Classical Languages - Latin - Morphology

Adjectives and Adverbs

Prerequisites: First and second declensions

This page covers the declension of adjectives and the rule of agreement. Comparison and the formation of adverbs follow on the next page. An adjective is a word that describes a noun, and in Latin it is declined: it changes its ending to match the noun it belongs to. Complete adjective paradigms will be in Paradigms: adjectives and pronouns.

What an adjective does

An adjective modifies a noun (or stands for one), and it must agree with that noun in case, number and gender:

nauta bonus, mater bona, bellum bonum

a good sailor, a good mother, a good war

Three points follow from this rule:

The adjective has forms for all three genders, so its dictionary entry lists three nominative singulars.
It agrees with the gender of the noun, not with its declension. nauta is a 1st declension noun, but it is masculine, so the adjective is masculine: nauta bonus, never nauta bona.

The adjective and the noun may belong to different declensions:

Phrase	Noun	Adjective
nauta bonus	1st declension, masculine	1st/2nd class
rēx magnus	3rd declension, masculine	1st/2nd class
māter fortis	1st declension, feminine	3rd class
mīles fortis	3rd declension, masculine	3rd class

Adjectives fall into two classes:

1st/2nd declension adjectives (bonus, bona, bonum): masculine and neuter forms like 2nd declension nouns, feminine forms like 1st declension nouns.
3rd declension adjectives (fortis, forte): all genders use 3rd declension endings (the i-stem pattern).

Reading an adjective in the dictionary

The entry shows how many forms the nominative has, and so which class the adjective belongs to:

Entry	Class	Meaning
bonus, -a, -um	1st/2nd	good
pulcher, -chra, -chrum	1st/2nd, -er type (drops e)	beautiful
miser, -era, -erum	1st/2nd, -er type (keeps e)	wretched
ācer, ācris, ācre	3rd, three endings	sharp, keen
fortis, -e	3rd, two endings	brave, strong
ingēns, -entis	3rd, one ending	huge

For a one-ending adjective the entry gives the genitive (as for a noun) because the nominative does not reveal the stem: ingēns has the stem ingent-.

1st/2nd declension adjectives

Model: bonus, -a, -um good

Singular

Case	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	bonus	bona	bonum
Genitive	bonī	bonae	bonī
Dative	bonō	bonae	bonō
Accusative	bonum	bonam	bonum
Ablative	bonō	bonā	bonō
Vocative	bone	bona	bonum

Plural

Case	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	bonī	bonae	bona
Genitive	bonōrum	bonārum	bonōrum
Dative	bonīs	bonīs	bonīs
Accusative	bonōs	bonās	bona
Ablative	bonīs	bonīs	bonīs
Vocative	bonī	bonae	bona

The masculine is declined like dominus, the feminine like rosa and the neuter like bellum.

Adjectives in -er

Like the nouns puer and ager, some adjectives have a masculine nominative in -er, and the genitive in the dictionary shows whether the e is kept.

pulcher, pulchra, pulchrum (drops the e) and miser, misera, miserum (keeps the e), singular:

Case	pulcher m.	f.	n.	miser m.	f.	n.
Nom.	pulcher	pulchra	pulchrum	miser	misera	miserum
Gen.	pulchrī	pulchrae	pulchrī	miserī	miserae	miserī
Dat.	pulchrō	pulchrae	pulchrō	miserō	miserae	miserō
Acc.	pulchrum	pulchram	pulchrum	miserum	miseram	miserum
Abl.	pulchrō	pulchrā	pulchrō	miserō	miserā	miserō
Voc.	pulcher	pulchra	pulchrum	miser	misera	miserum

The plural follows bonus with the same stem (pulchrī, pulchrae, pulchra; miserī, miserae, misera).

Drop the e: pulcher, noster, nostra, nostrum, vester, vestra, vestrum, āter, ātra, ātrum (black), sacer, sacra, sacrum (sacred), aeger, aegra, aegrum (sick).
Keep the e: miser, līber, lībera, līberum (free), tener, tenera, tenerum (tender), asper, aspera, asperum (rough).

Possessive adjectives

The possessives meus, -a, -um (my), tuus (your, singular), suus (his, her, its, their own), noster (our) and vester (your, plural) are 1st/2nd declension adjectives. The only irregularity is the vocative singular masculine of meus, which is mī: mī amīce, my friend. They are treated with the pronouns, but their endings are those of bonus.

The nine adjectives with genitive in -īus (ūnus nauta)

A small group of adjectives declined in the 1st/2nd pattern has an irregular genitive singular in -īus and dative singular in -ī, the same in all genders. The mnemonic is ŪNUS NAUTA, one letter for each word:

ūnus	one
nūllus	no, none
ūllus	any
sōlus	alone, only
neuter	neither (of two)
alius	another, other
uter	which (of two)
tōtus	whole
alter	the other (of two)

ūnus, ūna, ūnum, singular (the plural is regular like bonus):

Case	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	ūnus	ūna	ūnum
Genitive	ūnīus	ūnīus	ūnīus
Dative	ūnī	ūnī	ūnī
Accusative	ūnum	ūnam	ūnum
Ablative	ūnō	ūnā	ūnō

Notes on the group:

Quantity. The i of -īus is usually long in prose and may be short in verse; in alterius it is always short.
alius has the neuter nominative and accusative aliud (not alium). Its genitive alīus is rare, and alterīus is used instead. The dative is aliī.
alter, altera, alterum and the others in -er follow the same pattern: alterīus, alterī; uter, utra, utrum: utrīus, utrī.
Everything else, including the whole plural, is regular. Only the genitive and dative singular have to be remembered.

3rd declension adjectives

All 3rd declension adjectives use the i-stem endings, and the pattern is the same for all three types: the differences lie only in the nominative singular.

Feature	3rd declension adjectives
Ablative singular	-ī
Genitive plural	-ium
Neuter nominative, accusative and vocative plural	-ia
Accusative plural, masculine and feminine	-ēs (older -īs)

There are three types, distinguished by how many different forms the nominative singular has.

Two endings: fortis, forte brave

The masculine and feminine are identical; only the neuter differs.

Case	M./F. sing.	Neut. sing.	M./F. pl.	Neut. pl.
Nominative	fortis	forte	fortēs	fortia
Genitive	fortis	fortis	fortium	fortium
Dative	fortī	fortī	fortibus	fortibus
Accusative	fortem	forte	fortēs (fortīs)	fortia
Ablative	fortī	fortī	fortibus	fortibus
Vocative	fortis	forte	fortēs	fortia

Most 3rd declension adjectives belong to this type: omnis, -e (all, every), gravis, -e (heavy, serious), brevis, -e (short), facilis, -e (easy), difficilis, -e (difficult).

Three endings: ācer, ācris, ācre keen

Each gender has its own nominative singular. The other forms are those of fortis with the stem ācr-.

Case	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	ācer	ācris	ācre
Genitive	ācris	ācris	ācris
Dative	ācrī	ācrī	ācrī
Accusative	ācrem	ācrem	ācre
Ablative	ācrī	ācrī	ācrī
Vocative	ācer	ācris	ācre

The plural is ācrēs, ācrēs, ācria in the nominative, then ācrium, ācribus, and so on. Other adjectives of this type: celer, celeris, celere (swift; it keeps the e), celeber, salūber.

One ending: ingēns, -entis huge

One nominative form serves for every gender; the stem appears in the genitive.

Case	M./F. sing.	Neut. sing.	M./F. pl.	Neut. pl.
Nominative	ingēns	ingēns	ingentēs	ingentia
Genitive	ingentis	ingentis	ingentium	ingentium
Dative	ingentī	ingentī	ingentibus	ingentibus
Accusative	ingentem	ingēns	ingentēs	ingentia
Ablative	ingentī	ingentī	ingentibus	ingentibus
Vocative	ingēns	ingēns	ingentēs	ingentia

Similar adjectives: fēlīx, fēlīcis (fortunate), audāx, audācis (bold), potēns, potentis (powerful).

Exceptions to the i-stem pattern

A few adjectives follow the consonant-stem pattern instead: ablative singular -e, genitive plural -um, neuter plural -a. The common ones are vetus, veteris (old), pauper, pauperis (poor) and dīves, dīvitis (rich). The comparatives, treated on the next page, follow the same pattern.

Using adjectives

Attributive and predicate

An attributive adjective stands next to its noun as a description: Gallia omnis.
A predicate adjective completes a verb such as sum and still agrees with the subject: Gallia est magna.

Adjectives as nouns

An adjective can stand alone and act as a noun. The gender and number say what it stands for:

Form	Meaning
bonī	the good (men)
bonae	the good (women)
bonum	what is good, the good
bona	good things, goods, property
multa	many things
omnia	all things, everything
Rōmānī	the Romans

Neuter adjectives in general statements

A neuter singular adjective is often used as the predicate of a general statement or of an infinitive: the neuter has no particular noun to agree with and means a (…) thing.

Position

Position is flexible. As a tendency, adjectives of nationality, material and classification follow their noun (populus Rōmānus), while adjectives of size, quality and number often precede it (magnus rēx, multī hominēs). A shift in order signals emphasis.

Examples

Gallia est omnis dīvīsa in partēs trēs.

All Gaul is divided into three parts. (Caesar, Gallic War 1.1; omnis, a 3rd declension adjective, agrees with Gallia, nominative singular feminine)

Senātus populusque Rōmānus.

The Senate and the Roman People. (the formula SPQR; Rōmānus is a 1st/2nd class adjective)

Dulce et decōrum est prō patriā morī.

It is sweet and fitting to die for one's country. (Horace, Odes 3.2.13; dulce and decōrum are neuter singular predicates, with the infinitive morī as subject)

Omnia vincit Amor; et nōs cēdāmus Amōrī.

Love conquers all; let us too yield to Love. (Vergil, Eclogues 10.69; omnia is neuter plural accusative, used as a noun)

Core vocabulary

1st/2nd declension adjectives

Entry	Meaning
bonus, -a, -um	good
malus, -a, -um	bad
magnus, -a, -um	great, large
parvus, -a, -um	small
multus, -a, -um	much; plural many
longus, -a, -um	long
altus, -a, -um	high, deep
novus, -a, -um	new
antīquus, -a, -um	ancient
Rōmānus, -a, -um	Roman
pulcher, -chra, -chrum	beautiful
miser, -era, -erum	wretched
līber, -era, -erum	free
noster, -tra, -trum	our
meus, -a, -um	my
tuus, -a, -um	your (sing.)

3rd declension adjectives

Entry	Meaning
omnis, -e	all, every
fortis, -e	brave, strong
gravis, -e	heavy, serious
brevis, -e	short
facilis, -e	easy
difficilis, -e	difficult
ācer, ācris, ācre	keen, sharp
celer, celeris, celere	swift
ingēns, -entis	huge
fēlīx, -īcis	fortunate
audāx, -ācis	bold
potēns, -entis	powerful

Parsing practice

Give every possible analysis (case, number and gender).

bonae
bonō
fortī
omnia
ācrēs
magnum
ingentibus
nostrōrum
tōtīus

Answers

Feminine: genitive singular, dative singular, nominative plural or vocative plural.
Masculine or neuter: dative singular or ablative singular.
Any gender: dative singular or ablative singular.
Neuter: nominative, accusative or vocative plural.
Masculine or feminine: nominative, accusative or vocative plural.
Masculine accusative singular; or neuter nominative, accusative or vocative singular.
Any gender: dative or ablative plural.
Masculine or neuter: genitive plural.
Any gender: genitive singular.

Common pitfalls

Making the adjective agree with the declension, not the gender. nauta bonus and poēta magnus are masculine.
Confusing the nominative feminine and the neuter plural. bona is either nominative singular feminine or neuter plural; both have a short -a, and the ablative feminine bonā has a long -ā.
Using the 1st/2nd endings on 3rd declension adjectives. The ablative singular of fortis is fortī, the genitive plural fortium, the neuter plural fortia.
Forgetting that the dictionary form of a one-ending adjective gives the genitive. The stem of ingēns is ingent-.
Applying the regular genitive and dative to the nine -īus adjectives. It is ūnīus and ūnī, not ūnī and ūnō.
Mixing līber (free) and liber (book). Look at the quantity and the genitive: līberī against librī.
Taking mī for a different word. In mī amīce it is the vocative of meus.

Self-test

Why does nauta take the adjective bonus and not bona?
Which class does each belong to: ager, agrī (noun), pulcher, -chra, -chrum, fortis, -e, ingēns, -entis?
Give all six forms of the masculine singular of miser, -era, -erum.
What is the genitive singular of ūnus, and what is the dative?
What are the endings of the ablative singular, genitive plural and neuter nominative plural in 3rd declension adjectives?
Translate and parse the adjectives: Nautae bonī agricolīs miserīs aquam dant. (dant = they give)
Identify the case, number and gender of omnis in Gallia est omnis dīvīsa.
What does omnia mean in Omnia vincit Amor, and what is its grammatical form?
Give the vocative singular of meus.

Answers

The gender of the adjective follows the gender of the noun, and nauta is masculine because it denotes a man.
A noun (2nd declension); 1st/2nd class, -er type, drops e; 3rd class, two endings; 3rd class, one ending.
miser, miserī, miserō, miserum, miserō, miser.
ūnīus; ūnī.
-ī; -ium; -ia.
The good sailors give water to the wretched farmers. bonī: nominative plural masculine, agreeing with nautae; miserīs: dative plural masculine, agreeing with agricolīs.
Nominative singular feminine, agreeing with Gallia.
All things or everything; neuter plural accusative, used as a noun, the object of vincit.
mī.

Next: Comparison and adverbs

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