How to Learn Declensions in Latin

Unlike English, Latin declines its nouns--that is, nouns are "conjugated" according to the role they play in a sentence. The six Latin noun cases are: nominative (the subject of a sentence), genitive (describing possession), dative (usually indicating an indirect object), accusative (usually indicating a direct object), ablative (used for prepositional phrases and other constructions), and vocative (direct address). There are six different "declensions" in Latin: that is, six different types of nouns that are all declined differently according to set patterns. The steps below will teach you how to first identify the use of these cases and understand their grammatical functions, and then the process of memorizing the declensions and reading them in Latin sentences.

Steps

1. Begin by analyzing English sentences according to the grammatical function of each noun.
   1. In the sentence, "I sent the letter to my friend's house, in an envelope, Mom," for example, "I" is the equivalent of the Latin nominative, "letter" is the accusative, "friend" is the genitive, "house" is the dative, "envelope" is ablative, and "Mom" is the vocative.
   2. Understanding their grammatical functions will make learning noun declensions much easier.
2. Know that, hence, any Latin word has a stem and depending to its role an inflection (ending) will be added to it as,
   • Nominative and Vocative: first declension
   • Accusative: second declension
   • Genitive: third declension
   • Dative: forth declension
   • Ablative: fifth declension
3. Review some basic Latin sentences in a grammar book and find their English translations.
4. Identify the case of each noun and the role it plays in the sentence. •For example, the sentence "Amicus pueri puellam amat" translates as "The boy's friend loves the girl." "Amicus" is in the nominative, "pueri" is the genitive, and "puellam" is the accusative. Even without knowing any Latin, this will prepare you for learning how the cases interact with one another.
5. Start memorizing the noun declensions by learning the case endings of the first declension singular.
6. Repeat the sounds of each case ending aloud several times: "nominative--'a'," for example. When you have memorized the six singular case endings, move onto the plural.
7. Choose a random word in the first declension, like "fama."
8. On a blank piece of paper, write out the 12 ways in which it can be declined: six in the singular, six in the plural (for example: nominative singular: fama; nominative plural: famae; genitive singular: famae, etc.).
9. Repeat the previous steps for the second declension. •Remember to constantly say each case ending aloud so that your ear becomes used to the sound of the declensions.
10. Practice all the declensions you have already learned as you move ahead.
11. Write several different words out on blank pieces of paper in all possible declensions. •Use words that sound similar but are declined differently so that their contrasts stand out. A good example is "auris" (ear) and "aura" (gold).
12. Test yourself by taking a piece of paper with the case endings of a given declension and covering them with your hand; recite out loud the correct endings. •Next, do the opposite: look at the case endings and hide the name of the declension and case, and see if you can identify them.
13. Pay special attention to noun declensions that look similar but are distinct. •The second declension accusative singular, for example, is identical to the third declension genitive plural feminine.
14. Start analyzing Latin sentences once you have a decent grasp of the noun cases. Describe the case ending of each noun. •Parsing sentences will help reinforce your memorization and will highlight gaps in your knowledge.
15. Write out noun declensions every day as you continue to learn Latin. •Even as you move onto advanced reading, it is easy to forget many of the endings, and you may begin to run into trouble.

Tips

1. • Latin has not equivalent of English articles a, an, the. Declensions decide whether a word has got definite or indefinite sense.
   • Also, declensions in Latin, frequently eliminate need of many prepositions such as of, in, by, with, and so on. Usage of prepositions in place of declensions, and vice versa, should be studied deeply.
   • Everyone's mind works differently when it comes to learning noun declensions and analyzing sentences. If you learn best when listening, read everything aloud and practice telling yourself the case endings. If you are more visual, write out everything, and perhaps even assign different cases different shapes with which you can associate them in your mind.

Things You'll Need

1. • Latin grammar book
   • Basic texts in Latin