Thus, in the declension above, domin- is the base and -a is the termination of the nominative singular.

59. Write the declension of the following nouns, separating the base from the termination by a hyphen.  Also give them orally.

  pugna\, terra\, luna\, ancil’la\, coro’na\, in’sula\, silva\

60. Gender.  In English, names of living beings are either masculine or feminine, and names of things without life are neuter.  This is called natural gender\.  Yet in English there are some names of things to which we refer as if they were feminine; as, “Have you seen my yacht? _She_ is a beauty.”  And there are some names of living beings to which we refer as if they were neuter; as, “Is the baby here?  No, the nurse has taken _it_ home.”  Some words, then, have a gender quite apart from sex or real gender, and this is called grammatical gender\.

Latin, like English, has three genders.  Names of males are usually masculine and of females feminine, but names of things have grammatical gender and may be either masculine, feminine, or neuter.  Thus we have in Latin the three words, lapis\, _a stone_; rupes\, a cliff; and saxum\, _a rock_. Lapis\ is masculine, rupes\ _feminine_, and saxum\ neuter.  The gender can usually be determined by the ending of the word, and must always be learned, for without knowing the gender it is impossible to write correct Latin.

61. Gender of First-Declension Nouns.  Nouns of the first declension are feminine unless they denote males.  Thus silva\ is feminine, but nauta\, sailor, and agricola\, _farmer_, are masculine.

62. EXERCISES

First learn the special vocabulary, p. 284.

I. 1.  Agricola cum filia in casa habitat. 2.  Bona filia agricolae cenam parat. 3.  Cena est grata agricolae[1] et agricola bonam filiam laudat. 4.  Deinde filia agricolae gallinas ad cenam vocat. 5.  Gallinae filiam agricolae amant. 6.  Malae filiae bonas cenas non parant. 7.  Filia agricolae est grata dominae. 8.  Domina in insula magna habitat. 9.  Domina bonae puellae parvae pecuniam dat.

II. 1.  Where does the farmer live? 2.  The farmer lives in the small cottage. 3.  Who lives with the farmer? 4. (His) little daughter lives with the farmer. 5. (His) daughter is getting (parat) a good dinner for the farmer. 6.  The farmer praises the good dinner. 7.  The daughter’s good dinner is pleasing to the farmer.

    [Footnote 1:  Note that the relation expressed by the dative case
    covers that to which a feeling is directed. (Cf.  Sec. 43.)]

  [Illustration]

What Latin words are suggested by this picture?

63. CONVERSATION

Answer the questions in Latin.

1.  Quis cum agricola in casa habitat? 2.  Quid bona filia agricolae parat? 3.  Quem agricola laudat? 4.  Vocatne filia agricolae gallinas ad cenam? 5.  Cuius filia est grata dominae? 6.  Cui domina pecuniam dat?

LESSON VIII