1. Unit VIII: The Second DeclensionP

2. The Second Declension

3. Exemplum I: servus, servī, m. slave
Case
Singular
Plural
Nominative
servus
servī
Genitive
servōrum
Dative
servō
servīs
Accusative
servum
servōs
Ablative

4. Exemplum II: ager, agrī, m. field
Case
Singular
Plural
Nominative
ager
agrī
Genitive
agrōrum
Dative
agrō
agrīs
Accusative
agrum
agrōs
Ablative

5. Exemplum III: puer, puerī, m. boy
Case
Singular
Plural
Nominative
puer
puerī
Genitive
puerōrum
Dative
puerō
puerīs
Accusative
puerum
puerōs
Ablative

6. Study Helps
Nouns in –er in the second declension are rare, and vir is the only second declension noun that ends in –ir.
Some nouns whose nominative ends in –er keep the –e in cases other than the nominative singular; others do not. In the vocabulary form, the genitive will be given in such a way as to show whether the given noun retains or drops the –e.
English derivatives from these words can also serve as guides:
puerile (puer)
library (liber)
agriculture (ager)
magistrate (magister)

7. You try it! Decline and give English meanings on your white boards:
dominus, dominī, m. “master”
magister, magistrī, m. “teacher”

8. Cantemus!
Follow along with the Lyrical Latin song on the second declension.

9. Masculine Adjectives
When adjectives modify masculine nouns, they must have a masculine form.
The feminine nominative singular shows whether the –e has been retained or dropped:
pulcher, pulchra, masculine and feminine for beautiful
līber, libera, masculine and feminine for free
English derivatives can serve as guides to remember:
pulchritude (pulchr-)
liberty (liber-)
misery (miser-)

10. Masculine Adjectives (continued)
Masculine adjectives must be used with masculine nouns of the 1st declension: Poēta, Agricola, Incola, Nauta
Decline: a faithful slave (m.)
Case
Singular
Plural
Nominative
servus fīdus
the faithful slave
servī fīdī
the faithful slaves
Genitive
of the faithful slave
servōrum fīdōrum
of the faithful slaves
Dative
servō fīdō
to/for the faithful slave
servīs fīdīs
to/for the faithful slaves
Accusative
servum fīdum
the faithful slave D.O.
servōs fīdōs
the faithful slaves D.O.
Ablative
WFBI the faithful slave
WFBI the faithful slaves