Principal Parts

Principal parts are always the same, they are the written in this format. Nominative singular, then genitive singular followed by the gender. knowing principal parts is very important because it will tell you which declension a word belongs to, as well as how to decline it. You recognize a declension based on the second principal part, the genitive singular.

1st Declension

- The first Principal Part for this denclensions will always be -a
-The second Principal Part for this declension will always be -ae

e.g. puella, puellae f. - girl
femina, feminae f. - woman
villa, villae f. - house

2nd Declension

- The first Principal Part for this denclensions will always be -us, -r, or -um
-The second Principal Part for this declension will always be -i

e.g. puer, pueri m. - boy
hortus, horti m- garden
bellum, belli n. - war

3rd Declension

- The first Principal Part for this denclensions will always vary
-The second Principal Part for this declension will always be -is

e.g. pater, patris m. -father
phoenix, phoenicis f. - phoenix
nomen, nominis n. - name