Saturday, May 4, 2024

17.04.24: fifth declension; case endings

Posted are the case endings for the 5th declension using two nouns as examples: diēs (day) and rēs (thing; matter; issue) and below are some phrases that might help you to remember them. The table is colour coded so you can see where more than one case shares the same ending.

[1] nominative singularnominative and accusative plural: -ēs

The ending is in the English derivatives: species, rabies although the Latin pronunciation, of course, is different:

spe-ci-ēs [spé-ki-ēs]; ra-bi-ēs; di-ēs

  • diēs Īrae: the day of Wrath

[2] The accusative singular has the same distinctive -em as all other declensions in the accusative:

First: puellam

Second: hortum

Third: mīlitem

Fourth: exercitum

Fifth: diem

  • Remember: carpe diem (Horace): Seize the day

[3] the genitive singular and the dative singular share the same ending: -

  • Example in the genitive: prīma ¦ diēī ¦ hōra: the first hour ¦ of the day

[4] the ablative singular: -ē

  • bonā fidē
  • prīmā faciē
  • quārē: for what reason?

[4] genitive plural: -ērum

  • There is a famous book by the Roman author Lucretius entitled: dē ¦ rērum ¦ nātūra: on the nature ¦ of things

[5] dative and ablative plural: -ēbus

  • Example in the ablative: Dā pācem, Domine ¦ in diēbus nostrīs: Give peace, Lord ¦ in our days












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