Latin for Beginners · Lesson XII · Part 2: Nouns and adjectives of the first two declensions
12. Nouns in -ius and -ium
Goal: Your child declines fīlius and praesidium, including the short genitive (fīlī) and the vocative (fīlī, "O son").
You'll need
- The book, open to this lesson
- The special vocabulary page for this lesson (near the back of the book; the lesson tells you the page)
- A notebook for Latin, and a pencil
- Index cards for new words (optional)
What's in the book
Second-declension nouns in -ius and -ium shorten the genitive singular to -ī, and names in -ius (and fīlius) shorten the vocative too. Exercise phrases, then a short reading about Germany.
The lesson, step by step
Review
Decline nauta bonus.
The new idea
Nouns in -ius and -ium have a genitive singular in a single -ī: fīlius, genitive fīlī; praesidium, genitive praesidī. Names in -ius, and fīlius, have a vocative in -ī: Vergilī, "O Vergil"; fīlī, "O son". The plural is regular.
Say the forms
Decline fīlius and praesidium aloud from section 89. Then decline fluvius longus ("the long river") together.
Vocabulary
From the special vocabulary for Lesson XII:
fīlius, son
gladius, sword
proelium, battle
multus, much; plural, many
saepe, often
Exercise I
Translate the phrases in section 90, Exercise I. Watch for genitives and vocatives that look alike.
Read "Germania"
Read the short passage about Germany. It begins:
Germānia, patria Germānōrum, est clāra terra.
Translate it sentence by sentence.
Wrap up
Ask: how do you say "O son"? "of the son"? "the sons"?
Answers to the book's problems
The reading "Germania": Germany, the fatherland of the Germans, is a famous land. In Germany there are many rivers. The Rhine is a large and wide river of Germany. In the wide forests of Germany there are many wild beasts. Many Germans live in large towns and in small villages, and many are good farmers. The wars of the Germans are great and famous. The people of Germany love war and battles, and often fight with their neighbors. The river Rhine is near to many famous towns.
Worked out for this site from the scan. If a number in your copy differs, trust the book.