In the twelfth class of the Latin from Scratch course, we’ll study the adjectives of the third declension. After studying the third declension (nouns), now we’ll finish the whole thing by studying these other adjectives, different from the 2-1-2 we already know.
I explain everything in the following video (⏳ 11m 38s ⌛):
BUY THE COURSE for full access, including:
📺 videos with analysis-translation 🔍 support 👨🏫 no ads anywhere 🛑
Morphology of the 3rd declension adjectives
We find three types of 3rd declension adjectives, according to their statement:
- 3 endings (e.g. celer, celeris, celere)
- 2 endings (e.g. omnis, omne)
- 1 ending (e.g. vetus, veteris)
3 endings
The statement consists of the nominative singular of all three genders: celer, celeris, celere.
All of them are i-stem. However, do notice that the masculine and feminine are different in the nominative-vocative singular. The ablative singular does end in ‑i.
Masculine sing. | Feminine sing. | Neuter sing. | Masculine plural | Feminine plural | Neuter plural | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
celer | celeris | celere | celerēs | celerēs | celeriă | |
celer | celeris | celere | celerēs | celerēs | celeriă | |
celerem | celerem | celere | celerēs | celerēs | celeriă | |
celeris | celeris | celeris | celerium | celerium | celerium | |
celeri | celeri | celeri | celeribus | celeribus | celeribus | |
celeri | celeri | celeri | celeribus | celeribus | celeribus |
2 endings
They are i-stem as well. The statement consists of the nominative singular masculine-feminine and the one neuter: fortis, forte.
Masculine-feminine singular | Neuter singular | Masculine-feminine plural | Neuter plural | |
---|---|---|---|---|
omnis | omne | omnēs | omniă | |
omnis | omne | omnēs | omniă | |
omnem | omne | omnēs | omniă | |
omnis | omnis | omnium | omnium | |
omni | omni | omnibus | omnibus | |
omni | omni | omnibus | omnibus |
1 ending
They’re the only ones which can be consonant- or i-stem.
These adjectives are called like this because the nominative singular is the same in all three genders. (However, some cases do have different endings between the masculine-feminine and the neuter: accusative singular, and nominative-accusative plural).
Despite being known as 1-ending adjectives, their statement has two forms, because the statement is like nouns: nominative and genitive singular. We know it is an adjective from its meaning.
One-ending adjectives can be either consonant- or i-stem. Most of them are i-stem. A small number is consonant-stem, among which the most frequent ones are vetus, veteris; pauper, pauperis; dives, divitis; princeps, principis.
consonant-stem
Masculine-feminine singular | Neuter singular | Masculine-feminine plural | Neuter plural | |
---|---|---|---|---|
vetus | vetus | veterēs | veteră | |
vetus | vetus | veterēs | veteră | |
veterem | vetus | veterēs | veteră | |
veteris | veteris | veterum | veterum | |
veteri | veteri | veteribus | veteribus | |
vetere | vetere | veteribus | veteribus |
i-stem
Masculine-feminine singular | Neuter singular | Masculine-feminine plural | Neuter plural | |
---|---|---|---|---|
prudens | prudens | prudentēs | prudentiă | |
prudens | prudens | prudentēs | prudentiă | |
prudentem | prudens | prudentēs | prudentiă | |
prudentis | prudentis | prudentium | prudentium | |
prudenti | prudenti | prudentibus | prudentibus | |
prudenti (-e) | prudenti (-e) | prudentibus | prudentibus |
Now we know most of the third declension, which will allow us to face most nouns and adjectives in any text.
Join the Latin from scratch course!


Theory without practice is absolutely useless!
With a one-time payment you'll have the full course forever, with all the theory explained in video (no dirty YouTube ads) and, most importantly, dozens of hours of practice analyzed and explained step by step by me on the screen. Join now!