Identifying the Declension
To Identify the Declension, we always look at the second principal part of any noun. Knowing the principal parts of nouns become vital for learning to decline them correctly. The following are the endings endings needed to know to identify the declension.
1st Declension
- The first declension is classified by the -ae in the 2nd Principal Part
e.g. puella, puellae f. - girl
femina, feminae f. - woman
villa, villae f. - house
2nd Declension
- The second declension is classifed by the -i in the 2nd Princpal Parte.g. puer, pueri m. - boy
hortus, horti m- garden
bellum, belli n. - war
3rd Declension
-The third declension is classified by the -is in the 2nd Principal Part.e.g. pater, patris m. -father
phoenix, phoenicis f. - phoenix
nomen, nominis n. - name