1.1 Cases & Declensions

Latin is inflected

Latin marks a noun's role with case endings, not word order. The main cases are nominative (subject), genitive (of/possession), dative (to/for), accusative (direct object), and ablative (by/with/from).

Declensions

Nouns fall into declensions (patterns). 1st declension is mostly feminine in -a (puella, girl); 2nd is masculine/neuter in -us/-um (servus, bellum); 3rd has varied stems (rex, regis).

Endings carry meaning

Because endings show the role, Latin word order is flexible. Puella servum videt and servum puella videt both mean 'the girl sees the slave' — the accusative servum is the object either way.

Key terms

Nominative

subject case

Genitive

'of' / possession

Dative

'to / for' (indirect object)

Accusative

direct-object case

Ablative

'by / with / from'

Try an AP-style question

What case is "rosam"?

1. Accusative
2. Ablative
3. Nominative
4. Dative