Chapter 3

I. Grammar

1. Second-Declension (O-Stem) Nouns

Second declension nouns fall into two groups, those with a nom. sing. ending in -us and those with one ending in -er. Write the second-declension endings on the board and have students write them in their notes. Stress the following things:

  1. The cases function in the same way (nominative = subject, etc.) as in first declension.
  2. The genitive singular and the nominative plural endings are identical (-î). That means that only in the context of a sentence can one tell whether a second-declension noun ending in -i should be translated as "of X/X's (genitive singular)" or "Xs (nominative plural)". Nouns, ending -ius in the nominative singular, can form a genitive singular ending either -iî or -î (filii versus fili). The contracted form was regularly used until Augustan times, when the second -i was restored on the analogy of the other cases.
  3. The dative and ablative singular endings are identical (-ô). Again, context distinguishes usage.
  4. The vocative singular of second-declension nouns which end -us in the nominative singular differs from the nominative singular (-e versus -us). Nouns with a nominative singular ending -ius lose the -e: O Vergili!
  5. There are no mandatory long marks in this declension, but for future reference it might be wise to note that the dative and ablative plural endings have a long î, in contrast to the short i in the genitive singular of third declension (though these forms should in theory never be confused).
  6. Second-declension nouns which end -er in the nominative singular differ from those ending in -us only in the nominative singular, but it is important to memorize whether an -er noun "contracts" or not, i.e. whether or not it loses the e before the r: puer/pueri (does not contract) vs. ager/agri (does contract). Therefore, an important lesson is learned for the first time here: the base of a noun must be taken from the genitive singular (minus ending), not the nominative. For that reason, the nominative and the genitive of a noun will always be given in vocabulary. The nominative is the "dictionary" form of the word (the form one looks the word up under), and the genitive provides the "base" form of the word (the form that shows the base to which to attach the proper declensional endings).
  7. Finally, decline a second-declension noun on the board. Call on students to produce and translate the proper forms.

2. Apposition

When one noun redefines or renames another, the second of the two nouns is said to be "in apposition" to the first or an "appositive" of the first (literally, "placed at/by" the first). In Latin, two such nouns are put in the same case, as logic would dictate. Ask students to give the case of the following italicized appositives by identifying the use and case of the word to which it is in apposition:

He is the boy, my friend. [nominative, in apposition to the predicate]
He gave no money to Rufus, his son. [dative, in apposition to the indirect object]
I consider philosophy a form of punishment.[accusative, in apposition to the direct object]
Here comes my dog, Fido. [nominative, in apposition to the subject]
O Julius, my good friend, let's misbehave! [vocative, in apposition to the Julius who is being directly addressed]

3. History of O-Stem Nouns.

The Indo-European endings which Latin inherited were:

O-Stem Nouns in Indo-European Singular Plural
Nominative -os -ôs, -oi
Genitive -osyo, -oso, i(?) ôm, (pron.) oisôm, eisôm
Dative -ôi -obhos
Accusative -om -ons
Ablative -ôd, -êd -obhos
Vocative -e -ôs, -oi
Instrumental -obhi, -ô -ôis
Locative -ôi, -ei -oisu

Nominative. It is not uncommon to see in Plautus the original -os ending, which occurs interchangeably with the newer -us. In general, Latin changes an inherited o to u, e.g. Latin uncus vs. Greek onkos, Latin unguis vs. Greek onux, Latin umbilicus vs. Greek omphalos. In reference to nouns with an -er nominative singular, syncope is common in stress-accented languages, cf. English ev'ry for every, gen'ral for general. The original Latin ending -ros, e.g. *viros and *pueros, collapsed by syncope to -rs and then -r. If a consonant preceded the -r, e.g. *agros, the -r- became syllabic (-er). For the nominative plural, see the explanation of the first-declension nominative plural (Chapter 2).

Genitive. The original genitive singular ending -osyo bears no relation to the Latin genitive singular ending -i. The origin of the Latin ending is uncertain, having a clear parallel only in Celtic. The masculine genitive plural ending (-orum) is formed on the analogy of the feminine genitive plural, based on an Indo-European pronominal ending (see Chapter 2). The original gen. pl. ending -ôm, seen in the Latin consonant-stem (third) declension, was retained in some o-stem nouns, e.g. deum, liberum, socium, virum (poetry).

Dative. The original diphthong -o-i collapsed in Latin to -o-. The original instr. pl. ending -o-is (attested in the Carmen Saliare as poploes) displaced the dat. pl. ending and, in a fashion similar to the singular, collapsed to -i-s.

Accusative. As in the nom., the original acc. sing. ending changed from -om to -um. Like the fem. acc. pl., the masc. acc. pl. lost its -n-.

Ablative. With the loss of final -d, the abl. sing. ending changed from -ôd to -ô. The alternate abl. ending -êd is found in adverbs, e.g. early Latin facilumêd. The abl. pl. follows the pattern of the dat. pl.

II. Vocabulary

[Be sure to ask students what declension each noun belongs to and, in the case of -er nouns, whether the base "contracts" or not.]

  • numerus: This noun means both "number, numeral" and "group, crowd" (as "in the number of my friends").
  • populus: This noun is collective and takes a singular verb, e.g. populus spectacula amat.
  • sapientia: From a base meaning "taste," sapientia implies "wisdom" comes from having "tasted" life and literature; see Chapter 27.
  • pauci: As a "plural" adjective—how can "few" be singular?—it manifests only plural forms.
  • de/in: Both prepositions take an object in the ablative case, although in in the sense of "into" requires an accusative object. De has two distinct meanings: (1) literal, "down from" (e.g. a mountain), and (2) figurative, "about, concerning" (a topic, e.g. Cicero's De senectute).
  • semper: The Indo-European root *sem-, meaning "one", gives way for the most part in Latin to un- (unus), whereas in Greek it is preserved for "one" (heis/hen). Latin retains sem- in only a few "frozen" adverbial forms: semel, simplex, singuli. The suffix -per, cf. parumper, is cognate with the same intensive suffix in Greek, e.g. hosper ("the very one").

III. Special Homework

Assign students to write out a declension of numerus magnus (with translation) and turn it in at the beginning of the next class period.

IV. Sentences

Practice and Review

  1. Note viri. Which interpretation works better in this sentence, the gen. sing. or the nom. pl.?

Sententiae Antiquae

  1. Here, de conveys its figurative sense, "about, concerning". Note complementary infinitive with debeo.
  2. Nice springboard for discussion of Horace and Maecenas, if you have time. Note appositive (ask students, "What case is amicus and why?").
  1. Wheelock throws students a curve ball—sapientiae is dative with studeo—but, given the gloss "eager for," most students probably won't notice.
  2. Another curve ball! sapientiae is gen. of description. Again, they won't notice.
  1. Note the derivative of avarus, avaricious.
  2. Another curve ball: pecuniae is a gen. of the whole or partitive gen.
  1. Good opportunity to discuss Senecan "moderation," which stands in marked opposition to the immoderation of his times.