[ LESSON XLIV]
IRREGULAR NOUNS OF THE THIRD DECLENSION · GENDER IN THE THIRD DECLENSION
[246.] PARADIGMS
The “Stems” are missing in the printed book. They have been supplied from the inflectional table in the Appendix.
| vīs, f., force | iter, n., march | |
| Stems | vī- andvīri- | iter- and itiner- |
|---|---|---|
| Bases | v- and vīr- | iter- and itiner- |
| Singular | ||
| Nom. | vīs | iter |
| Gen. | vīs (rare) | itineris |
| Dat. | vī (rare) | itinerī |
| Acc. | vim | iter |
| Abl. | vī | itinere |
| Plural | ||
| Nom. | vīrēs | itinera |
| Gen. | vīrium | itinerum |
| Dat. | vīribus | itineribus |
| Acc. | vīrīs, or -ēs | itinera |
| Abl. | vīribus | itineribus |
[247.] There are no rules for gender in the third declension that do not present numerous exceptions.1 The following rules, however, are of great service, and should be thoroughly mastered:
1. Masculine are nouns in -or, -ōs, -er, -ĕs (gen. -itis).
a. arbor, tree, is feminine; and iter, march, is neuter.
2. Feminine are nouns in -ō, -is, -x, and in -s preceded by a consonant or by any long vowel but ō.
a. Masculine are collis (hill), lapis, mēnsis (month), ōrdō, pēs, and nouns in -nis and -guis—as ignis, sanguis (blood)—and the four monosyllables