Sunday, May 5, 2024

25.04.24: 3rd declension adjectives [10]: one termination

25.04.24: 3rd declension adjectives [10]: one termination

[i] These only have one form in the masculine, feminine and neuter in the nominative singular [images #1 - #3]. Note that reference is made to the ablative singular in -ī and sometimes -e; there can be grammatical reasons for that, or one may be found more often in poetry.

[ii] These adjectives undergo a stem change indicated by the genitive singular i.e. that change happens when endings are added. Dictionaries and vocabulary lists usually show that [image #4]

[iii] Apart from that, they have the same endings as the adjectives in the 2 and 3 terminations covered in the earlier posts.

[iv] 1 termination adjectives end in an /s/ sound: [1] audā(very easy to spot i.e. the pronuncation is /ks/), and [2] vowel + ns e.g. prūdēns, īnfānsconcorsvetus although a very small number don’t e.g. pār [image #5]; the ones marked in green are by far the most common and the ones ending in -ns will come up again in other features of Latin grammar.

La. audā(bold; reckless) > La. audācia (boldness; recklessness) > Engl. derivative: audacious

But it doesn’t matter if it came through a “middle man” because the change is still there.

La. prūdēn(wise) > Old French: prudent* > Engl. derivative: prudent

*This is a very common pattern; Old French derives this kind of adjective from the Latin accusative i.e. prūdent│em, the case ending is then lost and only the root remains; English then takes it from there:

La. īnfāns (unable to speak; childish) > Old French: enfant [La. īnfant│em] > Engl. derivative: infant

[v] Youtube Latin tutorial (in the next post)

[1] The specific information on the 1 termination adjectives begins at 1:05

[2] The other 2 and 3 terminations are discussed earlier in the video.

[3] Note: at 5:56 he makes reference to a term known as ablative absolute; I’m surprised he did that because the ablative absolute is a big topic that cannot be mentioned in passing, and so I would not be concerned about it at this stage.








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