B . Adjectives

62. Adjectives denote quality. They are declined like nouns, and fall into two classes,—

1. Adjectives of the First and Second Declensions.

2. Adjectives of the Third Declension.

ADJECTIVES OF THE FIRST AND SECOND DECLENSIONS.

63. In these the Masculine is declined like hortus, puer, or ager, the Feminine like porta, and the Neuter like bellum. Thus, Masculine like hortus:—

Bonus, good.

SINGULAR.

MASCULINE. FEMININE. NEUTER.

Nom. bonus bona bonum

Gen. bonī bonae bonī

Dat. bonō bonae bonō

Acc. bonum bonam bonum

Voc. bone bona bonum

Abl. bonō bonā bonō

PLURAL.

Nom. bonī bonae bona

Gen. bonōrum bonārum bonōrum

Dat. bonīs bonīs bonīs

Acc. bonōs bonās bona

Voc. bonī bonae bona

Abl. bonīs bonīs bonīs

1. The Gen. Sing. Masc. and Neut. of Adjectives in -ius ends in -iī (not in -ī as in case of Nouns; see § 25, 1; 2). So also the Voc. Sing. of such Adjectives ends in -ie, not in ī. Thus eximius forms Gen. eximiī; Voc. eximie.

2. Distributives (see § 78, 1, c) regularly form the Gen. Plu. Masc. and Neut. in -um instead of -ōrum (compare § 25, 6); as, dēnum centēnum; but always singulōrum.

64. Masculine like puer:—

Tener, tender.

SINGULAR.

MASCULINE. FEMININE NEUTER.

Nom. tener tenera tenerum

Gen. tenerī tenerae tenerī

Dat. tenerō tenerae tenerō

Acc. tenerum teneram tenerum

Voc. tener tenera tenerum

Abl. tenerō tenerā tenerō

PLURAL.

Nom. tenerī tenerae tenera

Gen. tenerōrum tenerārum tenerōrum

Dat. tenerīs tenerīs tenerīs

Acc. tenerōs tenerās tenera

Voc. tenerī tenerae tenera

Abl. tenerīs tenerīs tenerīs

65. Masculine like ager:—

Sacer, sacred.

SINGULAR.

MASCULINE. FEMININE. NEUTER.

Nom. sacer sacra sacrum

Gen. sacrī sacrae sacrī

Dat. sacrō sacrae sacrō

Acc. sacrum sacram sacrum

Voc. sacer sacra sacrum

Abl. sacrō sacrā sacrō

PLURAL.

Nom. sacrī sacrae sacra

Gen. sacrōrum sacrārum sacrōrum

Dat. sacrīs sacrīs sacrīs

Acc. sacrōs sacrās sacra

Voc. sacrī sacrae sacra

Abl. sacrīs sacrīs sacrīs

1. Most adjectives in -er are declined like sacer. The following however, are declined like tener: asper, rough; lacer, torn; līber, free; miser, wretched; prōsper, prosperous; compounds in -fer and -ger; sometimes dexter, right.

2. Satur, full, is declined: satur, satura, saturum.

Nine Irregular Adjectives.

66. Here belong—

alius, another; alter, the other;

ūllus, any; nūllus, none;

uter, which? (of two); neuter, neither;

sōlus, alone; tōtus, whole;

ūnus, one, alone.

They are declined as follows:—

SINGULAR.

MASCULINE. FEMININE. NEUTER. MASCULINE. FEMININE. NEUTER.

Nom. alius alia aliud alter altera alterum

Gen. alterĭus alterĭus alterĭus alterĭus alterĭus alterĭus

Dat. aliī aliī aliī alterī alterī alterī

Acc. alium aliam aliud alterum alteram alterum

Voc. —— —— —— —— —— ——

Abl. aliō aliā aliō alterō alterā alterō

Nom. uter utra utrum tōtus tōta tōtum

Gen. utrīus utrīus utrīus tōtīus tōtīus tōtīus

Dat. utrī utrī utrī tōtī tōtī tōtī

Acc. utrum utram utrum tōtum tōtam tōtum

Voc. —— —— —— —— —— ——

Abl. utrō utrā utrō tōtō tōtā tōtō

1. All these words lack the Vocative. The Plural is regular.

2. Neuter is declined like uter.

ADJECTIVES OF THE THIRD DECLENSION.

67. These fall into three classes,—

1. Adjectives of three terminations in the Nominative Singular,—one for each gender.

2. Adjectives of two terminations.

3. Adjectives of one termination.

a. With the exception of Comparatives, and a few other words mentioned below in § 70, 1, all Adjectives of the Third Declension follow the inflection of ĭ-stems; i.e. they have the Ablative Singular in -ī, the Genitive Plural in -ium, the Accusative Plural in -īs (as well as -ēs) in the Masculine and Feminine, and the Nominative and Accusative Plural in -ia in Neuters.

Adjectives of Three Terminations.

68. These are declined as follows:—

Ācer, sharp.

SINGULAR.

MASCULINE. FEMININE. NEUTER.

Nom. ācer ācris ācre

Gen. ācris ācris ācris

Dat. ācrī ācrī ācrī

Acc. ācrem ācrem ācre

Voc. ācer ācris ācre

Abl. ācrī ācrī ācrī

PLURAL.

Nom. ācrēs ācrēs ācria

Gen. ācrium ācrium ācrium

Dat, ācribus ācribus ācribus

Acc. ācrēs, -īs ācrēs, -īs ācria

Voc. ācrēs ācrēs ācria

Abl. ācribus ācribus ācribus

1. Like ācer are declined alacer, lively; campester, level; celeber, famous; equester, equestrian; palūster, marshy; pedester, pedestrian; puter, rotten; salūber, wholesome; silvester, woody; terrester, terrestrial; volucer, winged; also names of months in -ber, as September.

2. Celer, celeris, celere, swift, retains the e before r, but lacks the Genitive Plural.

3. In the Nominative Singular of Adjectives of this class the Feminine form is sometimes used for the Masculine. This is regularly true of salūbris, silvestris, and terrestris. In case of the other words in the list, the use of the Feminine for the Masculine is confined chiefly to early and late Latin, and to poetry.

Adjectives of Two Terminations.

69. These are declined as follows:—

Fortis, strong. Fortior, stronger.

SINGULAR.

M. AND F. NEUT. M. AND F. NEUT.

Nom. fortis forte fortior fortius

Gen. fortis fortis fortiōris fortiōris

Dat. fortī fortī fortiōrī fortiōrī

Acc. fortem forte fortiōrem fortius

Voc. fortis forte fortior fortius

Abl. fortī fortī fortiōre fortiōre

PLURAL.

Nom. fortēs fortia fortiōrēs fortiōra

Gen. fortium fortium fortiōrum fortiōrum

Dat. fortibus fortibus fortiōribus fortiōribus

Acc. fortēs, -īs fortia fortiōrēs, -īs fortiōra

Voc. fortēs fortia fortiōrēs fortiōra

Abl. fortibus fortibus fortiōribus fortiōribus

1. Fortior is the Comparative of fortis. All Comparatives are regularly declined in the same way. The Acc. Plu. in -īs is rare.

Adjectives of One Termination.

70.

Fēlīx, happy.. Prūdēns, prudent.

SINGULAR.

M. AND F. NEUT. M. AND F. NEUT.

Nom. fēlīx fēlīx prūdēns prūdēns

Gen. fēlīcīs fēlīcis prūdentis prūdentis

Dat. fēlīcī fēlīcī prūdentī prūdentī

Acc. fēlīcem fēlīx prūdentem prūdēns

Voc. fēlīx fēlīx prūdēns prūdēns

Abl. fēlīcī fēlīcī prūdentī prūdentī

PLURAL.

Nom. fēlīcēs fēlīcia prūdentēs prūdentia

Gen. fēlīcium fēlīcium prūdentium prūdentium

Dat. fēlīcibus fēlīcibus prūdentibus prūdentibus

Acc. fēlīcēs, -īs fēlīcia prūdentēs, -īs prūdentia

Voc. fēlīcēs fēlīcia prūdentēs prūdentia

Abl. fēlīcibus fēlīcibus prūdentibus prūdentibus

Vetus, old.
Plūs, more.

SINGULAR.

M. AND F. NEUT. M. AND F. NEUT.

Nom. vetus vetus —— plūs

Gen. veteris veteris —— plūris

Dat. veterī veterī —— ——

Acc. veterem vetus —— plūs

Voc. vetus vetus —— ——

Abl. vetere vetere —— plūre

PLURAL.

Nom. veterēs vetera plūrēs plūra

Gen. veterum veterum plūrium plūrium

Dat. veteribus veteribus plūribus plūribus

Acc. veterēs vetera plūrēs, -īs plūra

Voc. veterēs vetera —— ——

Abl. veteribus veteribus plūribus plūribus

1. It will be observed that vetus is declined as a pure Consonant-Stem; i.e. Ablative Singular in -e, Genitive Plural in -um, Nominative Plural Neuter in -a, and Accusative Plural Masculine and Feminine in -ēs only. In the same way are declined compos, controlling; dīves, rich; particeps, sharing; pauper, poor; prīnceps, chief; sōspes, safe; superstes, surviving. Yet dīves always has Neut. Plu. dītia.

2. Inops, needy, and memor, mindful, have Ablative Singular inopī, memorī, but Genitive Plural inopum, memorum.

3. Participles in -āns and -ēns follow the declension of ī-stems. But they do not have -ī the Ablative, except when employed as adjectives; when used as participles or as substantives, they have -e; as,—

ā sapientī virō, by a wise man; but

ā sapiente, by a philosopher.

Tarquiniō rēgnante, under the reign of Tarquin.

4. Plūs, in the Singular, is always a noun.

5. In the Ablative Singular, adjectives, when used as substantives,—

a) usually retain the adjective declension; as,—

aequālis, contemporary, Abl. aequālī.

cōnsulāris, ex-consul, Abl. cōnsulārī

So names of Months; as, Aprīlī, April; Decembrī, December.

b) But adjectives used as proper names have -e in the Ablative Singular; as, Celere, Celer; Juvenāle, Juvenal.

c) Patrials in -ās, -ātis and -īs, -ītis, when designating places regularly have -ī; as, in Arpīnātī, on the estate at Arpinum, yet -e, when used of persons; as, ab Arpīnāte, by an Arpinatian.

6. A very few indeclinable adjectives occur, the chief of which are frūgī, frugal; nēquam, worthless.

7. In poetry, adjectives and participles in -ns sometimes form the Gen. Plu. in -um instead of -ium; as, venientum, of those coming.

COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES.

71. 1. There are three degrees of Comparison,—the Positive, the Comparative, and the Superlative.

2. The Comparative is regularly formed by adding -ior (Neut. -ius), and the Superlative by adding -issimus (-a, -um), to the Stem of the Positive deprived of its final vowel; as,—

altus, high, altior, higher, altissimus, highest, very high.

fortis, brave, fortior, fortissimus.

fēlīx, fortunate, fēlīcior, fēlīcissimus.

So also Participles, when used as Adjectives; as,—

doctus, learned, doctior, doctissimus.

egēns, needy, egentior, egentissimus.

3. Adjectives in -er form the Superlative by appending -rimus to the Nominative of the Positive. The Comparative is regular. Thus:—

asper, rough, asperior, asperrimus.

pulcher, beautiful, pulchrior, pulcherrimus.

ācer, sharp, ācrior, ācerrimus.

celer, swift, celerior, celerrimus.

a. Notice mātūrus, mātūrior, mātūrissimus or mātūrrimus.

4. Five Adjectives in -ilis form the Superlative by adding -limus to the Stem of the Positive deprived of its final vowel. The Comparative is regular. Thus:—

facilis, easy, facilior, facillimus.

difficilis, diffcult, difficilior, difficillimus.

similis, like, similior, simillimus.

dissimilis, unlike, dissimilior, dissimillimus.

humilis, low, humilior, humillimus.

5. Adjectives in -dicus, -ficus, and -volus form the Comparative and Superlative as though from forms in -dīcēns, -ficēns, -volēns. Thus:—

maledicus, slanderous, maledīcentior, maledīcentissimus.

magnificus, magnificent, magnificentior, magnificentissimus.

benevolus, kindly, benevolentior, benevolentissimus.

a. Positives in -dīcēns and -volēns occur in early Latin; as maledīcēns, benevolēns.

6. Dīves has the Comparative dīvitior or dītior; Superlative dīvitissimus or dītissimus.

Irregular Comparison.

72. Several Adjectives vary the Stem in Comparison; viz.—

bonus, good, melior, optimus.

malus, bad, pejor, pessimus.

parvus, small, minor, minimus.

magnus, large, major, maximus.

multus, much, plūs, plūrimus,

frūgī, thrifty, frūgālior, frūgālissimus,

nēquam, worthless, nēquior, nēquissimus.

Defective Comparison.

73. 1. Positive lacking entirely,—

(Cf. prae, in front of.) prior, former, prīmus, first

(Cf. citrā, this side of.) citerior, on this side, citimus, near.

(Cf. ultrā, beyond.) ulterior, farther, ultimus, farthest.

(Cf. intrā, within.) interior, inner, intimus, inmost

(Cf. prope, near.) propior, nearer, proximus, nearest.

(Cf. dē, down.) dēterior, inferior, dēterrimus, worst.

(Cf. archaic potis, possible.) potior, preferable, potissimus, chiefest

2. Positive occurring only in special cases,—

posterō diē, annō, etc. the following day, etc.,
posterī, descendants, posterior, later, postrēmus, latest, last.
postumus, late-born, posthumous.

exteri, foreigners,
nātiōnēs exterae, foreign nations, exterior, outer extrēmus, extimus, outermost.

inferī, gods of the lower world,
Mare Inferum, Mediterranean Sea, īnferior, lower, īnfimus, īmus, lowest.

superī, gods above,
Mare Superum, Adriatic Sea, superior, higher, suprēmus, last.
summus, highest.

3. Comparative lacking.

vetus, old, —— veterrimus.

fīdus, faithful, —— fīdissimus.

novus, new, —— novissimus, last.

sacer, sacred, —— sacerrimus.

falsus, false, —— falsissimus.

Also in some other words less frequently used.

4. Superlative lacking.

alacer, lively, alacrior, ——

ingēns, great, ingentior, ——

salūtāris, wholesome, salūtārior, ——

juvenis, young, jūnior, ——

senex, old, senior. ——

a. The Superlative is lacking also in many adjectives in -ālis, -īlis, -ĭlis, -bilis, and in a few others.

Comparison by Magis and Maximē.

74. Many adjectives do not admit terminational comparison, but form the Comparative and Superlative degrees by prefixing magis (more) and maximē (most). Here belong—

1. Many adjectives ending in -ālis, -āris, -idus, -īlis, -icus, imus, īnus, -ōrus.

2. Adjectives in -us, preceded by a vowel; as, idōneus, adapted; arduus, steep; necessārius, necessary.

a. Adjectives in -quus, of course, do not come under this rule. The first u in such cases is not a vowel, but a consonant.

Adjectives not admitting Comparison.

75. Here belong—

1. Many adjectives, which, from the nature of their signification, do not admit of comparison; as, hodiernus, of to-day; annuus, annual; mortālis, mortal.

2. Some special words; as, mīrus, gnārus, merus; and a few others.

FORMATION AND COMPARISON OF ADVERBS.

76. Adverbs are for the most part derived from adjectives, and depend upon them for their comparison.

1. Adverbs derived from adjectives of the First and Second Declensions form the Positive by changing -ī of the Genitive Singular to -ē; those derived from adjectives of the Third Declension, by changing -is of the Genitive Singular to -iter; as,—

cārus, cārē, dearly;

pulcher, pulchrē, beautifully;

ācer, ācriter, fiercely;

levis, leviter, lightly.

a. But Adjectives in -ns, and a few others, add -er (instead of -iter), to form the Adverb; as,—

sapiēns, sapienter, wisely;

sollers, sollerter, skillfully.

Note audāx, audācter, boldly.

2. The Comparative of all Adverbs regularly consists of the Accusative Singular Neuter of the Comparative of the Adjective; while the Superlative of the Adverb is formed by changing the -ī of the Genitive Singular of the Superlative of the Adjective to -ē. Thus—

(cārus) cārē, dearly, cārius, cārissimē.

(pulcher) pulchrē, beautifully, pulchrius, pulcherrimē.

(ācer) ācriter, fiercely, ācrius, ācerrimē.

(levis) leviter, lightly, levius, levissimē.

(sapiēns) sapienter, wisely, sapientius, sapientissimē.

(audāx) audācter, boldly, audācius, audācissimē.

Adverbs Peculiar in Comparison and Formation.

77. 1.

benĕ, well, melius, optimē.

malĕ, ill, pejus, pessimē.

magnopere, greatly, magis, maximē.

multum, much, plūs, plūrimum.

nōn multum, little,
parum, minus, minimē.

diū, long, diūtius, diūtissimē.

nēquiter, worthlessly, nēquius, nēquissimē.

saepe, often, saepius, saepissimē.

mātūrē, betimes, mātūrius, mātūrrimē.
mātūrissimē.

prope, near, propius, proximē.

nūper, recently, —— nūperrimē.

—— potius, rather, potissimum, especially.

—— prius, previously, before, prīmum, first.

secus, otherwise, sētius, less.

2. A number of adjectives of the First and Second Declensions form an Adverb in -ō, instead of -ē; as,—

crēbrō, frequently; falsō, falsely;

continuō, immediately; subitō, suddenly;

rārō, rarely, and a few others.

a. cito, quickly, has -ŏ.

3. A few adjectives employ the Accusative Singular Neuter as the Positive of the Adverb; as,—

multum, much; paulum, little; facile, easily.

4. A few adjectives of the First and Second Declensions form the Positive in -iter; as,—

fīrmus, fīrmiter, firmly; hūmānus, hūmāniter, humanly;

largus, largiter, copiously; alius, aliter, otherwise.

a. violentus has violenter.

5. Various other adverbial suffixes occur, the most important of which are -tus and -tim; as, antīquitus, anciently; paulātim, gradually.

NUMERALS.

78. Numerals may be divided into—

I. Numeral Adjectives, comprising—

a. Cardinals; as, ūnus, one; duo, two; etc.

b. Ordinals; as, prīmus, first; secundus, second; etc.

c. Distributives; as, singulī, one by one; bīnī, two by two; etc.

II. Numeral Adverbs; as, semel, once; bis, twice; etc.

79. TABLE OF NUMERAL ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS.

CARDINALS. ORDINALS. DISTRIBUTIVES. ADVERBS.

1. ūnus, ūna, ūnum prīmus, first singulī, one by one semel, once

2. duo, duae, duo secundus, second bīnī, two by two bis

3. trēs, tria tertius, third ternī (trīnī) ter

4. quattuor quārtus, fourth quaternī quater

5. quīnque quīntus, fifth quīnī quīnquiēs

6. sex sextus sēnī sexiēs

7. septem septimus septēnī septiēs

8. octō octāvus octōnī octiēs

9. novem nōnus novēnī noviēs

10. decem decimus dēnī deciēs

11. ūndecim ūndecimus ūndēnī ūndeciēs

12. duodecim duodecimus duodēnī duodeciēs

13. tredecim tertius decimus ternī denī terdeciēs

14. quattuordecim quārtus decimus quaternī denī quaterdeciēs

15. quīndecim quīntus decimus quīnī dēnī quīnquiēs deciēs

16. sēdecim,
sexdecim sextus decimus sēnī dēnī sexiēs deciēs

17. septendecim septimus decimus septēnī dēnī septiēs deciēs

18. duodēvīgintī duodēvīcēsimus duodēvīcēnī octiēs deciēs

19. ūndēvīgintī ūndēvīcēsimus ūndēvīcēnī noviēs deciēs

20. vīgintī vīcēsimus vīcēnī vīciēs

21. vīgintī ūnus,
ūnus et vīgintī vīcēsimus prīmus,
ūnus et vīcēsimus vīcēnī singulī,
singulī et vīcēni vīciēs semel

22. vīgintī duo,
duo et vīgintī vīcēsimus secundus,
alter et vīcēsimus vīcēnī bīnī,
bīnī et vīcēnī vīciēs bis

30. trīgintā trīcēsimus trīcēnī triciēs

40. quadrāgintā quadrāgēsimus quadrāgēnī quadrāgiēs

50. quīnquāgintā quīnquāgēsimus quinquāgēnī quīnquāgiēs

60. sexāgintā sexāgēsimus sexāgēnī sexāgiēs

70. septuāgintā septuāgēsimus septuāgēnī septuāgiēs

80. octōgintā octōgēsimus octōgēnī octōgiēs

90. nōnāgintā nōnāgēsimus nōnāgēnī nōnāgiēs

100. centum centēsimus centēnī centiēs

101. centum ūnus,
centum et ūnus centēsimus prīmus,
centēsimus et prīmus centēnī singulī,
centēnī et singulī centiēs semel

200. ducentī, -ae, -a ducentēsimus ducēnī ducentiēs

300. trecentī trecentēsimus trecēnī trecentiēs

400. quadringentī quadringentēsimus quadringēnī quadringentiēs

500. quīngentī quīngentēsimus quīngēnī quīngentiēs

600. sescentī sescentēsimus sescēnī sescentiēs

700. septingentī septingentēsimus septingēnī septingentiēs

800. octingentī octingentēsimus octingēnī octingentiēs

900. nōngentī nōngentēsimus nōngēnī nōngentiēs

1,000. mīlle mīllēsimus singula mīlia mīliēs

2,000. duo mīlia bis mīllēsimus bīna mīlia bis mīliēs

100,000. centum mīlia centiēs mīllēsimus centēna mīlia centiēs mīliēs

1,000,000. deciēs centēna mīlia deciēs centiēs mīllēsimus deciēs centēna mīlia deciēs centiēs mīliēs

NOTE.— -ēnsimus and -iēns are often written in the numerals instead of -ēsimus and -iēs.

Declension of the Cardinals.

80. 1. The declension of ūnus has already been given under § 66.

2. Duo is declined as follows:—

Nom. duo duae duo

Gen. duōrum duārum duōrum

Dat. duōbus duābus duōbus

Acc. duōs, duo duās duo

Abl. duōbus duābus duōbus

a. So ambō, both, except that its final o is long.

3. Trēs is declined,—

Nom. trēs tria

Gen. trium trium

Dat. tribus tribus

Acc. trēs (trīs) tria

Abl. tribus tribus

4. The hundreds (except centum) are declined like the Plural of bonus.

5. Mīlle is regularly an adjective in the Singular, and indeclinable. In the Plural it is a substantive (followed by the Genitive of the objects enumerated; § 201, 1), and is declined,—

Nom. mīlia Acc. mīlia

Gen. mīlium Voc. mīlia

Dat. mīlibus Abl. mīlibus

Thus mīlle hominēs, a thousand men; but duo mīlia hominum, two thousand men, literally two thousands of men.

a. Occasionally the Singular admits the Genitive construction; as, mīlle hominum.

6. Other Cardinals are indeclinable. Ordinals and Distributives are declined like Adjectives of the First and Second Declensions.

Peculiarities in the Use of Numerals.

81. 1. The compounds from 21 to 99 may be expressed either with the larger or the smaller numeral first. In the latter case, et is used. Thus:—

trīgintā sex or sex et trīgintā, thirty-six.

2. The numerals under 90, ending in 8 and 9, are often expressed by subtraction; as,—

duodēvīgintī, eighteen (but also octōdecim);

ūndēquadrāgintā, thirty-nine (but also trīgintā novem or novem et trīgintā).

3. Compounds over 100 regularly have the largest number first; the others follow without et; as,—

centum vīgintī septem, one hundred and twenty-seven.

annō octingentēsimō octōgēsimō secundō, in the year 882.

Yet et may be inserted where the smaller number is either a digit or one of the tens; as,—

centum et septem, one hundred and seven;

centum et quadrāgintā, one hundred and forty.

4. The Distributives are used—

a) To denote so much each, so many apiece; as,—

bīna talenta eīs dedit, he gave them two talents each.

b) When those nouns that are ordinarily Plural in form, but Singular in meaning, are employed in a Plural sense; as,—

bīnae litterae, two epistles.

But in such cases, ūnī (not singulī) is regularly employed for one, and trīnī (not ternī) for three; as,—

ūnae litterae, one epistle; trīnae litterae, three epistles.

c) In multiplication; as,—

bis bīna sunt quattuor, twice two are four.

d) Often in poetry, instead of the cardinals; as,—

bīna hastīlia, two spears.