[STEMS IN -ā-.]
The First Declension.
Genitive singular -ae, genitive plural -ā-rum.
[432]. Stems in -ā- include substantives and adjectives; both substantives and adjectives are feminine.
[433]. Names of males are masculine ([405]): as, scrība, writer; also Hadria, the Adriatic, and rarely damma, deer, and talpa, mole.
[434]. The nominative of stems in -ā- ends in the shortened stem vowel -a.
[435]. Stems in -ā- are declined as follows:
| Example Stem | mēnsa, table, mēnsā-, F. | Stem and case endings | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | |||
| Nom. | mēnsa | table, a (or the) table | -a |
| Gen. | mēnsae | a table’s, of a table | -ae |
| Dat. | mēnsae | to or for a table | -ae |
| Acc. | mēnsam | a table | -am |
| Abl. | mēnsā | from, with, or by a table | -ā |
| Plural | |||
| Nom. | mēnsae | tables (or the) tables | -ae |
| Gen. | mēnsārum | tables’, of tables | -ārum |
| Dat. | mēnsīs | to or for tables | -īs |
| Acc. | mēnsās | tables | -ās |
| Abl. | mēnsīs | from, with, or by tables | -īs |
SINGULAR CASES.
[436]. -ā- of the stem was shortened in the nominative and accusative singular at an early period ([130], [132]). A few apparent examples of the nominative in -ā, found in the oldest writers, seem due to metrical causes: as, aquilā́ (Enn.). But -ā occurs in Greek proper names ([445]). A couple of old masculine nominatives in -ās are quoted ([422]): pāricīdās, murderer, and hosticapās, taker of enemies. In the accusative singular -ām occurs once: inimīcitiā́m (Enn.).