24.04.27: Level 1; First Latin Lessons (14); 2nd declension; -us; the vocative case

Fīlius et Fīlia Agricolae

I: Agricola fīlium et fīliam habet. Fīlius agricolae domī manet, sed fīlia in scholā hieme est, et tum in oppidō cum amīcō benignō agricolae habitat. Agricola oppidum nōn amat, et fīliam hieme nōn saepe videt.

II: Aestāte puella domī manet. Agricola equōs habet, et fīliae equum bonum dat. Fīlia equōs nōn timet, et laeta est quod equum bonum habet. Māter puellae laeta est cum⁠ fīlia domī est. Fīlius agricolae nūllōs amīcōs in oppidō habet.

III: Tēctum amīcī agricolae in nostrō oppidō est. Ex fenestrā meā tēctum amīcī agricolae videō. Ibi fīlia agricolae hieme habitat. Amīcus agricolae parvum fīlium habet, sed nūllās fīliās habet.

IV: Amīcus meus equum bonum habet. Fīlius nautae poēta est. Fīliō nautae epistulam dō. Cornēlia fīliam habet, sed nūllōs fīliōs habet. Casa amīcī poētae in oppidō est.

(1) vocabulary

• equus, -ī [2/m]: horse
• fīlius, -ī [2/m]: son
• timet: (s)he / it fears
• videt: (s)he / it sees
• nūllus: no [= not any]; none
• domī: at home
• hieme: in winter

Image #1

(2) 2^nd declension nouns ending in -us

[i] 2^nd declension nouns ending in -us in the nominative case are almost always masculine.

• amīcus (nominative singular), -ī (genitive singular) [2(nd declension)/m(asculine)]: friend (male)
• equus -ī [2/m]: horse
• fīlius, -ī [2/m]: son

Image #2

[ii] declension:

(1) the endings are the same as nouns ending in -um apart from:

• the nominative singular [-us]
• the nominative plural [-ī]
• the accusative plural [-ōs]

(2) 2^nd declension nouns also have a separate ending for the vocative case [-e]; this will be discussed later in the unit

Singular

Nominative: -us

• Amīcus linguam Latīnam discit. | A friend is learning Latin.

Vocative: -e (see note [iii] below)*

• Salvē, (ō) amīce! | Hello, friend!

Genitive: -ī

• Tēctum amīcī videō. | I see a friend’s house.

Dative: -ō

• Amīcō pecūniam dō. | I give money to a friend.

Accusative: -um

• Amīcum videō. | I see a friend.

Ablative: -ō

• Cum amīcō ambulō. | I walk with a friend.

Plural

Nominative: -ī

• Amīcī linguam Latīnam discunt. | The friends are learning Latin.

Genitive: -ōrum

• Tēcta amīcōrum parva sunt. | The friends’ houses are small.

Dative: -īs

• Māter amīcīs pecūniam dat. | The mother gives money to the friends.

Accusative: -ōs

• Amīcōs nōn videt. | He does not see the friends.

Ablative: -īs

• Cum amīcīs in viā ambulō. | I walk with friends in the street.

*[iii] vocative case

(1) The vocative case is used when addressing people directly or attracting their attention, the equivalent of English: “Hello, John!” or “Mark, can you come here for a moment?”

(2) When males are addressed directly by name:

• -us changes to -e

Nominative: Mārcus est amīcus meus. | Marcus is my friend.

> Vocative:  Salvē, Marce! | Hello, Marcus!

• -ius changes to -ī

Nominative: Iūlius est agricola. | Julius is a farmer.

> Vocative: Cūrā ut valeās, Iūlī! | Take care, Iulius!

(3) The vocative case is also used with other masculine nouns in –(i)us that are not proper nouns i.e. they are not personal names, but they have a vocative in -e:

Nominative: amīcus (friend)

> Vocative: amīce

Nominative: socius (ally)

> Vocative: socie

An exception is fīlius (son) which has the same vocative ending as a proper noun ending in -ius:

Nominative: fīlius

> Vocative: fīlī

(4) Meus in the vocative case changes to mī:

Nominative: Iūlius est fīlius meus. | Julius is my son.

Vocative: Valē, fīlī mī! (or mī fīlī) | Farewell, my son!

(5) A noun in the vocative case may be preceded by an exclamatory ō! (like the English ‘oh’).

Nominative: Mārcus est amīcus meus. | Marcus is my friend.

> Vocative: Ō amīce mī! Salvē!  |  Oh, my friend! Hello!

(6) The vocative case does not have separate endings in any other noun declensions, and there are no separate endings in the plural at all: in all other noun types, the nominative is the same as the vocative. The vocative does occur in adjectives ending in -us which we will look again when we review adjective endings.

Note: some online sources list a vocative form for all declensions. This is distracting because it suggests there may be other vocative forms; with a handful of exceptions (e.g. nouns of Greek origin) there are not.

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/04/declensions-and-cases-1-nominative.html

[iv] 2^nd declension nouns ending in -ius may form the genitive singular in -iī or -ī, e.g. gladius (sword) > gladiī or gladī.

[v] 1^st / 2^nd declension masculine adjectives have the same endings:

Amīcus agricolae ¦ parvum fīlium ¦ habet. | The farmer’s friend has a small son.

Amīcus meus ¦ equum bonum ¦ habet. | My friend has a good horse.

Cum amīcō benignō habitat. | He lives with a kind friend.

Fīlius ¦ nūllōs amīcōs ¦ in oppidō habet. | The son has no friends in the town.

____________________

I: The farmer has a son and a daughter. The farmer’s son stays at home, but the daughter is at school in winter, and then she lives in the town with the farmer’s kind friend. The farmer does not like the town, and in winter he does not often see his daughter.

II: In summer the girl stays at home. The farmer has horses, and he gives his daughter a good horse. The daughter is not afraid of the horses, and she is happy because she has a good horse. The girl’s mother is happy when her daughter is at home. The farmer’s son has no friends in the town.

III: The house of the farmer’s friend is in our town. From my window I see the house of the farmer’s friend. There the farmer’s daughter lives in winter. The farmer’s friend has a small son, but he has no daughters.

IV: My friend has a good horse. The sailor’s son is a poet. I give a letter to the sailor’s son. Cornelia has a daughter, but she has no sons. The house of the poet’s friend is in the town.