firstseconddeclension

Firstseconddeclension refers to two foundational noun classes in Latin grammar: the first declension and the second declension. Together they cover a large portion of Latin nouns and determine their inflection across cases and numbers. The first declension is predominantly feminine in gender, though a few masculine nouns appear in this class. The second declension provides masculine or feminine nouns, as well as neuter nouns, with distinct patterns of endings.

The first declension endings are organized by singular and plural. In the singular, a typical noun ends in -a in the nominative, with genitive -ae, dative -ae, accusative -am, and ablative -a. In the plural, the endings are -ae for nominative, -arum for genitive, -is for dative, -as for accusative, and -is for ablative. The vocative commonly mirrors the nominative in the singular. Most first declension nouns are feminine, such as puella (girl) and cura (care); however, masculine examples exist, such as poeta or agricola, which behave like first declension nouns in their endings.

The second declension distinguishes masculine and feminine nouns from neuter nouns. Masculine and feminine singular typically end in -us or -er in the nominative, with genitive -i, dative -o, accusative -um, and ablative -o; the vocative often resembles the nominative as -e for -us/-er nouns. Plural forms are -i for nominative, -orum for genitive, -is for dative, -os for accusative, and -is for ablative; vocative is -i. Neuter nouns in the second declension have singular endings of -um in the nominative and accusative, with genitive -i, dative -o, and ablative -o; plurals use -a for nominative and accusative, with genitive -orum, dative -is, and ablative -is. Common examples include servus (slave) in the second declension masculine and bellum (war) as neuter.

The first and second declensions form the core tools for Latin noun inflection, providing predictable patterns essential for parsing and translation.