Grammar

NOTA BENE: This page contains only the barest, most essential details of Latin grammar, and is by no means a comprehensive treatment. For further information, please consult the Study Resources page.

Below is a list of the parts of speech in Latin, and the qualities distinguishing each. These include nomina (nouns, adjectives, and numerals), pronouns, verbs, adverbs, conjunctions, prepositions, and interjections. For examples of each noun declension and verb conjugation, please see their respective pages, Declensions and Conjugations.

Nomina

In Latin grammar, common and proper nouns, adjectives, and numerals are all grouped under the category of nōmina (sg. nōmen; lit. “names”). Common and proper nouns, known as substantives (substantīva), include words like Rōma (“Rome”), puer (“boy”), aqua (“water”), and oppidum (“settlement”); adjectives (adiectīva) include those like bonus (“good”), pulcher (“beautiful”), and brevis (“short”); numerals, or numerālia, include those like ūnus (“one”), secundus (“second”), and ternī (“triple,” or “three each”).

Nouns

As Latin is a case-based language where their grammatical function is determined by their endings, common and proper nouns possess case (cāsus), number (numerus), and gender (genus). That part of the noun which is not declined, or changed along with its case, is known as its stem (thema, henceforth separated from endings with a ‘|’).

There are seven cases in Latin:

  1. Nominative (nōminātīvus): Denotes the subject of a clause, or the person or thing performing the action or, in the case of a passive verb, the one receiving the action. Nouns used with this case are normally found at the beginning of the sentence.
  2. Genitive (genetīvus): Denotes possession of a noun by another (“of …”). It is also used to communicate quality (Genitive of Price), measurement (Genitive of Quality)1, and accusal with a verb (Genitive of the Charge/Penalty)2, among others.
  3. Dative (datīvus): Denotes the indirect object of a clause (“to/for …”), or the person or thing which is the recipient of the action described by the verb, but not its main object. In gerundive constructions, it is also used to communicate the agent, or the person or thing who must complete the action described3.
  4. Accusative (accūsātīvus): Denotes the direct object of a clause, or the main person or thing acted upon by the verb. Is also commonly used to denote the time or space (Accusative of Time) of an action. This case is usually found after the subject of the clause, and following prepositions.
  5. Ablative (ablātīvus): Denotes the circumstances or means of the clause (“by/with/from/etc. …”), or the agent of the action when a verb in the passive is used (Ablative of Agent). Consequently, it is one of the most variable cases in Latin. Along with the accusative, this case is frequently found among prepositions.
  6. Vocative (vocātīvus): Used when the noun is the person or thing being addressed. Is commonly found after interjections and in dialogue.
  7. Locative (locātīvus): Although less regularly used than those above, the locative denotes the setting of a clause. It is therefore most used by city names.

There are five declensions (dēclīnātiōnēs) in Latin. While the nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, and ablative are found in most nouns, the vocative and locative cases are only found in use by first- and second-declension nouns. For a list of noun declensions, see the Declensions page.

Latin nouns use only two numbers, the singular (singulāris) and plural (plurālis), with those which are only found in the plural known as plūrālia tantum (“plural only”). The three genders in Latin are masculine (masculīnum), feminine (fēminīnum), and neuter (neutrum), though some nouns, like diēs (-ēī, m/f) may be used in either of these depending on context (diēs, when used in the masculine, e.g., denotes an uncertain day; when feminine, a certain day).

Adjectives

Like nouns, adjectives (adiectīva) possess case, number, and gender. They must, however, agree with the noun that they are modifying in all these qualities. Therefore, adjectives appear in all cases, numbers, and genders, as correspond to the nouns they are modifying. Unlike nouns, however, they only occur in the first, second, and third declensions.

Adjectives occur in three stages (gradūs): positives (positīvī), comparatives (comparātīvī), and superlatives (superlātīvī). Positives serve to merely state a quality possessed by the modified noun; comparatives state the possession of a quality to a greater length (“more …”); superlatives state the possession of a quality to the greatest length (“most …”). Comparatives end in –ior in the masculine/feminine or -ius in the neuter, while superlatives end in either -issim|us, -a, -um or -im|us, -a, -um.

For a list of adjective declensions, see here.

Numerals

There are three types of numerals (numerālia) in Latin: cardinal numbers (cardinālia), ordinal numbers (ōrdinālia), and distributive numbers (distribūtīva). Cardinal numbers state a quantity, and in Latin include ūn|us (“one”), du|o (“two”), tr|ēs (“three”), etc… Ordinal numbers, on the contrary, state—as implied by their name—order, such as, e.g., in the listing of chapters, and include prīm|us (“first”), secund|us (“second”), terti|us (“third”), etc… Distributive numbers answer the question of how many each, or how many at a time (quotēnī?)4, and include singul|ī (“one each”/”at a time”), bīn|ī (“two each”/”at a time”), tern|ī (“three each”/”at a time”), etc…

For adverbial numerals, see Adverbs.

Pronouns

As with nouns, Latin pronouns (prōnōmina) possess case, number, and gender. They are, however, classed into five groups:

  • Personal Pronouns (prōnōmina persōnālia). These describe the person or people speaking or being spoken to, and include ego (“I”), nōs (“we”), tū (“you”), vōs (“you all”), is (“he”), ea (“she”), id (“it”) etc…
  • Possessive Pronouns (prōnōmina possessīva). These are used to qualify something or someone which belongs, or is related to, the person or people addressed, and include me|us (“my”), tu|us (“your”), noster (“our”), vester (“your”, in the plural), su|us (“his”/”her”/”its”, depending on the gender used), etc…
  • Demonstrative Pronouns (prōnōmina dēmōnstrātīva). These are used to indicate the entities referred to in speech, and therefore usually substitute for nouns. They include hic (“this”), ille (“that”), etc…
  • Interrogative Pronouns (prōnōmina interrogātīva). These are used to inquire about the person, people, thing, or things of interest, i.e., to ask questions. They include quis/quī (“Who?”), cuius (“Whose?”), etc…
  • Indefinite Pronouns (prōnōmina indēfīnīta). These are used to communicate entities in vague, nonspecific terms. Include aliquis (“somebody”), alter (“another”), nēmō (“no one”), nihil (“nothing”), etc…

There are also the Relative Pronouns (prōnōmina relātīva) quī, quae, quod (“who”), which do resemble interrogative pronouns but which are instead used as an answer, to describe the relevant person, persons, or things.

Presently, Latine Lege does not have a page for the Latin pronouns, but we do plan to include one in the future.

Verbs

Verbs have five primary components in Latin:

  • Person (persōna). In Latin, these are the first (prīma), second (secunda), and third (tertia) persons. Verbs which are used only in the third person are known as impersonal verbs (impersōnālia).
  • Number (numerus). As with nouns, these include the singular (singulāris) and plural (plūrālis) numbers.
  • Tense (tempus). Gives the time of the action described by the verb. There are six tenses in Latin:
    • Present Tense (tempus praesēns). Denotes the action of the verb taking place in the present time.
    • Future Tense (tempus futūrum). Denotes the action of the verb as taking place in the future (“will …”). Is therefore considered as the latest tense chronologically.
    • Imperfect Tense (tempus praeteritum imperfectum). Denotes the action of the verb as taking place in the past, but in a continual fashion (“was …”).
    • Perfect Tense (tempus praeteritum perfectum). Denotes the action of the verb as taking place in the past, but, more importantly, as having been completed (“have …”).
    • Pluperfect Tense (tempus praeteritum plūsquamperfectum). Denotes the action of the verb as having already taken place (“had …”). Is therefore considered the earliest tense chronologically.
    • Future Perfect Tense (tempus futūrum perfectum). Denotes the action of the verb as being completed sometime in the future (“will have …”). Is usually found as a condition in the presence of another verb in the future tense (i.e., “If x will have happened, then y will”).
  • Mood (modus). Gives the “sense” of the verb. Though the infinitive (īnfīnītīvus), which communicates the essence of a verb, is sometimes considered one, it lacks person, number, and mood, and is therefore not, technically speaking, a mood. There are three moods in Latin:
    • Indicative (indicātīvus). Communicates the action of the verb as fact, or something which has, had, or will certainly happen. This is the mood which is first learned in Latin.
    • Imperative (imperātīvus). Communicates the action of the verb as a command, or something which is to be done or that must be done. This mood usually occurs in the second person singular or plural, but is sometimes used in the third person in the future tense.
    • Subjunctive (coniūnctīvus). Communicates the action of the verb as contingent, as something which generally may or may not happen. Can take on the form of an indirect question, a wish, an exhortation, a condition, and a goal, among others.
  • Voice (genus). Gives the relationship between the subject (the person or thing described) and the verb. In the active voice (genus āctīvum), the subject is the one performing the action given by the verb; in the passive voice (genus passīvum) the subject is the one receiving the action given by the verb. Verbs which lack a passive voice—and which often take the appearance of one—are called deponent verbs (dēpōnentia). Verbs which are deponent in the perfect tense only are known as semideponent verbs (semidēpōnentia)5.

There are four regular verb conjugations (coniugātiōnēs), with the third having another form known as the -io Variant. Verbs, again like nouns, have three stems (themata):

  • Present Stem (thema praesentis), which is derived from a verb’s present form. They include, across conjugations, amā-, monē-, leg-, audī-, etc…
  • Perfect Stem (thema perfectī), which is derived from a verb’s perfect form. They include, across conjugations, amāv-, monu-, lēg-, audīv-, etc…
  • Supine Stem (thema ), which is derived from a verb’s supine form. They include, across conjugations, amāt-, monit-, lēct-, audīt-, etc…

These stems are also found in a verb’s principal parts, or the forms which are listed for each, and which also include its first-person singular present active indicative. After the tense infix is included, they are joined with the following person endings (terminātiōnēs persōnālēs):

1. Standard Endings:

Voice Active Passive
Person/Number Singular Plural Singular Plural
First Person –m/-ō -mus -r/-or -mur
Second Person -s -tis -ris -minī
Third Person -t -nt -tur -ntur

2. Perfect Indicative Active Endings (Terminātiōnēs perfectī indicātīvī āctīvī):

Voice Active
Person/Number Singular Plural
First Person -ī -imus
Second Person -istī -istis
Third Person -it -ērunt (~ēre)

There also exist verbal nouns, like the aforementioned infinitives, supines (supīna), which function similarly to them, and gerunds (gerundia), which occur only in the accusative, genitive, dative, and ablative. Verbal adjectives, such as participles (participia), which occur in the present and future active, and also in the future and perfect passive, and gerundives (gerundīva), which function as future passive participles expressing what is to be done to a person or thing, are also found in Latin.

For a list of verb conjugations, see here.

Adverbs

Adverbs (adverbia) serve to modify adjectives and verbs. They are therefore very similar to adjectives in use and function, except that they are devoid of case, number, and gender.

Adverbs which are derived from adjectives of the first/second declension end in –ē, as pulchrē (beautifully) does from pulcher, -chr|a, -um (beautiful). They may, though infrequently, also sometimes end in -ō, as prīmō (firstly) from prīmus, -a, -um (first).

Adverbs which are derived from adjectives of the third declension end in -iter, as ācriter (sharply, strongly) from ācer, ācr|is, ācr|e (sharp, keen). However, from those adjectives ending in -ns their adverbial forms end instead in –nter, as prūdenter (skillfully) from prūdēns (skillful, prudent).

Again, like adjectives, they occur in the positive, comparative, and superlatives stages. Comparative adverbs end in -ius (more …ly), like in neuter comparative adjectives; superlative adverbs end in –issimē (most …ly).

In Latin, the adverbial numerals (Quotiēs?/totiēs), from one to ten, are:

  1. Semel (… once)
  2. Bis (… twice)
  3. Ter (… three times/thrice)
  4. Quater (… four times)
  5. Quīnquiēs (… five times)
  6. Sexiēs (… six times)
  7. Septiēs (… seven times)
  8. Octiēs (… eight times)
  9. Noviēs (… nine times)
  10. Deciēs (… ten times)

Conjunctions

Conjunctions (coniūnctiōnēs) are used to join and/or organize clauses in Latin, as with other languages. The 4th-century Roman grammarian Donatus, in his Ars Minor, classes them into five groups6:

  • Copulatives (cōpulātīvae). These serve to join together clauses. Include et, atque, ac, and -que.
  • Disjunctives (disiūnctīvae). These serve to show a choice between two mutually exclusive outcomes among clauses. Include aut, vel, -ve, nec, and neque.
  • Expletives (explētīvae). These serve to add on to a previous clause. Include equidem, quoque, tamen, autem, and quidem.
  • Causals (causālēs). These serve to explain a clause as relating to a previous or a following one. Include nam, sī, etsī, quandō, namque, etenim, and quamobrem.
  • Rationals (ratiōnālēs). These serve to communicate logical relationships among clauses. Include ita, itaque, enimvero, enim, quia, quoniam, ergo, ideo, igitur, scilicet, propterea, and quidem.

Prepositions

Prepositions (praepositiōnēs) are words which are placed among other types of speech, normally before nouns or pronouns, and which modify their meaning.

In Latin, objects of a preposition, depending on their modifying preposition, take either the accusative or ablative case. Some prepositions can also operate with either, for different meanings.

Some examples of prepositions which take on the accusative case include apud (among), inter (between), ante (before), post (after), trāns (across), iūxtā (next to, beside), prope (close to), propter (close to/because), and cis (on this side).

Meanwhile, those which take on the ablative include ā/ab/abs (from), dē (on), cōram (before, in the presence of), ex (out of), sine (wihtout), and cum (with).

Super, sub, and in may be used with either case. With these, the object of the preposition takes the accusative when the sense of a “motion into” the object is communicated; the ablative, when the sense of “being in” or “being within” is meant.

Interjections

Interjections (interiectiōnēs) are those words which are expressed as a direct result of feeling, and which are not considered proper speech on their own. These most commonly include Ō (Oh!), Heu (Ah!/Alas!), and Ēheu (Alas!), though there are many more extant.

References

  1. Meagan Ayer, Allen and Greenough’s New Latin Grammar for Schools and Colleges. Carlisle, Pennsylvania: Dickinson College Commentaries, 2014. ISBN: 978-1-947822-04-7. https://dcc.dickinson.edu/grammar/latin/genitive
  2. Meagan Ayer, Allen and Greenough’s New Latin Grammar for Schools and Colleges. Carlisle, Pennsylvania: Dickinson College Commentaries, 2014. ISBN: 978-1-947822-04-7. https://dcc.dickinson.edu/grammar/latin/genitive-verbs
  3. The Ohio State University. (n.d.). The Dative Case. The Dative Case | Department of Classics. https://classics.osu.edu/Undergraduate-Studies/Latin-Program/Grammar/Cases/dative-case#:~:text=Dative%20of%20the%20Agent%3A%20The,not%20strictly%20speaking%20a%20agent.
  4. Meagan Ayer, Allen and Greenough’s New Latin Grammar for Schools and Colleges. Carlisle, Pennsylvania: Dickinson College Commentaries, 2014. ISBN: 978-1-947822-04-7. https://dcc.dickinson.edu/grammar/latin/distributives
  5. The National Archives. (2021, August 6). Lesson 10 – deponent and semi-deponent verbs. Latin. https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/latin/stage-2-latin/lessons/lesson-22-deponent-and-semi-deponent-verbs/
  6. Carey, W. L. (n.d.). Ars Minor. The Latin Library. https://www.thelatinlibrary.com/don.html
  7. Ørberg, Hans H. Essay. In Lingua Latina: Pars I: Grammatica Latina. Indianapolis, Indiana: Hackett Publishing Co., 2006.