Latin for Students
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Second declension

The second declension isn't too hard. It is a lot like the first declension in many ways. You can tell that a word is in the second declension when its genitive singular form ends in -i.

Words in second declension are either masculine or neuter. The only exceptions are words for trees and names of places. The masculine words have endings different from the neuter words.

The endings for MASCULINE second declension words are:
​
Singular
Plural
Nominative
-us (-er or -r in some nouns)*
-i
Genitive
-i
-orum
Dative
-o
-is
Accusative
-um
-os
Ablative
-o
-is
*Most common examples: vir, viri (man), puer, pueri (boy), ager, agri (field), magister, magistri (male teacher)
! The second declension vocative is weird - see the page Vocative case for more on that.
The endings for NEUTER second declension words are:
​
Singular
Plural
Nominative
-um
-a
Genitive
-i
-orum
Dative
-o
-is
Accusative
-um
-a
Ablative
-o
-is
As you probably notice, the only differences are that the nominative singular ends in -um, and the nominative and accusative plural end in -a. This follows the rules of neuter nouns - nominative and accusative forms are always the same, and nominative and accusative plural forms always end in -a.
Here are some examples of second declension words declined.
amicus, amici ♂: friend (male)
​
Singular
Plural
Nominative
amicus
amici
Genitive
amici
amicorum
Dative
amico
amicis
Accusative
amicum
amicos
Ablative
amico
amicis
oppidum, oppidi ⚲ : town
​
Singular
Plural
Nominative
oppidum
oppida
Genitive
oppidi
oppidorum
Dative
oppido
oppidis
Accusative
oppidum
oppida
Ablative
oppido
oppidis
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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