Compounds ending in dicus, saying, ficus, doing, and võlus, willing, are compared from the corresponding participles in ns: as, maledicus, slanderous; maledicentior, maledicentissimus. maleficus, mischievous; maleficentior, maleficentissimus. malevõlus, spiteful; malevolentior, malevolentissimus. Adjectives in us preceded by a vowel, are generally compared by means of the adverbs măgis, more, and maxime, most: as, ĭdōneus, fit; magis idoneus, maxime idoneus. II. The following are compared irregularly: bonus, mělior, optimus, good, better, best. nēquam (indecl.), nequior, nequissimus, worthless. frūgi (indecl.), frugālior, frugalissimus, discreet. III. The following comparatives and superlatives, denoting order in place or time, are formed from certain prepositions: [citra, this side] citĕrior, citimus, nearer, nearest. [intra, within] interior, intimus, inner, inmost. [post, after] posterior, postrēmus or postumus, latter, last. [prae, before] prior, prīmus, former, first. [prope, near] propior, proximus, nearer, next. [supra, above] superior, suprēmus or summus, higher, highest. [ultra, beyond] ulterior, ultimus, farther, farthest. The positives infĕrus, extĕrus, &c., are rarely used as adjectives. But the plurals exteri, foreigners; postěri, posterity; supĕri, the heavenly gods, and infĕri, those below, are common. From the nouns jŭvěnis, youth, senex, old man, are formed the comparatives jūnior, younger, senior, older. For the super lative the phrase minimus or maximus natu is used, the noun natu being often understood: as, maximus fratrum, the eldest of the brothers. senior fratrum would mean the elder of the two. IV. Some adjectives want the positive: as, dētĕrior, deterrimus, worse, worst. ōcior, ocissimus, swifter, swiftest. potior, potissimus, more, and most preferable. Some want the comparative: as, falsus, falsissimus, false, most false. inclĭtus (inclutus), inclitissimus, famous. nõvus, novissimus, new, newest or last (as in novissimum agmen, the rear-guard). pauper, pauperrimus, poor. săcer, sacerrimus, sacred. větus, veterrimus, old. Some want the superlative: as, ălăcer, alacrior, eager. ingens, ingentior, huge. Ŏpīmus, opimior, rich. V. 1. The Comparative often denotes a considerable or excessive degree of a quality: as, brevior, rather short; audacior, too bold. It is used instead of the superlative where only two are spoken of: as, mělior imperatorum, the best of the (two) commanders. 2. The comparative takes the ablative, or quam, than: as, tribus unciis altior est fratre (or quam frater), he is three inches taller than his brother. (See § 54, v.) 3. Comparison between adjectives is expressed by comparatives with quam: as, lātius quam altius est flūmen, the stream is rather broad than deep. 4. The Superlative (of eminence) often denotes a very high degree of a quality: as, maximus numerus, a very great number. 5. The superlative with quam indicates the very highest degree of a quality: as, quam plurimi, as many as possible. 1. Unus a um has genitive unius, dative uni (§ 16, I.). 2. Duo (also ambo, both) is thus declined: 3. Tres is declined regularly, like the plural of brevis (§ 16). The other cardinal numbers up to centum (100) are indeclinable. Mille is indeclinable as an adjective; but when several thousands are spoken of, the noun milia is used, declined like the plural of mare (§ 11, I.), the noun described being put in the genitive plural: as, cum decem milibus militum, with ten thousand men. 4. The numeral adverbs are: sěměl, once; bis, twice; těr, thrice; quǎtěr, four times. Those of higher numbers end in iens or iēs: as, quinquiens (or quinquies), decies, milies, &c. 1. As in the phrase singulas binis navibus obiciēbant, they matched the ships one against every two. Cæs. B.C., I. 58. 2. Instead of cardinals, when the noun is plural in form but singular in meaning: as, bina castra, two camps: (duo castra would mean two forts): but una castra, one camp. 3. In multiplication: as, bis bīna, twice two; quater septenis diebus; i.e., in four weeks. PRONOUNS. 19. PERSONAL AND REFLective. I. The personal pronouns ego, I, and tu, thou, are thus declined: : II. The personal pronouns of the first and second persons are used also reflectively as, ipse te laudās, you praise yourself. The reflective pronoun of the third person, himself, herself, themselves, is thus declined: G. sui D. sibi Ac. and Ab. sē, or sēsē It regularly refers to the subject of the sentence. III. The genitives nostrum, vestrum, are used partitively: as, unusquisque vestrum, each one of you; mei, tui, sui, nostri and vestri are used objectively: as, měmŏr sis nostri, be mindful of us. |