3.5 The second declension
Table 7 below shows the genitive, dative and ablative case endings of the second declension, using the noun populus (‘people’) as an example. Again, we will concentrate on the singular endings. Most nouns ending in -us belong to the second declension. This group includes a large number of male praenōmina (forenames) such as Gāius, Lūcius and Marcus.
| case | ending | populus |
|---|---|---|
| singular | ||
| genitive | -ī | populī |
| dative | -ō | populō |
| ablative | -ō | populō |
Activity 18
a.
Antōnius
b.
Antōniī
c.
Antōniō
The correct answer is b.
a.
genitive
b.
dative
c.
ablative
d.
either dative or ablative
The correct answer is d.
d.
The context would help you decide which case.
Practice
Activity 19
Which Latin word could be used to translate the English word in bold?
a.
Antōnius
b.
Antōniī
c.
Antōniō
The correct answer is b.
b.
Yes, the genitive case is required.
a.
Cleopatra
b.
Cleopatrae
c.
Cleopatrā
The correct answer is b.
b.
Yes, the dative case is required.
a.
sagitta
b.
sagittae
c.
sagittā
The correct answer is c.
c.
Yes, the ablative case is required.