THIRD DECLENSION (CONSONANT AND i-STEMS)
[114] Adjectives of the Third Declension are thus classified:
1. Adjectives of Three Terminations in the nominative singular,one for each gender: as, cer, cris, cre.
2. Adjectives of Two Terminations,masculine and feminine the same: as, levis (M., F.), leve (N.).
3. Adjectives of One Termination,the same for all three genders: as, atrx.
[a]
Adjectives of two and three terminations are true i-stems and hence retain in the ablative singular -, in the neuter plural -ia, in the genitive plural -ium, and in the accusative plural regularly -s (see 73 and 74).
58
Adjectives of Three and of Two Terminations
Adjectives of Three Terminations are thus declined:
cer, cris, cre, keen, STEM cri-
|
|
SINGULAR |
|
|
PLURAL |
|
M. |
F. |
N. |
M. |
F. |
N. |
| NOM. |
cer |
cris |
cre |
crs |
crs |
cria |
| GEN. |
cris |
cris |
cris |
crium |
crium |
crium |
| DAT. |
cr |
cr |
cr |
cribus |
cribus |
cribus |
| ACC. |
crem |
crem |
cre |
crs (-s) |
crs (-s) |
cria |
| ABL. |
cr |
cr |
cr |
cribus |
cribus |
cribus |
[p. 50]
Like cer are declined the following stems in ri-:
alacer, campester, celeber, equester, palster, pedester, puter, salber, silvester, terrester, volucer. So also names of months in -ber: as, Octber (cf. 66).
NOTE 1.This formation is comparatively late, and hence, in the poets and in early Latin, either the masculine or the feminine form of these adjectives was sometimes used for both genders: as, coetus alacris (Enn.). In others, as faenebris, fnebris, illstris, lgubris, mediocris, muliebris, there is no separate masculine form at all, and these are declined like levis ( 116).
NOTE 2.Celer, celeris, celere, swift, has the genitive plural celerum, used only as a noun, denoting a military rank. The proper name Celer has the ablative in -e.
Adjectives of Two Terminations are thus declined:
|
SINGULAR |
|
PLURAL |
|
M., F. |
N. |
M., F. |
N. |
| NOM. |
levis |
leve |
levs |
levia |
| GEN. |
levis |
levis |
levium |
levium |
| DAT. |
lev |
lev |
levibus |
levibus |
| ACC. |
levem |
leve |
levs (-s) |
levia |
| ABL. |
lev |
lev |
levibus |
levibus |
NOTE.Adjectives of two and three terminations sometimes have an ablative in -e in poetry, rarely in prose.
Adjectives of One Termination
The remaining adjectives of the third declension are Consonant stems; but most of them, except Comparatives, have the following forms of i-stems:
59
- in the ablative singular (but often -e);
-ia in the nominative and accusative plural neuter;
-ium in the genitive plural;
-s (as well as -s) in the accusative plural masculine and feminine.
In the other cases they follow the rule for Consonant stems.
These adjectives, except stems in l- or r-, form the nominative singular from the stem by adding s: as, atrx (stem atrc- + s), egns (stem egent- + s).
60
Here belong the present participles in -ns (stem nt-)
61 : as, amns, monns. They are declined like egns (but cf. 121). [p. 51]
Adjectives of one termination are declined as follows:
Other examples are the following:
[p. 52]
NOTE.Of these vetus is originally an s-stem. In most s-stems the r has intruded self into the nominative also, as bi-corpor (for bi-corpos), dgener (for d-genes). [p. 53]
Declension of Comparatives
Comparatives are declined as follows:
|
melior, better STEM melir- for melis-
|
|
pls, more STEM plr- for pls-
|
|
|
SINGULAR |
|
M., F. |
N. |
M., F. |
N. |
| NOM. |
melior |
melius |
----- |
pls |
| GEN. |
meliris |
meliris |
----- |
plris |
| DAT. |
melir |
melir |
----- |
----- |
| ACC. |
melirem |
melius |
----- |
pls |
| ABL. |
melire (-) |
melire (-) |
----- |
plre |
|
|
PLURAL |
| NOM. |
melirs |
melira |
plrs |
plra |
| GEN. |
melirum |
melirum |
plrium |
plrium |
| DAT. |
meliribus |
meliribus |
plribus |
plribus |
| ACC. |
melirs (-s) |
melira |
plrs (-s) |
plra |
| ABL. |
meliribus |
meliribus |
plribus |
plribus |
All comparatives except pls are declined like melior.
The stem of comparatives properly ended in s-; but this became or in the nominative masculine and feminine, and r- in all other cases except the nominative and accusative singular neuter, where s is retained and is changed to (cf. honr, -ris; corpus, -ris). Thus comparatives appear to have two terminations.
The neuter singular pls is used only as a noun. The genitive (rarely the ablative) is used only as an expression of value (cf. 417). The dative is not found in classic use. The compound complrs, several, has sometimes neuter plural complria.
Case-Forms of Consonant Stems
In adjectives of Consonant stems
The Ablative Singular commonly ends in -, but sometimes -e.
1. Adjectives used as nouns (as superstes, survivor) have -e.
2. Participles in -ns used as such (especially in the ablative absolute, 419), or as nouns, regularly have -e; but participles used as adjectives have regularly -:
domin imperante, at the master's command; ab amante, by a lover; ab amanti muliere, by a loving woman. [p. 54]
3. The following have regularly -:mns, anceps, concors (and other compounds of cor), cnsors (but as a substantive, -e), dgener, hebes, ingns, inops, memor (and compounds), pr (in prose), perpes, praeceps, praepes, teres.
4. The following have regularly -e:caeles, compos, [dses], dves, hospes, particeps, pauper, prnceps, sspes, superstes. So also patrials (see 71. 5) and stems in t-, t-, nt-, rt-, when used as nouns, and sometimes when used as adjectives.
The Genitive Plural ends commonly in -ium, but has -um in the following:
64
1. Always in compos, dves, inops, particeps, praepes, prnceps, supplex, and compounds of nouns which have -um: as, quadru-ps, bi-color.
2. Sometimes, in poetry, in participles in -ns: as, silentum concilium, a council of the silent shades (Aen. 6.432).
The Accusative Plural regularly ends in -s, but comparatives commonly have -s.
Vetus (gen. -ris) and pbes (gen. -ris) regularly have -e in the ablative singular, -a in the nominative and accusative plural, and -um in the genitive plural. For ber, see 119.
A few adjectives of one termination, used as nouns, have a feminine form in -a: as, clienta, hospita, with the appellative In Sspita.
Irregularities and Special Uses of Adjectives
The following special points require notice:
Several adjectives vary in declension: as, gracilis (-us), hilaris (-us), inermis (-us), bicolor (-rus).
A few adjectives are indeclinable: as, damns, frg (really a dative of service, see 382. 1. N. 2), nquam (originally an adverb), necesse, and the pronominal forms tot, quot, aliquot, totidem. Potis is often used as an indeclinable adjective, but sometimes has pote in the neuter.
Several adjectives are defective: as, exsps (only nom.), exlx (exlgem) (only nom. and acc. sing.), pernox (pernocte) (only nom. and abl. sing.); and prmris, sminec, etc., which lack the nominative singular.
Many adjectives, from their signification, can be used only in the masculine and feminine. These may be called adjectives of common gender.
Such are adulscns, youthful; [dses], -idis, slothful; inops, -opis, poor; sspes, -itis, safe. Similarly, senex, old man, and iuvenis, young man, are sometimes called masculine adjectives.
For Adjectives used as Nouns, see 288, 289; for Nouns used as Adjectives, see 321. c; for Adjectives used as Adverbs, see 214; for Adverbs used as Adjectives, see 321. d. [p. 55]
