Latin II Capita IX/X Formative Quick Review

3rd declension adjectives use the same endings as 3rd declension nouns, except they are all i-stem

• This means that the abl. sg. of all genders is -i instead of -e and the gen. pl. has an -i in front of the -um (-ium). The neuter plural nom. and acc. also has an -i in front of the -a (-ia).

The tricky thing about third declension adjectives, is keeping track of the variations of the nom. sg ending (the "varies" form) for the different grammatical genders.

• Three termination: celer, celeris, celere - quick

  • All three genders have a different "varies" form"

• Two termination: facilis, facile - easy

  • Masc. and fem. share a "varies" form; neuter's form is different

• One termination: ferox, ferocis - fierce

  • Masc., fem., and neut. share a "varies" form; the second word listed is its gen. sg. form

Latin has degrees of adjectives: positive, comparative and superlative

• Positive adjectives are the regular adjectives, often seen with the endings -us, -a, -um in Latin and are translated with its basic definition

  • These are either 1st, 2nd or 3rd declension

• Comparative adjectives are the "more _____" form of the adjective and are seen with the endings -ior, -ius

  • These are always 3rd declension

• Superlative adjectives are the "most _____" form of the adjective and are seen with the endings -issimus, -issima, -issimum

  • These are always 1st and 2nd declension

Comparative adjectives can be used to write comparative statements, using the conjunction quam

• [nominative noun] + est/sunt + [nominative comparative] + quam + [other nominative noun]

  • Magistra est fessior quam ursa

    • Mrs. Hooper is tireder than a bear

Another way to form a comparative statement is to use a comparative adjective and the ablative of comparison.

• [nominative noun] + est/sunt + [nominative comparative] [other ablative noun]

  • Magistra est fessior ursā

    • Mrs. Hooper is tireder than a bear

Adjectives and the nouns that they modify must agree in gender, case and number but NOT declension

This means they will not necessarily "match"