ROM: Lesson - Adjective Agreement
Adjective Agreement
An adjective and noun must agree in gender, number and case. Will an adjective and a noun always have the same ending? Let's explore what noun-adjective agreement is to determine the answer to that question.
Review - Adjective Endings
The set of endings that an adjective uses is based on gender of the noun being described (agreed with):
- If the adjective describes a masculine noun, it uses 2nd declension masculine endings.
- If the adjective describes a feminine noun, it uses 1st declension endings.
- If the adjective describes a neuter noun, it uses 2nd declension neuter endings.
Let's consider the examples in the image:
- Nuntium laetum specto.
- Feminam laetam specto.
- Senatorem laetum specto.
Notice how the endings of the adjective change from laetum to laetam and back to laetum. Let's consider each example in more detail. Below is a chart containing all the forms of the adjective laetus, a, um. Use it to help determine the proper forms that were used.
| Case | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | |
| Nominative | laetus | laeti | laeta | laetae | laetum | laeta |
| Genitive | laeti | laetorum | laetae | laetarum | laeti | laetorum |
| Dative | laeto | laetis | laetae | laetis | laeto | laetis |
| Accusative | laetum | laetos | laetam | laetas | laetum | laeta |
| Ablative | laeto | laetis | laeta | laetis | laeto | laetis |
| Vocative | laete | laeti | laeta | laetae | laetum | laeta |
Nuntium Laetum - Happy Messenger
To pick the correct ending for the adjective laetum, we must know the gender, number and case of the noun nuntium. If you are unsure of the gender use a Latin dictionary to assist you.
- Gender - masculine - nuntium is a masculine noun (nuntius, nuntii, m. - messenger)
- Number - singular - nuntium is the singular form (one messenger)
- Case - accusative (direct object) - nuntium has the accusative singular ending and is functioning as the direct object.
Now find the adjective in the chart above that matches: masculine, singular, and accusative form: laetum.
Feminam Laetam - Happy Woman
To pick the correct ending for the adjective laetam, we must know the gender, number and case of the noun feminam. If you are unsure of the gender use a Latin dictionary to assist you.
- Gender - feminine - feminam is a feminine noun (femina, feminae, f. - woman)
- Number - singular - feminam is the singular form (one woman)
- Case - accusative (direct object) - feminam has the accusative singular ending and is functioning as the direct object.
Now find the adjective in the chart above that matches: feminine, singular, and accusative form: laetam.
Senatorem Laetum - Happy Senator
To pick the correct ending for the adjective laetus, we must know the gender, number and case of the noun senatorem. If you are unsure of the gender use a Latin dictionary to assist you.
- Gender - masculine - senatorem is a masculine (senator, senatoris, m. - senator)
- Number - singular - senatorem is the singular form (one senator)
- Case - accusative (direct object) - senatorem has the accusative singular ending and is functioning as the direct object.
Now find the adjective in the chart above that matches: masculine, singular, and accusative form: laetum.
At first glance you may be unsure of your answer since senatorem and laetum have different endings (-em and -um); however, this is correct. Remember that the noun and adjective must agree in gender, number and case. Here senatorem and laetum agree in gender, number and case.
Review
Do you remember the question from the beginning of this lesson? It was:
- Will an adjective always have the same ending as the noun it describes?
The answer: no! An adjective can use the same ending (and often will, especially if the noun is either 1st or 2nd declension), but it is not mandatory. Agreement is based on case, number and gender, not endings.
As we saw in our final example: senatorem laetum, there will be times when an adjective and noun agree in case, number and gender, but have different endings.
- agricola bonus - the good farmer
- agricola is 1st declension but is one of the masculine 1st declension nouns. So, the adjective that agrees with agricola must be masculine and therefore uses 2nd declension masculine endings.
- vir malus - the bad man
- even within the 2nd declension, you can have some differences. vir is the nominative singular form, using the -ir form. You do not change your adjective's nominative form to match, but instead use the provided form: malus.
- legionem magnam - the big legion
- 1st/2nd Declension Adjectives are allowed to agree with 3rd declension nouns! In fact, 1st/2nd declension adjectives can agree with any noun, so this is a clear example of the adjective agreeing with the noun in case, number and gender (feminine, accusative, singular), but not using the same ending.
Practice Activity
It's important to practice with adjective and noun agreement. Try the exercises below.