Questions Addressed:

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Third declension is Latin’s “catch-all” category for nouns. Into it have been put all nouns whose bases end with consonants -- yep, any consonant! That makes third declension very different from first and second declension. First declension, as you’ll remember, is dominated by a-stem nouns like femina and cura. Second declension is dominated by o- or u-stem nouns like amicus or oculus. Because of those vowels, we are given a bit of consistency within those declensions… The same is not true of third declension where one form, the nominative singular, is affected by the fact that its ending -s runs into the wide variety of consonants found at the ends of the bases of third-declension nouns, and the collision of those consonants causes irregular forms to appear in the nominative singular. 

All the other case endings begin with vowels, and consonants-running-into-vowels does not create the same kind of problem that consonants-running-into-consonants does. 

Thus, after the nominative singular, third-declension forms are regular and predictable.(Yay!)

Let’s look at some patterns that are useful in helping you memorize irregular third declension nominative singular forms.

First Person

Sum: “I am”

Sumus: “We are”

Second Person 

Es: “You (s) are”

Estis: “Y’all are/You (p) are/ You all are”

Third Person

Est: “He, She, It is”

Sunt: “They are”

Now let’s look at the imperfect tense of sum. As with the present, the imperfect-tense forms of esse are irregular. They are:

Singular

Plural

First Person

Eram: “I was”

Eramus: “We were”

Second Person 

Eras: “You (s) were”

Eratis: “Y’all were/You (p) were/ You all were”

Third Person

Erat: “He, She, It was”

Erant: “They were”

Notice that all these forms have as a characteristic vowel the letter a. This is the same a that shows up in the -ba- endings of other imperfect verbs. And as with other imperfect verb forms in Latin, the imperfect of the verb “to be” carries the sense of unfinished, repeated, or habitual action in the past, producing the following translations: “I was,” “I used to be,” “I kept on being”; “you were,” “you used to be,” “you kept on being”, “he, she or it was,” … Pretty obvious. 

Now let’s look at the future tense of sum which is also irregular. Its forms are: 

First Person

Ero: “I will be”

Erimus: “We will be”

Second Person 

Eris: “You (s) will be”

Eritis: “Y’all will be/You (p) will be/ You all will be”

Third Person

Erit: “He/She/It will be”

Erunt: “They will be”

Notice that these forms share a characteristic letter i which is also seen in the -bi- of other future-tense forms. And notice that they also share the same irregularities. The characterizing i disappears in both -bo and ero, and it changes to u in the third person plural -bunt and erunt. Also, just like other future tense forms, the future of the verb “to be” carries the sense of action subsequent to the present: “I will be,” “you will be,” “he will be…” … crazy if we recite all of these forms.

First Person

Possum: I am able

Possumus: We are able

Second Person 

Potes: You are able

Potestis: Ya’ll are able

Third Person

Potest: He/She/It is able

Possunt:They are able

… and the infinitive: posse 

There’s one minor irregularity here which is really not an irregularity. When “t” runs into “s” in Latin, very often the t will change to an “s” and produce the geminate consonant cluster “ss.” So *pot-sum will turn into possum, *pot-sumus will turn into possumus, *pot-sunt will turn into possunt, and *pot-esse will contract down to posse. 

Here is the imperfect tense of possum. Let’s say these forms together:

First Person

Poteram: I was able

Poteramus: We were able

Second Person 

Poteras: You were able

Poteratis: Y'all were able

Third Person

Poterat: He/She/It was able

Poterant: They were able

As you can see, it’s a simple compound of the prefix pot- which means “able” attached onto the imperfect tense forms of the verb “to be.” This tense translates the same way all imperfect tenses translate in Latin: “I was able,” “I could”; “you were able,” “you could”; … and so on. 

Possum also has a future tense which is, as you can see, the expected combination of pot- + ero. Let’s recite this one together also:

First Person

Potero: I will be able

Poterimus: We will be able

Second Person 

Poteris: You will be able

Poteritis: Ya’ll will be able

Third Person

Poterit: He/She/It will be able

Poterunt:They will be able

Let know know if y'all have any questions, comments, concerns, et cetera!

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Avocado. The word avocado comes from the Nahuatl word ahuacatl, which means "testicle." This is because the avocado fruit is shaped like a testicle. The Nahuatl word was borrowed into Spanish as aguacate, and then into English as avocado.

Cappuccino. The word cappuccino comes from the Italian word cappuccio, which means "hood." This is because the foam on top of a cappuccino is said to resemble a monk's hood. The word cappuccino was first used in the early 1900s to describe a type of coffee drink that was made with espresso and steamed milk.

Disaster. The word disaster comes from the Italian word disastro, which means "ill star." The word disaster is a compound word, consisting of the Latin words dis (bad) and astrum (star). This is because a disaster was originally thought to be an event that was caused by an unfavorable alignment of the stars. The word disaster was first used in English in the early 1600s.

Handicap. The word handicap comes from the Old English word “handceaft”, which means "hand-craft." The word handicap is a compound word, consisting of the words hand (hand) and cap (to cover). This is because a handicap was originally a physical disability that prevented someone from doing something. The word handicap was first used in English in the 14th century.

Jeans. The word jeans comes from the Italian word genova, which means "Genoa." This is because jeans were originally made in Genoa, Italy. The word jeans was first used in English in the 16th century.

Salary. The word salary comes from the Latin word salarium, which means "salt money." This is because Roman soldiers were paid in salt. The word salary was first used in English in the 13th century.

Trivial. The word trivial comes from the Latin word trivium, which means "three roads." This is because a trivium was a place where three roads met, and it was often associated with unimportant things. The word trivial was first used in English in the 15th century.

Whiskey. The word whiskey comes from the Gaelic word uisce beatha, which means "water of life." This is because whiskey was originally thought to have medicinal properties. The word whiskey was first used in English in the 17th century.

Smorgasbord (from the Swedish word "smörgåsbord" meaning "bread and butter table"): This word refers to a buffet-style meal that typically features a variety of cold dishes, such as meats, cheeses, and salads. The word "smorgasbord" was first used in English in the early 1900s, and it quickly became popular as a way to describe a lavish feast.

Serf (from the Latin word "servus" meaning "slave"): This word refers to a person who is bound to the land and is not free to move about. Serfs were common in medieval Europe, and they were often treated as property by their landlords. The word "serf" is still used today, but it is typically used in a historical context.

Malaise (from the French word "malaise" meaning "illness"): This word refers to a general feeling of discomfort or unease. Malaise can be caused by a physical illness, but it can also be caused by emotional or psychological factors.

There are three important rules to remember: 

(1) the tense sign for the future tense is -bi- meaning “will”; 

(2) the tense sign for the imperfect tense is -ba- meaning “was” or “were,” “used to,” “kept on,” or “did”; 

(3) adjective endings are directional. 

The future tense indicates that the action of the verb will take place at some point after the present. The English future tense sign is “will.” “Shall” is no longer used. English inserts the future tense sign, “will,” between the personal pronoun, “I,” “you,” “he,” and the verb base. 

For example, “they will love,” “we will warn,” “I will be mistaken.” 

Latin does the same except that the verb base plus the thematic vowel precedes the personal ending:

Here are some examples of the future tense in Latin: 

Remember that the elements of a Latin verb come in the reverse order from English verbs. 

The Imperfect Tense

The Imperfect Tense in Latin signifies action that was not completed in the past or was repeated or habitual. As such, it best corresponds to English past tense forms like “was doing,” “used to do,” “kept on doing.” 

The simple past, “did,” is another translation but don’t use it for now. We’ll talk about that later. 

The imperfect tense sign in Latin is -ba- which is placed between the base/thematic vowel and the ending. Note that’s exactly the same position as the future tense sign, isn’t it? Here’s an example of an imperfect verb in Latin: 

vocabamus, “we were calling,” or “we used to call,” or “we kept on calling,” or the simple past, “we called,” but I’ve already warned you not to use that. Don’t do it! 

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Like many verbs that are very commonly used, the verb “to be” in Latin is irregular.

Its forms are: 

Singular              

1st) sum →  “I am”

2nd) sumus → “we are”

3rd) es → “you are”

2nd) est → “he, she, it is” or “there is”*

3rd) sunt → “they are”

*Example: “There is a book you should read,” 

If you look at this verb linguistically, the base of sum is es-. You can see this base in the forms es, est, estis and esse. 

However, there is a rule in Latin that(!!) 

Instead, with the verb “to be” two things are equated. For instance, when you say, “The man is a teacher,” you’re essentially saying “Man equals teacher.” So in place of an accusative direct object the Latin sum expects a nominative predicate. In this case the predicate is nominative because it is being equated with the subject which is nominative. So to go back to our example, “The man is a teacher,” “man” is the subject and “teacher” is the predicate. In Latin this sentence would be vir est magister, where vir is the nominative subject and magister is the nominative predicate. Predicates can be adjectives as well as nouns but in either instance the predicate is nominative. 

So one can say, puer est parvus “the boy is small,” or otium est malum, “leisure is evil,” or estis boni “y’all are good,” or if you translate the predicate as a substantive, what we studied before, an adjective functioning as a noun, you could translate it as, “y’all are good men,” or “good people” since masculine gender functions as common gender in Latin. Please note that predicate adjectives agree with the subject in number and gender as well as case whereas predicate nouns agree with the subject only in case because nouns have to maintain their own number and gender. Conversely, adjectives must agree with the noun they go with in number, gender and case.

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It is important to be aware of the etymological origins of these words. The roots of many hurtful words are in violence, anger, and contempt. This suggests that these words have been used for centuries to inflict pain and to dehumanize others.

We can all do our part to create a more empathetic and compassionate world by choosing our words carefully and avoiding hurtful and non-empathic language.

Abrasive

Tending to irritate or wear away

From Latin abradere, "to scrape away"

Callous

Unfeeling, insensitive, or hardened

From Latin callosus, "hardened, callous"

Cynical

Distrustful of human nature or institutions

From Greek kynikos, "doglike"

Demeaning

Degrading, humiliating, or causing loss of self-respect

From Old English dēman, "to judge"

Derogatory

Disparaging or belittling

From Latin derogare, "to take away"

Disdainful

Feeling or showing contempt or scorn

From Old French desdain, "contempt"

Insensitive

Lacking the ability to feel or understand the feelings of others

From Latin insensatus, "unfeeling"

Mean

Ill-natured, spiteful, or unkind

From Old English mægen, "might, strength"

Malicious

Having or showing a desire to do evil to others

From Latin malus, "bad"

Nasty

Offensive, unpleasant, or disagreeable

From Old English nǣstig, "filthy"

Obnoxious

Highly offensive or disagreeable

From Latin obnoxius, "exposed to danger"

Pitiless

Having or showing no pity or compassion

From Latin impius, "unholy"

Rude

Discourteous, impolite, or ill-mannered

From Old English rūþ, "rough, harsh"

Spiteful

Feeling or showing malice or ill will

From Old English spiþig, "sharp, piercing"

Stigmatize

To mark or brand as disgraceful or taboo

From Greek stigma, "mark, brand"

Vicious

Aggressively violent or harmful

From Latin vix, "force"