[92.] puer, m., boy ager, m., field vir, m., man
| Base puer- | Base agr- | Base vir- | ||
| Singular | TERMINATIONS | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nom. | puer | ager | vir | —— |
| Gen. | puerī | agrī | virī | -ī |
| Dat. | puerō | agrō | virō | -ō |
| Acc. | puerum | agrum | virum | -um |
| Abl. | puerō | agrō | virō | -ō |
| Plural | ||||
| Nom. | puerī | agrī | virī | -ī |
| Gen. | puerōrum | agrōrum | virōrum | -ōrum |
| Dat. | puerīs | agrīs | virīs | -īs |
| Acc. | puerōs | agrōs | virōs | -ōs |
| Abl. | puerīs | agrīs | virīs | -īs |
a. The vocative case of these words is like the nominative, following the general rule ([§ 74. a]).
b. The declension differs from that of servus only in the nominative and vocative singular.
c. Note that in puer the e remains all the way through, while in ager it is present only in the nominative. In puer the e belongs to the base, but in ager (base agr-) it does not, and was inserted in the nominative to make it easier to pronounce. Most words in -er are declined like ager. The genitive shows whether you are to follow puer or ager.
[93.] Masculine adjectives in -er of the second declension are declined like nouns in -er. A few of them are declined like puer, but most of them like ager. The feminine and neuter nominatives show which form to follow, thus,
| Masc. | Fem. | Neut. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| līber | lībera | līberum | (free) | is like puer |
| pulcher | pulchra | pulchrum | (pretty) | is like ager |
For the full declension in the three genders, see [§ 469]. b. c.
[94.] Decline together the words vir līber, terra lībera, frūmentum līberum, puer pulcher, puella pulchra, oppidum pulchrum
[95.] Italia1