Latin Adjectives

Reminder about noun-adjective declensions:

First and Second Declension

Second Declension

pulcher, (beautiful)

Possessive Adjectives

my, our, thy, your, their

Comparative of Adjectives

The comparative is based on the third declension.

doctus, doctior, < doct *-yos (wise, wiser)

With a complement, the comparative is constructed with an ablative:

    doctior Petro (wiser than Peter)

or the more complex construction of comparative equality:

    tam doctus est quam Petrus (he is as wise as Peter)

and:

    doctior quam Petrus (wiser than Peter)

as well as:

    doctior quam puto (wiser than I think)

Superlative of Adjectives

Most adjectives from first or second declension:

    uast-issimus, f. uastissima (most vast, widest)

Many adjectives from second declension whose stem ends in a liquid:

    pulcher-rissima, m. pulcherrimus (most beautiful, most handsome)

Few irregular adjectives having an ancient form:

    max-imus, < *mag-simus (greatest)

Notes on the Superlative

1. The superlative’s complement is expressed in Latin either using the genitive:

    Romanorum prudentissimus (the most careful of Romans)

2. ...or the ablative:

    e Romanis prudentissimus (of [all] Romans, the most careful)

    and similarly, ...

    altissima arborum or altissima ex arboribus (the tallest of trees)

Pronoun-adjectives

alius, alius, aliud (one, another; others)

alter, altera, alterum (one of another, the other of the two; the second)

hic, hæc, hoc (this/these, here)

Final Notes on Adjectives in Latin

1. Adjectives are frequently used as nouns:

    boni (good people)
    bonum (good [the good that we do])
    bona (goods)

2. Some adjectives are accompanied by a complement whose case is appropriate to the meaning of each adjective:

    loco multis commodis prædito, præditus + abl. ([in] an area endowed with numerous advantages)

3. Sometimes, this complement is governed by a preposition:

    res ad uitam necessarias, (things indispensable to life)