LINGVALATINA - Lingua Latina - Latin Language

[Tc Frorleivus Almus Ph]

LINGVALATINA - Yellow nouns!

Oh boy! Yellow nouns, the black- er, yellow sheep of the bunch! These nouns are yellow because their forms tend to be a little erratic in comparison to the blues and greens. They can be of any gender, and sometimes there isn't any real way to distinguish the gender just based on the word ending. Already disliking this, aren't you? They also don't have regular endings in case I, so when you look them up in dictionaries, you have to look for the case IV ending, as that will be what tells you how to conjugate them. It's hairy, I know, but we'll take it slow.

The first group we'll cover are nouns that may be either masculine or feminine (by that I mean nouns can be one gender separately, not common gender). The gender here doesn't change how you conjugate it, but it only determines what gender any adjective will be, etc. We'll do a few separately so you can see how it works. The first one is:

NOX, NOCTIS f. Night

The stem sounds familiar, doesn't it? ;3 Let's decline this and see just how yellow nouns function.

I. NOX | NOCTES
II. NOX | NOCTES
III. NOCTEM | NOCTES
IV. NOCTIS | NOCTVM
V. NOCTI | NOCTIBVS
VI. NOCTE | NOCTIBVS

See that? Now before this will make sense, I have to do a few others.

SOL, SOLIS m. Sun

I. SOL | SOLES
II. SOL | SOLES
III. SOLEM | SOLES
IV. SOLIS | SOLVM
V. SOLI | SOLIBVS
VI. SOLE | SOLIBVS

See how the stem doesn't have the -T- like NOX does? That's why IV is so important here. Whatever is yellow is what remains as the stem and the gender-colored part is what changes. Let's do another.

NIX, NIVIS f. Snow

I. NIX | NIVES
II. NIX | NIVES
III. NIVEM | NIVES
IV. NIVIS | NIVVM
V. NIVI | NIVIBVS
VI. NIVE | NIVIBVS

See better how it works? Even though it ends in -X like NOX, the stem has no C or T there, but a V. Again, case IV is what gives it away and that's why it's always included in the dictionaries. One last noun and we'll move on to the next group. But first, I have to give you a blue verb.

ÆQVO, ÆQVARE, ÆQVAVI, ÆQVATVS - to level; make equal

This particular form of yellow noun is derived from verbs. You are not required to remember how to do this; I am only explaining this so you know the reason these nouns act like this. You take the participle (the last principle part [ÆQVATVS]), remove -VS and add -IO. Thus, you'll have the yellow noun:

ÆQVATIO, ÆQVATIONIS f. Equation

Nouns ending in -IO are most of the time feminine. These are called "abstract nouns" because they are usually formed from verbs, just as the English "equate => equation" works. It declines just as the first three, but let's decline it anyway just to make sure there is no confusion as to how to do so.

I. ÆQVATIO | ÆQVATIONES
II. ÆQVATIO | ÆQVATIONES
III. ÆQVATIONEM | ÆQVATIONES
IV. ÆQVATIONIS | ÆQVATIONVM
V. ÆQVATIONI | ÆQVATIONIBVS
VI. ÆQVATIONE | ÆQVATIONIBVS

With the same participle stem (ÆQVAT-) you can remove -VS and stick on -OR to get what they call "nouns of agency". This just describes a person who engages in the verb. The meaning is a lot better explained when you see a noun of agency in action.

ÆQVATOR, ÆQVATORIS m. Equator; one who equates

These nouns are always masculine and conjugate like the first three, NOX, NIX and SOL. I'll
decline this for you anyway, just so there's no confusion.

I. ÆQVATOR | ÆQVATORES
II. ÆQVATOR | ÆQVATORES
III. ÆQVATOREM | ÆQVATORES
IV. ÆQVATORIS | ÆQVATORVM
V. ÆQVATORI | ÆQVATORIBVS
VI. ÆQVATORE | ÆQVATORIBVS

Another such deriviation is from this verb:

MONEO, MONERE, MONVI, MONITVS - To advise; warn

Remove -VS and add -OR to the participle stem to get this noun.

MONITOR, MONITORIS m. Advisor

See that? This process is how English words like "doctor", "advisor", "monitor" and the like are made. There are other nouns formed by methods similar to this that involve adjectives, but some involve orange adjectives, which we haven't covered yet. Words of this nature are:

LIBERTAS, LIBERTATIS f. Freedom; liberty

This from the word LIBER, free. You take the stem, and since it's a strong green adjective, the stem is LIBER-. From there, you just add -TAS. These nouns are almost always feminine. This conjugates just like NOX, but just to make absolutely sure you remain unconfused, we'll decline this too.

I. LIBERTAS | LIBERTATES
II. LIBERTAS | LIBERTATES
III. LIBERTATEM | LIBERTATES
IV. LIBERTATIS | LIBERTATVM
V. LIBERTATI | LIBERTATIBVS
VI. LIBERTATE | LIBERTATIBVS

Hopefully you're starting to see how the yellows function. It's not case I you look at when you go to conjugate it, but case IV. Use the stem that you see there and put the ending on that.
The final type of masculine/feminine yellow nouns are also abstract and act just the same as the other abstract nouns, but they have a different ending and come out of green adjectives instead of verbs. This ending is -(I)TVDO. From MVLTVS, for example, take the stem (MVLT-) and add the ending. We'll arrive at this noun:

MVLTITVDO, MVLTITVDINIS f. Great number; crowd

I won't decline this one; I'm confident that by now, you can tell how to do it. These types of nouns are almost always feminine as well. Don't worry about remember how to make these adjectives out of the stems of words and whatnot. That is only to illustrate the reason they act the way they do; later down the line, you may be able to see the deriviations by just looking. The point of the matter is that you should look for the case IV ending and make sure you conjugate with that as the stem.

Now, the next group are neuter yellow nouns. These have pretty irregular endings as well, but they conjugate ever-so-slightly different than the masculine and feminine nouns. First, I'm going to throw you for loopies by giving you a green noun.

TEMPVS, TEMPI m. Weather

This is actually a rather uncommon noun, but regardless, it'll show up in the dictionary, so we have to be careful of it. There's a yellow noun that looks strikingly similar to this that people get it confused with.

TEMPVS, TEMPORIS n. Time

I. TEMPVS | TEMPORA
II. TEMPVS | TEMPORA
III. TEMPVS | TEMPORA
IV. TEMPORIS | TEMPORVM
V. TEMPORI | TEMPORIBVS
VI. TEMPORE | TEMPORIBVS

Once again, the stem is very important. See how different it is from the green noun? So we know that if you say TEMPVM, we know you mean "weather", as the yellow noun for time is neuter and its case III is TEMPVS, not TEMPVM. Notice also, just like neuter green nouns, that cases I, II, and III are all the same for these as well? Patterns! One more.

RVS, RVRIS n. Country

I. RVS | RVRA
II. RVS | RVRA
III. RVS | RVRA
IV. RVRIS | RVRVM
V. RVRI | RVRIBVS
VI. RVRE | RVRIBVS
(VII. RVRI | RVRIBVS)

Of course, I had to give you this one because it has its VII irregular case. RVRI means "in the country".

The last group of nouns involves masculine nouns in which I and IV end the same way. There are literally only two nouns I can think of that fall into this category. The only particularity is that in this group, places where there is an -E- there is a tendency to write an -I- instead. I'll include those in parenthesis. First one:

HOSTIS, HOSTIS m. Enemy

I. HOSTIS | HOSTES (HOSTIS)
II. HOSTIS | HOSTES (HOSTIS)
III. HOSTEM (HOSTIM) | HOSTES (HOSTIS)
IV. HOSTIS | HOSTIVM
V. HOSTI | HOSTIBVS
VI. HOSTE (HOSTI) | HOSTIBVS

Weird, huh? That isn't a typo, by the way. IV plural of this word is indeed HOSTIVM, despite that you'd think it'd be HOSTVM. This can also get confusing, as almost every case can be HOSTIS, so context is really important when you see this word. The only other word that I can think of that acts like this is:

ANIMALIS, ANIMALIS m. Animal

It conjugates just the same as HOSTIS, complete with weird IV plural case and the mess of -I- vowels everywhere.

That about wraps up the yellow nouns. Next we'll be doing yellow verbs, which also have some pretty weird ways of conjugating. Geeeeet ready!  

[Tc Frorleivus Almus Ph]

LINGVALATINA - Yellow verbs!

We're getting into some gritty stuff, huh? These verbs are yellow because of their obnoxious tendency to be erratic and somewhat irregular. So they get the most obnoxious color I can think of. Bright, garish yellow. (No offense to those of you who like yellow.)

So, unlike the previous two verb lessons, this one will have parts, like the noun lessons usually do. There are certain types of yellow verbs that have particularities with the way they conjugate. The first group of yellow verbs act a lot (but not quite exactly) like blue verbs do, but with -ERE instead of -ARE. The first one we'll decline is one that I randomly like for no particular reason. I just like saying it.

COGNOSCO, COGNOSCERE, COGNOVI, COGNITVS - To become acquainted with; recognize

1. COGNOSCO | COGNOSCIMVS
2. COGNOSCIS | COGNOSCITIS
3. COGNOSCIT | COGNOSCVNT

Not too bad, right? Our thematic vowel changes from -E- to -I-, so you'll have to keep that in mind when you go to conjugate this verb. Next group!

This group of verbs conjugate just about identically, but there's one tiny little exception; the first person singular and the third person plural have an -I- there in the thematic position. It would be like the greens, if we keep that thematic vowel but change it to -I- when we conjugate. The verb I'll exemplify is actually a pretty useful verb that is used pretty often.

FACIO, FACERE, FECI, FACTVS - to do; make

1. FACIO | FACIMVS
2. FACIS | FACITIS
3. FACIT | FACIVNT

Just to make my previous explanation a little easier to follow. COGNOSCO, FACIO. COGNOSCVNT, FACIVNT. See that? There's an -I- there. You don't say COGNOSCIO or COGNOSCIVNT, nor do you say FACO or FACVNT. Keep a look out for that first part of the verb's principal parts in the dictionary; it'll be what tells you whether to keep that -I- or not.

Now there's one more, but it's not an entire group; this next verb is the only yellow one of its kind and can really throw you for loopies, so I'll conjugate it for you to clear it up.

FERO, FERRE, TVLI, LATVS - To bear; carry

1. FERO | FERIMVS
2. FERS | FERTIS
3. FERT | FERVNT

Yeah, you can see that handling that double -RR- might have been difficult to work out. You're probably also noticing that the third and fourth principal parts of this verb appear to be completely different words. Fear not; when we get into the other parts of the verb, we'll cover them. For now, pretend they don't exist.

Now let's practice using a few of these.
TE COGNOSCO. I know you. (Or: "I am acquainted with you." )
ME COGNOSCIS? Do you know me?

LABOR, LABORIS m. Work; labor
TVVS, TVA, TVVM - Your; yours

LABOREM TVVM NON FACIS. You're not doing your work.
ILLVD NON FERO. I'm not carrying that.

SVVS, SVA, SVVM - His/one's (own); [pl] their (own); theirs
EDO, EDERE, EDI, ESSVS - To eat

POMVM SVVM EDO. I'm eating his/her apple.
LABOREM SVVM NON FACIVNT. They're not doing their work.
CVIVS HOC POMVM? Whose apple (is) this?
(ID) EORVM. (It) (is) theirs. ("It is of them." )
* It isn't necessary to say ID, and (is) is implied; if it's obvious it doesn't need to be said. Regardless, we'll learn that verb later.

They key thing to remember with adjectives is that they have to match what they describe, not the subject. They do not always coincide. So SVVS, although masculine, can refer to either "his", "her(s)", "its" or "their(s)".

Have you got all this mumbo jumbo in your head? Once you've gotten that all done, then we'll mowsey on over to the next lesson. I hope you're still with me!