Second declension nouns
Second-declension nouns are the second big noun family, marked by the genitive ending -ī.
Can recognize Second declension nouns in a short Latin prompt
Schau dir diese Beispiele an. Kannst du das grammatische Muster erkennen?
Marcus reads.
Julia sees the tablet.
Achte auf die hervorgehobenen Teile. Was haben sie gemeinsam?
Second-declension nouns are the second big noun family, marked by the genitive ending -ī. Most are masculine and end in -us (servus, slave; amīcus, friend) or -er (puer, boy), though a smaller group is neuter and ends in -um (bellum, war).
Like all Latin nouns, these change their endings to show their job rather than relying on position. The vowel "o/u" runs through the endings, which is why some books call this the "o-declension."
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | servus | servī |
| Genitive | servī | servōrum |
| Dative | servō | servīs |
| Accusative | servum | servōs |
| Ablative | servō | servīs |
Examples:
- Servus dominō pāret. - The slave obeys the master.
- Amīcī puerōrum veniunt. - The boys' friends are coming.
Two watch-points for English speakers. The ending -ī is doing double duty: genitive singular and nominative plural, so read carefully. And beware the pair servō: it serves as both dative ("to the slave") and ablative ("by the slave"), so let the sense of the sentence decide. Do not assume the first -us word is automatically the subject; check whether it might be part of a longer chain.
Marcus reads.
Example for Second declension nouns.
Julia sees the tablet.
A short A1 sentence with visible endings.
Im Kurs üben
Wende diese Grammatik in den Übungen des Kurses A1 an