Declension - Latin

Latin

An example of a Latin noun declension is given below, using the singular forms of the word homo (man), which belongs to Latin's third declension.

• homo (nominative) " man" (e.g., homo ibi stat the man is standing there)
• hominis (genitive) "of man" (e.g., nomen hominis est Claudius the man's name is Claudius)
• hominī (dative) "to man" (e.g., homini donum dedi I gave a present to the man; homo homini lupus est Man is a wolf to man.)
• hominem (accusative) " man" (e.g., ad hominem toward the man, in the sense of argument directed personally; hominem vidi I saw the man)
• homine (ablative) " man" (e.g., sum altior homine I am taller than the man).

There are two further noun cases in Latin, the vocative and the locative. The vocative case indicates that a person or thing is being addressed (e.g., O Tite, cur ancillam pugnas? O Titus, why do you fight the slave girl?). Though widely used, it differs in form from the nominative only in the masculine singular of the second declension (that is, never in the plural, never in the feminine or neuter, and never in any declension other than the second). The locative case is rare in classic Latin, and it is mostly adsorbed in the genitive case.