Lesson 22: Block 2 Adjectives

Learning how to use Block 2 adjectives

Block 2 nouns, when listed in the dictionary will have one of 3 possible forms (look these up to see how they are listed in your Dictionary:

1. 3 endings:

   celer, celeris, celere - swift, fast

   pedester, pedestris, pedestre - on foot

   These are the maculine, feminine, and signular subject form, respectively.

2. 2 endings:

   dulcis, dulce - sweet

   grandis, grande - large, great

   The first is both maculine and feminine, the second is the neuter subject form.

3. 1 ending:

   audax (audacis) - bold, courageous

   potens (potentis) - powerful, strong

   The subject form is the same for masculine, feminine, and neuter (the second part just indicates that it is a Block II adjective).

Masculine and feminine adjectives of Block 2 (that is, those modifying masculine and femimine nouns) will follow the same endings as Block 2 nouns learned in Lesson 20:

Neuter adjectives reverse the plural endings that were used for the nouns:

Now go on to do Homework 20

N.B.

• Like the nouns, the adjectives must be formed by changing the -is ending one cannot work with the irregular subject form. Thus the reversed of audax (a brave man) is audaces (brave men).
• Adjectives must still agree with the noun they modofy. A sweet rose (nominative feminine) is "rosa dulcis"
• Adjectives can be used as nouns: if "memorabilis, memorabile" is an adjective (2 endings) meaning memorable, a memorable thing is "memorabile" and memorable things are "memorabilia"
• Remember that endings of plural, neuter Block II adjectives are reversed from the nouns: sweet hearts are "corda dolcia"
• The first kind of adjective (with 3 forms) is rare, the second (2 form) is the most common.

First Experience Latin - Fr. Reginald Foster

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