Latin for Beginners · Lesson VII · Part 2: Nouns and adjectives of the first two declensions
7. The first declension; gender
Goal: Your child declines any noun in -a, separates the base from the ending, and knows that first-declension nouns are feminine unless they name a male.
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
The full first declension with domina, base and ending, and the three Latin genders. Then nine Latin sentences about a farmer and his daughter, seven English sentences, and questions to answer in Latin.
The lesson, step by step
Review
Say the five prepositions from Lesson VI and their meanings.
The first declension
Section 57: all nouns whose nominative singular ends in -a belong to the first declension. The table is the domina table you already know. The base is the part that does not change (domin-); the endings are added to it.
Gender
Latin nouns are masculine, feminine or neuter. First-declension nouns are feminine, except those that name males, like agricola (farmer) and nauta (sailor), which are masculine.
Vocabulary
From the special vocabulary for Lesson VII:
casa, cottage
cēna, dinner
gallīna, hen, chicken
īnsula, island
ubi, where
ad, to
habitat, he (she, it) lives
laudat, praises
parat, prepares
vocat, calls, invites
Latin to English
Exercise I. Two of the sentences:
Agricola cum fīliā in casā habitat.
Bona fīlia agricolae cēnam parat.
Your child reads each aloud before translating.
English to Latin
Exercise II, about where the farmer lives and his daughter's good dinner. Then answer the questions in section 63 in Latin.
Wrap up
Your child declines casa and īnsula aloud, singular and plural.
Afterwards
Decline one new noun from the vocabulary each day, aloud and in writing.
Answers to the book's problems
Exercise I: 1. The farmer lives in a cottage with his daughter. 2. The farmer's good daughter prepares dinner. 3. The dinner is pleasing to the farmer, and the farmer praises his good daughter. 4. Then the farmer's daughter calls the chickens to dinner. 5. The chickens love the farmer's daughter. 6. Bad daughters do not prepare good dinners. 7. The farmer's daughter is pleasing to the lady. 8. The lady lives on a large island. 9. The lady gives money to the good little girl.
Worked out for this site from the scan. If a number in your copy differs, trust the book.