Stage 2 Grammar Nominative and Accusative DECLENSIONS GENDER

Stage 2 Grammar: Nominative and Accusative

DECLENSIONS & GENDER • Every noun belongs to one of 5 groups called “declensions”. In Latin I, have nouns in 1 st, 2 nd & 3 rd declensions. • Every noun also has a gender: masculine, feminine, or neuter. The declension group and gender of a noun never change. You learn them when you learn the noun.

CASES • However, noun endings change, depending on how the noun is used in a sentence (subject, direct object, indirect object, object of preposition, etc). • The case of a noun changes depending on how it is used in a particular sentence. • The noun ending depends on its case. Each declension group has a set of endings. • We have learned about nominative and genitive cases.

CASES • We are going to learn about two more cases: • Accusative-used for the direct object of the verb • Ablative-used for objects of (some) prepositions. At this point it is easy. The ablative is used for the object of the preposition “in”, meaning “in” or “on”. • There are two more cases, called dative and vocative, but we’ll get to them later.

Accusative case • The accusative case is used for the direct object of the verb. • In English, word order tells us which noun is the subject, and which is the direct object, as in: – The boy loves the girl. – Boy comes first. Girl comes after the verb. That’s how we know which is the subject, and which is the direct object, in other words, who loves whom in the sentence.

ACCUSATIVE CASE • In Latin, it’s not word order, but the ending, that tells us which is the subject (nominative case), and which is the direct object (accusative case). • These are the endings for the accusative case 1 st Decl 2 nd Decl 3 rd Decl • am um em • Notice that all three endings end in m. • “m” is your signal for the accusative case.

Nominative & Accusative • Word order doesn’t matter. The nominative does the action, the accusative receives the action. • Servus ancillam amat. – Subject? Direct object? Who loves whom? • Servum ancilla amat. Who loves whom? – Subject? Direct object? Who loves whom?

Nominative & Accusative • Canis pavōnem amat. Subject? Direct object? Who loves whom? • Canem pavō amat Subject? Direct object? Who loves whom?

Nominative & Accusative • Mars Venerem amat. Subject? Direct object? Who loves whom? • Martem Venus amat. Subject? Direct object? Who loves whom?

Ablative case • For now, the ablative is used as the object of the preposition “in”, meaning “in” or “on” • Ablative endings: 1 st Decl 2 nd Decl 3 rd Decl -ā ō e • In culīnā, in terrā, in mēnsā • In atriō, in caelō, in lectō • In cane, in mercatore, in urbe

• • NOM: GEN ACC ABL Ancillae Ancillam Ancillā cibus cibī cibum cibō vinum mercator vinī mercatoris vinum mercatorem vinō mercatore

Word order and the accusative case.

Model Sentences

Discussion of the Grammar of Stage 2