First declension is the simplest and easiest declension in Latin! You can tell that a word is first declension if its genitive singular form ends in -ae.
The endings are easy to memorize. Just practice saying "a, ae, ae, am, long a." Then do the same with the plurals! Here are the endings:
The endings are easy to memorize. Just practice saying "a, ae, ae, am, long a." Then do the same with the plurals! Here are the endings:
|
Singular |
Plural |
Nominative |
-a |
-ae |
Genitive |
-ae |
-arum |
Dative |
-ae |
-is |
Accusative |
-am |
-as |
Ablative |
-ā |
-is |
Here's an example of a first declension word declined. The word is rana, ranae (frog).
|
Singular |
Plural |
Nominative |
rana |
ranae |
Genitive |
ranae |
ranarum |
Dative |
ranae |
ranis |
Accusative |
ranam |
ranas |
Ablative |
ranā |
ranis |
All words in the first declension are FEMININE ♀ except those that have to do with jobs/professions. The most common ones are:
- poeta, poetae: poet
- agricola, agricola: farmer
- nauta, nautae: sailor
- pirata, piratae: pirate
- incola, incolae: inhabitant