The first declension
Use a complete noun pattern without confusing declension with gender.
Build the idea, then use it.
A declension is a reusable map of noun endings. One dictionary entry gives you the information needed to follow the whole pattern.
The first declension
The dictionary entry puella, puellae f. identifies a first-declension noun. Its endings mark nominative, accusative, genitive, dative, and ablative relationships. Most first-declension nouns are feminine, but agricola and poēta show that pattern and gender are not identical.
A dictionary entry gives a noun’s working address
Latin dictionaries normally list the nominative singular, genitive singular, and gender: puella, puellae f. The genitive -ae identifies the first declension, while removing that ending gives the stem puell-. Add the case ending needed for the sentence. Learning only the nominative hides the information required to recognize other forms.
The singular first-declension endings are -a, -ae, -ae, -am, -ā for nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, and ablative. The plural is -ae, -ārum, -īs, -ās, -īs. Some endings overlap, so a chart is a set of possible analyses rather than a translation machine. puellae may require the verb or construction to decide among three roles.
Gender is learned with the word, not guessed from -a
Most first-declension nouns are feminine, including puella, via, terra, and aqua. Words for occupations held by men, such as agricola ‘farmer,’ poēta ‘poet,’ nauta ‘sailor,’ and incola ‘inhabitant,’ can be masculine while keeping the same case endings. Declension classifies form; gender controls agreement with adjectives and pronouns.
Read agricola aquam portat. agricola is nominative singular despite its -a and is the subject. aquam is accusative singular and the object. Now change the sentence to agricolae aquam portant: the verb ending -nt supports agricolae as nominative plural, so ‘the farmers carry water.’ The unchanged vocabulary appears in a new grammatical configuration.
The first-declension map
The entry puella, puellae f. supplies the nominative, the genitive that identifies the stem and declension, and gender. Singular endings -a, -ae, -ae, -am, -ā mark nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, and ablative. Most first-declension nouns are feminine, but poēta and agricola are masculine: declension is a pattern, not a gender label.
Learn these five words in context.
Read them once now; the check will ask you to retrieve them.
- via
- road or way
- terra
- land or earth
- aqua
- water
- poēta
- poetMasculine despite its first-declension ending.
- agricola
- farmerMasculine despite its first-declension ending.
Poēta puellam laudat.
Poēta puellam laudat.
The poet praises the girl.
- 01
poēta is nominative and performs the action.
- 02
Its meaning tells you the noun is masculine; an -a ending is not proof of feminine gender.
- 03
puellam is accusative and receives the praise.
Source focusAllen and Greenough §§40–44+
Keep this citation attached to the lesson’s claims. Source, genre, date, and purpose determine what the evidence can responsibly support.