Latin Nouns: Fifth Declension ē-stem

Endings for ē-stem Nouns

Masculine

Case Singular Plural
Nominative -ēs -ēs
Genitive -ēī -ērum
Dative -ēī -ēbus
Accusative -em -ēs
Vocative -ēbus
Ablative -ēs -ēs

Feminine

Case Singular Plural
Nominative -ēs -ēs
Genitive -eī -ērum
Dative -eī -ēbus
Accusative -em -ēs
Vocative -ēbus
Ablative -ēs -ēs

Examples

diēs, diēī (m), day
Case Singular Plural
nom. diēs diēs
gen. diēī diērum
dat. diēī diēbus
acc. diem diēs
voc. diēs diēs
abl. diē diēbus
rēs, rēī (f), thing
Case Singular Plural
nom. rēs rēs
gen. rēī rērum
dat. rēī rēbus
acc. rem rēs
voc. rēs rēs
abl. rē rēbus

Additional Notes

Gender Differences

The only difference between the masculine and feminine forms is the length of the “e” in the genitive and dative forms. In masculine nouns, the “e” is long.

Odds and Ends

  • Occasionally, fifth declension nouns can take the genitive and dative singular inflection of .
  • Most fifth declension nouns are usually abstract or collective in nature, so the plural is rarely used (like in fides (faith) or spes (hope)). Exceptions would be for more concrete words like dies and res.

Recommended Latin Grammar Reading