New Latin Grammar

So perīculum, saeculum.

4. Syncope. Sometimes a vowel drops out by syncope; as,—

CONSONANT CHANGES^[10]

8. 1. Rhotacism. An original s between vowels became r; as,—

2. dt, tt, ts each give s or ss; as,—

3. Final consonants were often omitted; as,—

4. Assimilation of Consonants. Consonants are often assimilated to a following sound. Thus: accurrō (adc-); aggerō (adg-); asserō (ads-); allātus (adl-); apportō (adp-); attulī (adt-); arrīdeō (adr-); afferō (adf-); occurrō (obc-); suppōnō (subp-); offerō (obf-); corruō (comr-); collātus (coml-); etc.

5. Partial Assimilation. Sometimes the assimilation is only partial. Thus:—

a) b before s or t becomes p; as,—

scrīpsī (scrīb-sī), scrīptum (scrīb-tum).

b) g before s or t becomes c; as,—

āctus (āg-tus).

c) m before a dental or guttural becomes n; as,—

eundem (eum-dem); prīnceps (prīm-ceps).

PECULIARITIES OF ORTHOGRAPHY.

9. Many words have variable orthography.

1. Sometimes the different forms belong to different periods of the language. Thus, quom, voltus, volnus, volt, etc., were the prevailing forms almost down to the Augustan age; after that, cum, vultus, vulnus, vult, etc. So optumus, maxumus, lubet, lubīdō, etc. down to about the same era; later, optimus, maximus, libet, libīdō, etc.

2. In some words the orthography varies at one and the same period of the language. Examples are exspectō, expectō; exsistō, existō; epistula, epistola; adulēscēns, adolēscēns; paulus, paullus; cottīdiē, cotīdiē; and, particularly, prepositional compounds, which often made a concession to the etymology in the spelling; as,—

3. Compounds of jaciō were usually written ēiciō, dēiciō, adiciō, obiciō, etc., but were probably pronounced as though written adjiciō, objiciō, etc.

4. Adjectives and nouns in -quus, -quum; -vus, -vum; -uus, -uum preserved the earlier forms in -quos, -quom; -vos, -vom; -uos, -uom, down through the Ciceronian age; as, antīquos, antīquom; saevos; perpetuos; equos; servos. Similarly verbs in the 3d plural present indicative exhibit the terminations -quont, -quontur; -vont, -vontur; -uont, -uontur, for the same period; as, relinquont, loquontur; vīvont, metuont.

The older spelling, while generally followed in editions of Plautus and Terence, has not yet been adopted in our prose texts.

PART II.

INFLECTIONS.

10. The Parts of Speech in Latin are the same as in English, viz. Nouns, Adjectives, Pronouns, Verbs, Adverbs, Prepositions, Conjunctions, and Interjections; but the Latin has no article.

11. Of these eight parts of speech the first four are capable of Inflection, i.e. of undergoing change of form to express modifications of meaning. In case of Nouns, Adjectives, and Pronouns, this process is called Declension; in case of verbs, Conjugation.

CHAPTER I.—Declension.

A. NOUNS.

12. A Noun is the name of a person, place, thing, or quality; as, Caesar, Caesar; Rōma, Rome; penna, feather; virtūs, courage.

1. Nouns are either Proper or Common. Proper nouns are permanent names of persons or places; as, Caesar, Rōma. Other nouns are Common: as, penna, virtūs.

2. Nouns are also distinguished as Concrete or Abstract.

a) Concrete nouns are those which designate individual objects; as, mōns, mountain; pēs, foot; diēs, day; mēns, mind.

Under concrete nouns are included, also, collective nouns; as, legiō, legion; comitātus, retinue.

b) Abstract nouns designate qualities; as, cōnstantia, steadfastness; paupertās, poverty.

GENDER OF NOUNS.

13. There are three Genders,—Masculine, Feminine, and Neuter. Gender in Latin is either natural or grammatical.

Natural Gender.

14. The gender of nouns is natural when it is based upon sex. Natural gender is confined entirely to names of persons; and these are—

1. Masculine, if they denote males; as,—

2. Feminine, if they denote females; as,—

Grammatical Gender.

15. Grammatical gender is determined not by sex, but by the general signification of the word, or the ending of its Nominative Singular. By grammatical gender, nouns denoting things or qualities are often Masculine or Feminine, simply by virtue of their signification or the ending of the Nominative Singular. The following are the general principles for determining grammatical gender:—

A. Gender determined by Signification.

1. Names of Rivers, Winds, and Months are Masculine; as,—

2. Names of Trees, and such names of Towns and Islands as end in -us, are Feminine; as,—

Other names of towns and islands follow the gender of their endings (see B, below); as,—

3. Indeclinable nouns, also infinitives and phrases, are Neuter; as,—

NOTE.—Exceptions to the above principles sometimes occur; as, Allia (the river), f.

B. Gender determined by Ending of Nominative Singular.

The gender of other nouns is determined by the ending of the Nominative Singular.^[11]

NOTE 1.—Common Gender. Certain nouns are sometimes Masculine, sometimes Feminine. Thus, sacerdōs may mean either priest or priestess, and is Masculine or Feminine accordingly. So also cīvis, citizen; parēns, parent; etc. The gender of such nouns is said to be common.

NOTE 2.—Names of animals usually have grammatical gender, according to the ending of the Nominative Singular, but the one form may designate either the male or female; as, ānser, m., goose or gander. So vulpēs, f., fox; aquīla, f., eagle.

NUMBER.

16. The Latin has two Numbers,—the Singular and Plural. The Singular denotes one object, the Plural, more than one.

CASES.

17. There are six Cases in Latin:—

1. LOCATIVE. Vestiges of another case, the Locative (denoting place where), occur in names of towns and in a few other words.

2. OBLIQUE CASES. The Genitive, Dative, Accusative, and Ablative are called Oblique Cases.

3. STEM AND CASE-ENDINGS. The different cases are formed by appending certain case-endings to a fundamental part called the Stem.^[12] Thus, portam (Accusative Singular) is formed by adding the case-ending -m to the stem porta-. But in most cases the final vowel of the stem has coalesced so closely with the actual case-ending that the latter has become more or less obscured. The apparent case-ending thus resulting is called a termination.

THE FIVE DECLENSIONS.

18. There are five Declensions in Latin, distinguished from each other by the final letter of the Stem, and also by the Termination of the Genitive Singular, as follows:—

Cases alike in Form.

19. 1. The Vocative is regularly like the Nominative, except in the singular of nouns in -us of the Second Declension.

2. The Dative and Ablative Plural are always alike.

3. In Neuters the Accusative and Nominative are always alike, and in the Plural end in -ă.

4. In the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Declensions, the Accusative Plural is regularly like the Nominative.

FIRST DECLENSION.

ā-Stems.

20. Pure Latin nouns of the First Declension regularly end, in the Nominative Singular, in -ă, weakened from -ā, and are of the Feminine Gender. They are declined as follows:—

1. The Latin has no article, and porta may mean either a gate or the gate; and in the Plural, gates or the gates.

Peculiarities of Nouns of the First Declension.

21. 1. EXCEPTIONS IN GENDER. Nouns denoting males are Masculine; as, nauta, sailor; agricola, farmer; also, Hadria, Adriatic Sea.

2. Rare Case-Endings,—

a) An old form of the Genitive Singular in -ās is preserved in the combination pater familiās, father of a family; also in māter familiās, fīlius familiās, fīlia familiās. But the regular form of the Genitive in -ae is also admissible in these expressions; as, pater familiae.

b) In poetry a Genitive in -āī also occurs; as, aulāī.

c) The Locative Singular ends in -ae; as, Rōmae, at Rome.

d) A Genitive Plural in -um instead of -ārum sometimes occurs; as, Dardanidum instead of Dardanidārum. This termination -um is not a contraction of -ārum, but represents an entirely different case-ending.

e) Instead of the regular ending -īs, we usually find -ābus in the Dative and Ablative Plural of dea, goddess, and fīlia, daughter, especially when it is important to distinguish these nouns from the corresponding forms of deus, god, and fīlius, son. A few other words sometimes have the same peculiarity; as, lībertābus (from līberta, freedwoman), equābus (mares), to avoid confusion with lībertīs (from lībertus, freedman) and equīs (from equus, horse).

Greek Nouns.

22. These end in -ē (Feminine); -ās and -ēs (Masculine). In the Plural they are declined like regular Latin nouns of the First Declension. In the Singular they are declined as follows:—

1. But most Greek nouns in -ē become regular Latin nouns in -a, and are declined like porta; as, grammatica, grammar; mūsica, music; rhētorica, rhetoric.

2. Some other peculiarities occur, especially in poetry.

SECOND DECLENSION.

ŏ-Stems.

23. Pure Latin nouns of the Second Declension end in -us, -er, -ir, Masculine; -um, Neuter. Originally -us in the Nominative of the Masculine was -os; and -um of the Neuters -om. So also in the Accusative.

Nouns in -us and -um are declined as follows:—

Nouns in -er and -ir are declined as follows:—

1. Note that in words of the type of puer and vir the final vowel of the stem has disappeared in the Nominative and Vocative Singular.

In the Nominative and Vocative Singular of ager, the stem is further modified by the development of e before r.

2. The following nouns in -er are declined like puer: adulter, adulterer; gener, son-in-law; Līber, Bacchus; socer, father-in-law; vesper, evening; and compounds in -fer and -ger, as signifer, armiger.

Nouns in -vus, -vum, -quus.

24. Nouns ending in the Nominative Singular in -vus, -vum, -quus, exhibited two types of inflection in the classical Latin,—an earlier and a later,—as follows:—

1. The Plural of these nouns is regular, and always uniform.

Peculiarities of Inflection in the Second Declension.

25. 1. Proper names in -ius regularly form the Genitive Singular in -ī (instead of -iī), and the Vocative Singular in -ī (for -ie); as Vergílī, of Virgil, or O Virgil (instead of Vergiliī, Vergilie). In such words the accent stands upon the penult, even though that be short. Nouns in -ajus, -ejus form the Gen. in -aī, -eī, as Pompejus, Pompeī.

2. Nouns in -ius and -ium, until after the beginning of the reign of Augustus (31 B.C.), regularly formed the Genitive Singular in -i (instead of -iī); as,—

These Genitives accent the penult, even when it is short.

3. Fīlius forms the Vocative Singular in -ī (for -ie); viz. fīlī, O son!

4. Deus, god, lacks the Vocative Singular. The Plural is inflected as follows:—

5. The Locative Singular ends in -ī; as, Corinthī, at Corinth.

6. The Genitive Plural has -um, instead of -ōrum,—

a) in words denoting money and measure; as, talentum, of talents; modium, of pecks; sēstertium, of sesterces.

b) in duumvir, triumvir, decemvir; as, duumvirum.

c) sometimes in other words; as, līberum, of the children; socium, of the allies.

Exceptions to Gender in the Second Declension.

26. 1. The following nouns in -us are Feminine by exception:—

a) Names of towns, islands, trees—according to the general rule laid down in § 15, 2; also some names of countries; as Aegyptus, Egypt.

b) Five special words,—

alvus, belly;

carbasus, flax;

colus, distaff;

humus, ground;

vannus, winnowing-fan.

c) A few Greek Feminines; as,—

atomus, atom;

diphthongus, diphthong.

2. The following nouns in -us are Neuter:—

Greek Nouns of the Second Declension.

27. These end in -os, -ōs, Masculine or Feminine; and -on, Neuter. They are mainly proper names, and are declined as follows:—

1. Nouns in -os sometimes form the Accusative Singular in -um instead of -on; as, Dēlum, Delos.

2. The Plural of Greek nouns, when it occurs, is usually regular.

3. For other rare forms of Greek nouns the lexicon may be consulted.

THIRD DECLENSION.

28. Nouns of the Third Declension end in -a, -e, -ī, -ō, -y, -c, -l, -n, -r, -s, -t, -x. The Third Declension includes several distinct classes of Stems,—

I. Consonant-Stems.

29. 1. In these the stem appears in its unaltered form in all the oblique cases, so that the actual case-endings may be clearly recognized.

2. Consonant-Stems fall into several natural subdivisions, according as the stem ends in a Mute, Liquid, Nasal, or Spirant.

A. Mute-Stems.

30. Mute-Stems may end,—

1. In a Labial (p); as, prīncep-s.

2. In a Guttural (g or c); as, rēmex (rēmeg-s); dux (duc-s).

3. In a Dental (d or t); as, lapis (lapid-s); mīles (mīlet-s).

1. STEMS IN A LABIAL MUTE (p).

31. Prīnceps, m., chief.

2. STEMS IN A GUTTURAL MUTE (g, c).

32. In these the termination -s of the Nominative Singular unites with the guttural, thus producing -x.

3. STEMS IN A DENTAL MUTE (d, t).

33. In these the final d or t of the stem disappears in the Nominative Singular before the ending -s.

B. Liquid Stems.

34. These end in -l or -r.

1. Masculine and Feminine stems ending in a liquid form the Nominative and Vocative Singular without termination.

2. The termination is also lacking in the Nominative, Accusative and Vocative Singular of all neuters of the Third Declension.

C. Nasal Stems.

35. These end in -n,^[13] which often disappears in the Nom. Sing.

D. s-Stems.

36.

1. Note that the final s of the stem becomes r (between vowels) in the oblique cases. In many words (honor, color, and the like) the r of the oblique cases has, by analogy, crept into the Nominative, displacing the earlier s, though the forms honōs, colōs, etc., also occur, particularly in early Latin and in poetry.

II. ĭ-Stems.

A. Masculine and Feminine ĭ-Stems.

37. These regularly end in -is in the Nominative Singular, and always have -ium in the Genitive Plural. Originally the Accusative Singular ended in -im, the Ablative Singular in -ī, and the Accusative Plural in -īs; but these endings have been largely displaced by -em, -e, and -ēs, the endings of Consonant-Stems.

38.

1. To the same class belong—

Words marked with a star regularly have Acc. -im; those marked with a † regularly have Abl. -ī. Of the others, many at times show -im and -ī. Town and river names in -is regularly have -im, -ī.

2. Not all nouns in -is are ĭ-Stems. Some are genuine consonant-stems, and have the regular consonant terminations throughout, notably, canis, dog; juvenis, youth.^[14]

3. Some genuine ĭ-Stems have become disguised in the Nominative Singular; as, pars, part, for par(ti)s; anas, duck, for ana(ti)s; so also mors, death; dōs, dowry; nox, night; sors, lot; mēns, mind; ars, art; gēns, tribe; and some others.

B. Neuter ĭ-Stems.

39. These end in the Nominative Singular in -e, -al, and -ar. They always have -ī in the Ablative Singular, -ia in the Nominative, Accusative, and Vocative Plural, and -ium in the Genitive Plural, thus holding more steadfastly to the i-character than do Masculine and Feminine ĭ-Stems.

1. In most words of this class the final -i of the stem is lost in the Nominative Singular; in others it appears as -e.

2. Proper names in -e form the Ablative Singular in -e; as, Sōracte, Mt. Soracte; so also sometimes mare, sea.

III. Consonant-Stems that have partially adapted themselves to the Inflection of ĭ-Stems.

40. Many Consonant-Stems have so far adapted themselves to the inflection of ĭ-stems as to take -ium in the Genitive Plural, and -īs in the Accusative Plural. Their true character as Consonant-Stems, however, is shown by the fact that they never take -im in the Accusative Singular, or -ī in the Ablative Singular. The following words are examples of this class:—