Latin for Students
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        • First declension
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Declension

Declensions are patterns of endings for nouns. If you remember, the ending of a noun is based on its case and number. However, there are different endings for each combination of case and number in each declension. For example, the ending for dative singular in first declension is -ae, but in third declension, it is -i. This is why it's important to memorize the endings for each declension.

There are five declensions in Latin, and they don't have any special names like the cases do; they're just called by their order: first declension, second declension, third declension, fourth declension, and fifth declension.

The verb form of declension is decline - to decline a noun is to write it out in all its forms for each case and number, like this:
​
Singular
Plural
Nominative
rana
ranae
Genitive
ranae
ranarum
Dative
ranae
ranis
Accusative
ranam
ranas
Ablative
ranā
ranis

​You can always tell what declension a noun is by looking at its genitive singular form. That's why the genitive singular is included in dictionary entries for nouns. Here are the genitive singular endings for each declension:
  • first declension: -ae
  • second declension: -i
  • third declension -is
  • fourth declension: -ūs
  • fifth declension: -ei
It's best to memorize these so that you can always tell what gender a word is by looking at its dictionary entry.

Learn about each declension by going to the page of each declension.
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  • Home
  • About
    • The Site
    • The Creator
  • Grammar
    • Nouns >
      • Case >
        • Nominative case
        • Genitive case
        • Vocative case
        • Locative case
      • Number
      • Gender
      • Declension >
        • First declension
        • Second declension
        • Third declension
        • Fourth declension
        • Fifth declension
    • Pronouns >
      • Personal pronouns
      • Relative pronouns
      • Interrogative pronouns
      • Demonstrative pronouns
      • Reflexive pronouns
    • Adjectives
    • Verbs >
      • Person + Number
      • Tense >
        • The imperfect tenses >
          • Present tense
          • Future tense
          • Imperfect tense
        • The perfect tenses >
          • Perfect tense
          • Pluperfect tense
          • Future perfect tense
      • Infinitives
    • Adverbs
    • Prepositions
    • Conjunctions
  • Helpful tips
    • Tips for memorizing vocabulary
    • Tips for translating
    • Scansion
  • Fun Stuff!
    • Latin insults
    • Names that come from Latin