First declension nouns
Nouns are divided into groups called declensions
. Nouns that end in ‘a’ belong to the first declension. They are mostly feminine.
The first part of a noun stays the same, but endings are added to give different meanings:
| Singular |
Meaning |
Plural |
| carta |
charter(s)
Subject of the sentence: A charter costs 2 pounds. |
carte |
| carta |
Oh charter(s)! |
carte |
| cartam |
charter(s)
Object of the sentence: The king grants the charter. |
cartas |
| carte |
of the charter(s)
The seal of the charter is broken. |
cartarum |
| carte |
to or for the charter(s)
They refer to the charters. |
cartis |
| carta |
by, with or from the charter(s)
He claims the land by a charter. |
cartis |
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The ending of a noun is crucial, as it tells you
- whether the noun is singular or plural
- what role the noun is playing in the sentence
Read through carta again. Can you see that some endings are the same, but have different meanings?
For example, carte means
- Charters
- Of the charter
- To or for the charter
To decide which meaning is appropriate, read the rest of the sentence.
For example, if part of a sentence is ‘she asked the king’ and the remaining word is carte, the meaning of carte that would make sense is ‘for the charter’.
All first declension nouns take the same endings as carta except
| anima |
soul |
| filia |
daughter |
- filiabus means ‘to or for the daughters’ and ‘by, with or from the daughters’
- animabus means ‘to or for the souls’ and ‘by, with or from the souls’
A few first declension nouns are masculine. You are only likely to come across these three words:
| agricola |
farmer |
| papa |
pope |
| parsona |
parson |
You can see that a noun has six different meanings, each relating to a case.
Each case has a singular and a plural ending.
To decline a noun means to list these cases.
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Introduction 
Tutorial
Lesson 1
Word list 
Grammar table
