Genitive of Possession: The Genitive case shows possession. In English, Possession is shown by “of” or an apostrophe.
English examples:
- the writer’s music = the music of the writer
- the writers’ music = the music of the writers
- the student’s books = the books of the student
- the students’ books = the books of the students
- the man’s shirt = the shirt of the man
- the men’s shirts = the shirts of the men
| 1st Declension | 2nd Declension | 3rd Declension | ||||
| Sing | Pl | Sing | Pl | Sing | Pl | |
| Genitive Case Endings: | -ae | -arum | -i | -orum | -is | -um (-ium) |
Latin: Latin shows possession by using the genitive case. The owner or possessor is in the genitive case. The genitive generally follows the word it goes with. However, to avoid confusion, do not put the genitive between two nouns.
Latin Examples: Sometimes the genitive may be before the noun and sometimes after the noun.
- princeps urbis = the prince of the city, the city’s prince
- mater Horatiae = the mother of Horatia, Horatia’s mother
- ager Flacci = the field of Flaccus = Flaccus’ field
- canes puerorum = the dogs of the boys, the boys’ dogs
- Specto hortum puellarum = I see the garden of the girls., I see the girls’ garden.
- silla magistri = the teacher’s seat, the seat of the teacher.
- terra regum = the land of the kings, the kings’ land
- Laudamus equos virorum = We praise the men’s horses.
General rule:
- If the genitive noun ends in -arum or -orum or um, use an s apostrophe (s’)
- If the genitive noun ends in -i or -ae or is, use an apostrophe s (‘s)
Partitive Genitive: The genitive is used for phrases where only part of the whole is mentioned: Many of the men, all of the Trojans, a few of the women. These use the preposition “of” but do not show possession. They usually involve some sort of quantity. These take the genitive case.
E.G.: multi virorum, omnes troianorum, paucae feminarum.
Adverbs: Adverbs are formed various ways in Latin.
For “malus” type adjectives: change us to e
malus male (badly)
territus territe (frighteningly)
miser misere (miserably)
iratus irate (angrily)
laetus laete (happily)
fessus fesse (tiredly)
From 3rd declension adjectives: add iter or ter to the base:
fortis fortiter (bravely)
celer celeriter (swift)
diligens diligenter (diligently)
BUT: The adverb of 3rd declension adjectives may also be the same as the neuter: forte, celere, incolume
Other adverbs must be memorized: Sic, bene, huc, hic, iterum, diu, statim, iam, saepe, tandem. subito
