As covered in Case Endings, nouns can be governed by 5 cases. But each case has its own set of endings. This chapter will cover the most common 1st and 2nd Declension nouns and their endings.

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First Declension Nouns:

 

First Declension nouns are almost always feminine and quite possibly are the most common set of nouns found in Latin. For the purposes of this guide, we will be looking at ‘Terra’ meaning ‘Land’ as this is extremely common in charters.

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CASE                               Singular                   Plural

Nominative                       Terra                           Terre                          Subject

Accusative                        Terram                       Terras                         Object

Genitive                             Terre                           Terrarum                   Of

Dative                                 Terre                           Terris                          To/For

Ablative                              Terra                           Terris                          By/With/From 

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You may notice that some of these noun forms have the same endings. Quite simply, it is up to you to decide which case the noun is referring to in a sentence when translating; however, it should be clear which it is by the context of the sentence.

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Second Declension Nouns

 

Second Declension nouns have two genders: masculine and neuter. Like First Declension nouns, these noun endings are very popular. For this guide, we will be using the masculine noun ‘Dominus’ meaning ‘Lord’ and the neuter noun 'Pratum' meaning 'Meadow'.

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Masc. "Dominus"

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CASE                               Singular                   Plural

Nominative                      Dominus                   Domini                       Subject

Accusative                        Dominum                Dominos                    Object

Genitive                             Domini                      Dominorum             Of

Dative                                 Domino                    Dominis                     To/For

Ablative                              Domino                    Dominis                     By/With/From 

 

An issue some Latin students come across is how to translate ‘Domine’. Domine is the genitive (or dative) form of the First Declension noun Domina, which means, ‘The Lady’. 

 

None of the case endings of Domina and Dominus overlap and so it should be easy to separate them.

 

Neuter. "Pratum"

 

CASE                               Singular                   Plural

Nominative                       Pratum                     Prata                           Subject

Accusative                         Pratum                     Prata                           Object

Genitive                              Prati                          Pratorum                   Of

Dative                                 Prato                          Pratis                          To/For

Ablative                              Prato                          Pratis                          By/With/From 

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Let’s examine some Latin sentences using everything we have covered thus far. For the purposes of focusing on nouns, all you need to understand with verbs is the following:

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• (Singular) vowel + t — He/She/It

• (Plural) vowel + nt — They 

 

Some of the most popular verbs in charters are:

• Dat— He/She/It Gives

• Dant — They Give

 

• Tenet — He/She/It Holds

• Tenent— They Hold

 

When translating the following sentences, be sure to look at the endings and refer to the tables above.

 

Translate:

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1. Tenet messuagium 

2. Dant domum

3. Tenent acram

 

Answers:

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1. He holds a messuage

2. They give a house

3. They hold an acre

Note that an adjective describing a noun has the same case, gender, and number as the noun they accompany.

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• Unam acram – one acre

• Unum denarium – one penny

• Suo Domino – to/from his lord

 

Here are some sentences that include singular dative and ablative endings. These end in -o:

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1. Dat suum messuagium Philippo

2. Tenent suam acram domino

3. Reddit unum denarium Willelmo

 

Answers:

1. He gives his messuage to Philip

2. They hold their acre from the Lord

3. He pays one penny to William

 

Further, here are some more which contain either dative or ablative plural endings. These end in -is: 

 

1. Philippus dat unam acram filiis suis.

2. Willelmus tenet terram serviciis debitis.

3. Predictus Robertus reddit unum denarium dominis.

 

Answers:

1. Philip gives one acre to his sons

2. William holds land by services owed (feudal obligation)

3. The aforsaid Robert pays one penny to the Lords

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