Keep it simple. Pick up a few quotations to help you remember. Practice some easy constructions.
Tacitus was quite fond of putting words into other people’s mouths. The quotation in the previous post is (supposedly) from a speech made by Calcagus, a Caledonian chief who fought against Gnaeus Agricola in northern Scotland. It’s the last line that we’ll focus on because it shows you exactly how to approach the case endings of this 3rd declension.
Where they make a desert, they call it peace.
What do they make? They make a desert = direct object =
accusative.
What do they call it? They call it peace = direct object =
accusative.
Ubi sōlitūdin¦em [accusative] faciunt pāc¦em [accusative]
appellant.
[1]
Nominative: sōlitūdō (loneliness; desert)
Genitive: sōlitūdin¦is
Now you have the stem:
sōlitūdin¦-
> Accusative: sōlitūdin¦em
[2]
Nominative: pāx (peace)
Genitive: pāc¦is
Now you have the stem:
pāc¦-
> Accusative: pāc¦em
So, to do a bit practice with this, we’ll look at some
animals.
[i] If the noun has no stem change then it’s
straightforward:
avis [nominative], av¦is
[genitive]: bird
stem av¦- no change
> av¦em habeō. I have a bird.
[ii] If, on the other hand, you have a snake…
serpēns [nominative], serpent¦is [genitive]: snake
stem serpent¦-
> serpent¦em habeō. I have a snake.
Here are some animals. Even if having a pet scorpion isn’t
your idea of fun, it’s only for practice! Just follow the rule of [i] and [ii]
above. If there’s a stem change that must be included.
1. fēles, fēlis: cat [no stem
change]
2. mūs, mūris [stem change]
3. anas, anatis: duck
4. ānser, ānseris: goose
5. apis, apis: bee
6. avis, avis: bird
7. ariēs, arietis: ram
8. bōs, bovis: ox
9. canis, canis: dog
10. leō, leōnis: līōn
11. lepus, leporis: hare
12. ovis, ovis: sheep
13. piscis, piscis: fish
14. scorpiō, scorpiōnis: scorpion
15. serpēns, serpentis: snake
16. testūdō, testūdinis: tortoise
17. tigris, tigris [also: tigridis]: tiger
18. vulpēs, vulpis: fox
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