You have already learned several neuter nouns:
nōmen, nōminis n. name
flūmen, flūminis n. river
tempus, temporis n. time
atrium, atriī n. atrium, living room
bellum, bellī n. war
iter itineris n. journey
lītus, litoris n. shore
mare maris n. sea
baculum, bacculī n. stick
If you look closely, you should notice that some of these belong to the second declension (the ones which have genitives ending in -ī) and some belong to the third declension (the ones which have gentivies ending in -is). There are no neuter nouns in the first declension.
Neuter nouns have special rules that govern them.
The neuter law
1. Neuter nouns are the same in the nominative and accusative.
2. Neuter nouns end in a in the nominative and accusative plural.
Compare the regular and the neuter patterns for the two declensions:
|
|
2nd declension |
3rd declension |
||
|
|
m. |
n. |
m./f. |
n. |
|
Singular |
||||
|
Nom |
us/r |
um |
-- |
-- |
|
Gen |
ī |
ī |
is |
is |
|
Dat |
ō |
ō |
ī |
ī |
|
Acc |
um |
um |
em |
-- |
|
Abl |
ō |
ō |
e |
e |
|
|
Plural |
|||
|
Nom |
ī |
a |
ēs |
a |
|
Gen |
ōrum |
ōrum |
um |
um |
|
Dat |
īs |
īs |
ibus |
ibus |
|
Acc |
ōs |
a |
ēs |
a |
|
Abl |
īs |
īs |
ibus |
ibus |
Note that most of the endings are the same. The only differences are in the nominative and accusative, as dictated by the neuter law above. You do not need to memorize a whole new set of endings. Just learn the neuter law and apply it to the endings you already know!
Here are some examples of neuter nouns declined:
|
|
2nd declension |
3rd declension |
|
|
Singular |
|
|
Nom |
bellum |
nōmen |
|
Gen |
bellī |
nōminis |
|
Dat |
bellō |
nōminī |
|
Acc |
bellum |
nōmen |
|
Abl |
bellō |
nōmine |
|
|
Plural |
|
|
Nom |
bella |
nōmina |
|
Gen |
bellōrum |
nōminum |
|
Dat |
bellīs |
nōminibus |
|
Acc |
bella |
nōmina |
|
Abl |
bellīs |
nōminibus |