Chapter 1A: Noun Declension Tables

This chapter presents complete declension paradigms for nouns in each language.

English

English nouns have very limited inflection compared to other languages in this guide.

Regular Noun: king

Only the genitive shows a distinct form. The apostrophe represents a missing letter — the e from the Old English genitive ending -es (see Chapter 1).

Irregular Plurals

Some English nouns form plurals irregularly:

Pronoun Declension (Preserves More Cases)

English pronouns retain more case distinctions than nouns:

Note: Who/whom preserves the nominative/accusative distinction: Who saw him? (nominative) vs. Whom did he see? (accusative).

French

French nouns do not decline for case. They change only for number (singular/plural). Case relationships are shown through word order and prepositions.

Regular Masculine Noun: livre (book)

Note: The noun form (livre/livres) stays the same; only the article/preposition changes.

Pronoun Declension (Preserves Case Distinctions)

French pronouns retain case distinctions that nouns have lost:

Stressed forms: Used after prepositions and for emphasis: moi, toi, lui, elle, nous, vous, eux, elles.

Regular Feminine Noun: table (table)

Plural Formation Patterns

Irregular Plurals

How French Shows Case Relationships

French uses prepositions and word order instead of case endings:

Spanish

Spanish nouns do not decline for case. They change only for number (singular/plural). Case relationships are shown through word order and prepositions.

Regular Masculine Noun: libro (book)

Note: The noun form (libro/libros) stays the same; only the article/preposition changes.

Regular Feminine Noun: mesa (table)

Pronoun Declension (Preserves Case Distinctions)

Spanish pronouns retain case distinctions that nouns have lost:

Note: Spanish has special “with me/you” forms: conmigo, contigo, consigo (with oneself).

Plural Formation Patterns

How Spanish Shows Case Relationships

Spanish uses prepositions and word order, plus the “personal a” for human direct objects:

German

German nouns decline for case (nominative, accusative, genitive, dative) and number. Case is marked primarily on articles and adjectives; most nouns show limited change.

Cases German lacks: - Vocative: German uses the nominative for direct address: Komm, Hund! (Come, dog!) - Ablative: German uses prepositions + dative or accusative: mit dem Hund (with the dog), von dem Hund (from the dog)

Masculine Noun: der Hund (the dog)

Feminine Noun: die Frau (the woman)

Neuter Noun: das Buch (the book)

Weak (N-declension) Masculine Nouns

Some masculine nouns add -n or -en in all cases except nominative singular:

Example: der Junge (the boy)

Common weak nouns: der Mensch (person), der Herr (gentleman), der Student (student), der Nachbar (neighbour).

German Plural Patterns

Article Declension Summary

Latin

Latin nouns decline for case (nominative, vocative, accusative, genitive, dative, ablative) and number. Latin has five declension patterns.

First Declension (mostly feminine)

Example: puella, puellae f. — girl

Masculine first declension: agricola (farmer), nauta (sailor), poēta (poet) decline the same way but are masculine.

Second Declension — Masculine in -us

Example: dominus, dominī m. — master, lord

Second Declension — Masculine in -er

Example: puer, puerī m. — boy

Note: Some -er nouns keep the e (puer, puerī); others lose it (ager, agrī — field).

Second Declension — Neuter

Example: bellum, bellī n. — war

Rule: Neuter nominative, vocative, and accusative are always identical. Neuter plural nominative/vocative/accusative always ends in -a.

Third Declension — Consonant Stems

Example: rēx, rēgis m. — king

Third Declension — I-Stems

Example: cīvis, cīvis c. — citizen

I-stem indicators: genitive plural -ium, sometimes accusative plural -īs.

Third Declension — Neuter

Example: corpus, corporis n. — body

Fourth Declension — Masculine/Feminine

Example: manus, manūs f. — hand

Fourth Declension — Neuter

Example: cornū, cornūs n. — horn

Fifth Declension

Example: rēs, reī f. — thing, matter

Other common fifth declension nouns: diēs, diēī m./f. (day), fidēs, fideī f. (faith), spēs, speī f. (hope).

Latin Case Endings Summary

Greek

Greek nouns decline for case (nominative, vocative, accusative, genitive, dative) and number. Greek has three main declension patterns.

Case Greek lacks: - Ablative: Greek merged ablative functions into the genitive (separation, source) and dative (instrument, means). Prepositions like ἀπό + genitive express “from”; ἐν or σύν + dative express “with/by means of.”

First Declension — Feminine in -η

Example: ψυχή, ψυχῆς (psychē) f. — soul

First Declension — Feminine in -α (long)

Example: χώρα, χώρας (chōra) f. — land, country

First Declension — Feminine in -α (short)

Example: θάλαττα, θαλάττης (thalatta) f. — sea

First Declension — Masculine

Example: νεανίας, νεανίου (neanias) m. — young man

Second Declension — Masculine

Example: λόγος, λόγου (logos) m. — word, reason

Second Declension — Neuter

Example: ἔργον, ἔργου (ergon) n. — work, deed

Third Declension — Consonant Stems (Labial)

Example: φύλαξ, φύλακος (phylax) m. — guard

Third Declension — Nasal Stems

Example: ποιμήν, ποιμένος (poimēn) m. — shepherd

Third Declension — Liquid Stems

Example: ῥήτωρ, ῥήτορος (rhētōr) m. — orator

Third Declension — Sigma Stems (Neuter)

Example: γένος, γένους (genos) n. — race, kind

Third Declension — Stems in -ευ-

Example: βασιλεύς, βασιλέως (basileus) m. — king

The Definite Article

Greek has a definite article that declines for gender, case, and number:

Note: Greek has no vocative form of the article. In direct address, the noun appears without an article or with ὦ: ὦ βασιλεῦ (O king!).

Comparison Across Languages

Case Systems Compared

How Each Language Shows “the king’s book”

Previous: Chapter 1: Nouns

Next: Chapter 3: Verbs