29.02.24: accusative singular and plural of second declension nouns in -us

[The Road to Latin (Chesnutt) 1932]

Read and try to understand the text using the vocabulary to help you.

Note the endings -um and -ōs: these are the singular and plural endings for the accusative of the second declension nouns in -us - and the endings are the same for the adjectives,

Cornēlius est dominus vīllae; dominus Cornēlius est vir bonus. Dominus bonus servum laetum habet. Puer laetus dominum bonum amat. Dominus magnum hortum habet; dominus et domina in hortō ambulant. Hortus est longus et lātus. Servus laetus in hortum properat. Ferē cotīdiē in hortō labōrat. Esne dēfessus, serve bone? Esne tū dēfessus, puer? Cornēlius multōs fīliōs habet. Fīliī sunt bonī. Fīliī sunt Marcus, Lūcius, Aulus, Pūblius, Servius. Fīliī parvī sunt Pūblius et Servius. Fīlius adultus est Mārcus. Estisne discipulī bonī, puerī? Lūcius est discipulus bonus et dīligenter labōrat. Aulus quoque est bonus discipulus. Fīliī parvī nōndum sunt discipulī. Cornēlius fīliōs bonōs amat et saepe laudat. Nōnne Cornēlium amātis, fīliī?

adultus, -a, -um: adult; grown-up

cotīdiē: every day; daily

dēfessus, -a, -um: tired

dīligenter: diligently; carefully (dīligenter labōrat: he / she works hard)

domina: mistress

dominus: master

dominus vīllae: master of the house (more on this in a later post)

ferē: almost

laetus, -a, -um: happy

lātus, -a, -um: wide

laudāre: to praise

nōndum: not yet

properāre: hurry

saepe: often

Note: Esne dēfessus, serve bone? │ Are you tired, good slave? The adjective in -us also has a vocative form; it's used here because the slave is being addressed directly.

The image shows the pater familias (paterfamilias), the oldest living male in the family and the head of the Roman household; he is pictured with his wife (uxor) and children (līberī).