īda, Ossa (usually), Oeta (usually), Rnodopē, Pholoē, Pȳrēnē, and Carambis, Pelōris. Pēlion and Sōracte (usually), and names of mountains in a (G. ōrurn), as Maenala (G. Maenalōrum), are neuter.

II. Names of countries (terrae, fem.), islands (īnsulae, fem.), cities (urbēs, fem.), plants (plantae, fem.),and trees (arborēs, fem.), are feminine: Aegyptus, Egypt; Rhodus, Rhodes; pirus, a pear-tree; abiēs, a fir-tree.

REMARKS.—1. Names of countries and islands in us (os) (G. i) are masculine, except Aegyptus, Chius, Chersonēsus, Cyprus, Dēlos, Ēpīrus, Lēmnos, Lesbos, Peloponnēsus, Rhodus, Samos, Bosporus (the country).

2. Many Greek names of cities follow the termination. Towards the end of the republic many feminine names change the ending -us to -um and become neuter: Abȳdus and Abȳdus, Saguntus and Saguntum.

3. Most names or trees with stems in -tro (N. -ter) are masculine: oleaster, wild olive; pīnaster, wild pine. So also most shrubs: dūmus, bramble-bush; rhūs, sumach. Neuter are acer, maple; lāser, a plant; papāver, poppy (also masc. in early Latin); rōbur, oak; sīler, willow; siser, skirret (occasionally masc.); sūber, cork-tree; tūber, mushroom.

III. All indeclinable substantives, and all words and phrases treated as indeclinable substantives, are neuter: fās, right; ā longum, ā long; scīre tuum, thy knoiuing; trīste valē, a sad farewell.

21. 1. Substantives which have but one form for masculine and feminine are said to be of common gender: cīvis, citizen (male or female); comes, companion; iūdex, judge.

2. Substantīva mōbilia are words of the same origin, whose different terminations designate difference of gender: magister, master, teacher; magistra, mistress; servus, serva, slave (masc. and fem.); victor, victrīx, conqueror (masc. and fem.).

3. If the male and female of animals have but one designation, mās, male, and fēmina, female, are added, when it is necessary to be exact: pāv mās (masculus), peacock; pāv fēmina, peahen. These substantives are called epicene ( , utrīque generī commūnia, common to each gender).

Number.

22. In Latin there are two numbers: the Singular, denoting one; the Plural, denoting more than one.

REMARK.—The Dual, denoting two, occurs in Latin only in two words (duo, two; ambō, both), in the nominative and vocative of the masculine ana neuter.

Cases.

23. In Latin there are six cases:

1. Nominative (Case of the Subject).

Answers: who ? what ?

2. Genitive (Case of the Complement).

Answers: whose ? whereof ?

3. Dative (Case of Indirect Object or Personal Interest).

Answers: to whom ? for whom ?

4. Accusative (Case of Direct Object).

Answers: whom ? what ?

5. Vocative (Case of Direct Address).

6. Ablative (Case of Adverbial Eelation).

Answers: where ? whence ? wherewith ?

NOTE.—These six cases are the remains of a larger number. The Locative (answers; where?), is akin to the Dative, and coincident with it in the 1st and 3d Declensions; in the 2d Declension it is lost in the Genitive; it is often blended with the Ablative in form, regularly in syntax. The Instrumental (answers: wherewith ?), which is found in other members of the family, is likewise merged in the Ablative.

24. 1. According to their form, the cases are divided into strong and weak: The strong cases are Nominative, Accusative, and Vocative. The weak cases are Genitive, Dative, and Ablative.

2. According to their syntactical use, the cases are divided into Cāsūs Rēctī, or Independent Cases, and Cāsūs Oblīquī, or Dependent Cases. Nominative and Vocative are Cāsūs Rēctī, the rest Cāsūs Oblīquī.

25. The case-forms arise from the combination of the case-endings with the stem.

1. The stem is that which is common to a class of formations.

NOTES.—1. The stem is often so much altered by contact with the case-ending, and the case-ending so much altered by the wearing away of vowels and consonants, that they can be determined only by scientific analysis. So in the paradigm mēnsa, the stem is not mēns, but mēnsā, the final ā having been absorbed by the ending in the Dative and Ablative Plural mēnaīs. So -d, the ending of the Ablative Singular, has nearly disappeared, and the locative ending has undergone many changes (ē, ēi, ī, ĕ). The crude form it is often impossible to ascertain.

2. The root is an ultimate stem, and the determination of the root belongs to comparative etymology. The stem may be of any length, the root was probably a monosyllable. In penna the stem is pennā-; in pennula, pennulā-; in pennātulus, pennātulo-; the root is PET (petna, pesna, penna), and is found in pet-ere, to fall upon, to fly at; Greek, π τ-ομαι, πτ ρόν; English, feather.

2. The case-endings are as follows, early forms being printed in parenthesis:

Declensions.

26. There are five declensions in Latin, which are characterised by the final letter of their respective stems (stem-characteristic).

For practical purposes and regularly in lexicons they are also improperly distinguished by the ending of the Genitive Singular.

REMARK.—The First, Second, and Fifth Declensions are called Vowel Declensions; the Third and Fourth, which really form but one, the Consonant Declension, i and u being semi-consonants.

27. The case-endings in combination with the stem-characteristics give rise to the following systems of terminations:

NOTE.—Final -s and -m are frequently omitted in early inscriptions

28. General Rules of Declension.

I. For the stront cases:

Neuter substantives have the Nominative and the Vocative like the Accusative; in the Plural the strong cases always end in ă.

In the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Declensions the strong cases are alike in the Plural.

The Vocative is like the Nominative, except in the Singular of the Second Declension when the Nominative ends in -us.

II. For the weak cases:

The Dative and the Ablative Plural have a common form.

FIRST DECLENSION.

29. The stem ends in ă, which is weakened from an original ā. The Nominative has no ending.

REMARKS.—1. The early ending of the Gen., ās, found in a few cases in early poets, is retained in the classical period (but not in CAESAR or LIVY) only in the form familiās, of a family, in combination with pater, father, māter, mother, fīlius, son, fīlia, daughter, viz.: paterfamiliās, māterfamiliās, fīlius familiās, fīlia familiās.

2. The Loc, Sing, is like the Genitive: Rōmae, at Rome; mīitiae, abroad.

3. The Gen. Pl. sometimes takes the form -un instead of -ārum; this occurs chiefly in the Greek words amphora (amphora, measure of tonnage), and drachma, franc—(Greek coin). The poets make frequent use of this form in Greek patronymics in -da, -dās, and compounds of -cola (from colō, I inhabit) and -gena (from root gen, beget).