How do I know to which declension a Latin noun belongs?

Question

How can I tell which declension a Latin noun, like poeta or servus, belongs to?

Answer 1

You should use the second form of the dictionary entry (the genitive singular form) to tell you the declension, as the first form (the nominative) can look the same for several declensions.

1st declension genitive singular ends in -ae, like poeta, ae

2nd declension genitive singular ends in -i, like servus, i or baculum, i

3rd declension genitive singular ends in -is, like corpus, corporis or mater, matris

4th declension genitive singular ends in -us, like manus, us

5th declension genitive singular ends in -ei, like res, rei or dies, diei

Hope this helps!

Answer 2

By looking at the endings of most Latin nouns, you can determine to which noun family, or declension, it belongs. For example, the word 'poeta' clearly belongs to the first declension by its characteristic 'a' ending, while 'servus' belongs to second declension, according to its ending 'us'.