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vīs and iter; gender in the third declension

Two irregular nouns, and rules of thumb for telling masculine, feminine and neuter.

LatinIntermediate Latin · The third declensionAbout 4 min: 2 reading, 2 practiceUpdated

After this lesson you can
  • Decline vīs and iter
  • Use the endings of the nominative to guess a noun's gender
  • Remember the common exceptions
Latin Level 2: verbs and the other declensions: lesson 22 of 35
  1. Intermediate Latin · Verbs: the present system
  2. sum: I am, I was, I shall be 3 min
  3. The present of amō and moneō 4 min
  4. The imperfect: was doing 4 min
  5. The future: will do 3 min
  6. The dative with adjectives 3 min
  7. The present of regō and audiō 4 min
  8. The imperfect of regō and audiō, and verbs that take the dative 3 min
  9. The future of regō and audiō 3 min
  10. capiō, and giving orders 3 min
  11. Intermediate Latin · The passive voice
  12. The passive: being done to 3 min
  13. The passive of regō, audiō and capiō; passive infinitives 3 min
  14. Synopses, and the ablative of "from" 3 min
  15. Intermediate Latin · The perfect tenses
  16. fuī, fueram, fuerō: the perfect tenses of sum 3 min
  17. The perfect active: did, have done 5 min
  18. Had done, will have done: pluperfect and future perfect active 3 min
  19. amātus sum: the perfect passive 4 min
  20. Principal parts, prepositions, and yes-or-no questions 5 min
  21. possum, "I can", and the infinitive 3 min
  22. Intermediate Latin · Pronouns
  23. quī, quae, quod: who, which, that 4 min
  24. Intermediate Latin · The third declension
  25. rēx, rēgis: the third declension 4 min
  26. hostis, urbs, mare: i-stems 4 min
  27. vīs and iter; gender in the third declension 4 min
  28. omnis, ācer, pār: third-declension adjectives 3 min
  29. Intermediate Latin · The fourth and fifth declensions
  30. manus, cornū: the fourth declension 3 min
  31. Rōmae, domī, Athēnīs: place and the locative 4 min
  32. diēs, rēs: the fifth declension and the ablative of time 3 min
  33. Intermediate Latin · Pronouns
  34. ego, tū, sē: personal and reflexive pronouns 4 min
  35. ipse, "himself", and īdem, "the same" 3 min
  36. hic, iste, ille: this and that 4 min
  37. aliquis, quīdam, quisque: someone, a certain, each 3 min
  38. Intermediate Latin · Comparison
  39. clārior, clārissimus: comparing adjectives 4 min
  40. melior, optimus: irregular comparison, plūs, and "by how much" 3 min
  41. clārē, fortiter: adverbs and their comparison 4 min
  42. Intermediate Latin · Numerals
  43. ūnus, duo, trēs: numerals, "of" the whole, and "for how long" 5 min
  44. Intermediate Latin · Deponent verbs
  45. hortor, sequor: deponent verbs 3 min

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Pairs with D'Ooge, Latin for Beginners (Ginn, 1909), Lesson XLIV ("Irregular Nouns of the Third Declension · Gender in the Third Declension"), §§ 246–248

What it is

Two irregular nouns:

Casevīs, f., forceiter, n., journey
Nom.vīsiter
Gen.(vīs)itineris
Acc.vimiter
Abl.vīitinere
Nom. pl.vīrēsitinera
Gen. pl.vīriumitinerum

(Datives: vī, vīribus; itinerī, itineribus.) In the plural vīrēs means "strength": summīs vīribus, with all their strength.

Gender. The third declension has all three genders, and there is no perfect rule, but the nominative is a strong hint:

GenderNominatives in … (examples)
Masculine-or, -ōs, -er, -es with gen. -itis (labor, pater, mīles)
Feminine-ō, -is, -x, -s after a consonant or a long vowel other than ō (legiō, nāvis, urbs)
Neuter-e, -al, -ar, -n, -ur, short -us, and caput (mare, animal, flūmen, tempus)

Nouns for males are masculine whatever their ending: rēx, king, is masculine although it ends in -x.

Exceptions to learn: arbor (tree) is feminine; iter is neuter; collis (hill), lapis (stone), mēnsis (month), ōrdō (row), pēs (foot), ignis (fire), and mōns, pōns, fōns, dēns (mountain, bridge, spring, tooth) are masculine.

Quick check

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  1. What gender is tempus, temporis?

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    neuter. Third-declension nouns in short -us (gen. -oris, -eris) are neuter: tempus, opus, corpus. Long -ūs (virtūs, salūs) is feminine.

Why it matters

An adjective has to agree in gender, so you need the gender to write magnum flūmen or magnus mōns. These rules get you most of the way.

Worked example

  • Iter est magnum. → The journey is great.
  • Mōns est magnus; urbs est parva. → The mountain is large; the city is small. (mōns masculine, urbs feminine)
  • Mīlitēs magnā vī oppidum oppugnant. → The soldiers attack the town with great force.

Common mistake

Treating -us in the third declension like -us in the second. Tempus, opus, corpus are neuter: magnum tempus, not wrong: magnus tempus. Check the genitive: -oris or -eris means third declension.

Key terms

vīs, vīs, f.
force; plural vīrēs, strength
iter, itineris, n.
journey, march, route
mōns, montis (-ium), m.
mountain
arbor, arboris, f.
tree
gender rule
the nominative ending gives a likely gender; learn the exceptions

Practise the key terms

Tap a card to turn it over. 5 cards.

FrontBack
vīs, vīs, f.force; plural vīrēs, strength
iter, itineris, n.journey, march, route
mōns, montis (-ium), m.mountain
arbor, arboris, f.tree
gender rulethe nominative ending gives a likely gender; learn the exceptions

Practice

Sort it

What gender is it?

  1. labor, labōris

    Show answer

    Masculine. -or: masculine.

  2. legiō, legiōnis

    Show answer

    Feminine. -ō: feminine.

  3. flūmen, flūminis

    Show answer

    Neuter. -n: neuter.

  4. urbs, urbis

    Show answer

    Feminine. -s after a consonant: feminine.

  5. mōns, montis

    Show answer

    Masculine. One of the four exceptions: mōns, pōns, fōns, dēns.

  6. arbor, arboris

    Show answer

    Feminine. Exception: arbor is feminine.

Quick quiz

Tap an answer to check it.

  1. Accusative singular of vīs

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    vim. vīs, vim, vī in the singular.

  2. "a large journey"

    Show answer

    magnum iter. iter is neuter: magnum.

Practise speaking

Studyfern has no voice tools of its own. To practise out loud, copy this prompt into a voice-capable AI assistant and talk with it.

You are a patient Latin tutor. Use the classical pronunciation only, never the Church one: c is always k, g is always hard, v sounds like w, ae like the ai in aisle, and long vowels are held longer. Speak slowly. Use only these Latin words: vīs, iter, mōns, arbor, urbs, flūmen, tempus, legiō, magnus, parvus. Give me a noun and an adjective in English (for example 'a large mountain', 'a small city', 'much time'), and I will say them in Latin, choosing the right gender for the adjective. Then ask me which gender rule I used. Do 8 phrases. After each answer, tell me what kind of mistake I made, if any, and let me try again, then tell me one thing to improve. Keep every reply under 2 sentences. If I need a name or a town, I will make one up. Speak English except for the Latin itself.

Listen too. Listen to native speakers before and after: see the free listening and shadowing links.

Good to know. AI feedback on pronunciation is hit and miss, so check yourself against native recordings. This course teaches the classical pronunciation (see lesson 1); AI voices may mix it with the Church (Italian-style) one, so ask for classical and check against lesson 1. Don't share personal details: use a made-up name and town.

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In short

  • vīs: vīs, vim, vī; plural vīrēs, vīrium (strength).
  • iter, itineris, n.
  • Masc.: -or, -ōs, -er, -es (-itis). Fem.: -ō, -is, -x, -s. Neut.: -e, -al, -ar, -n, -ur, short -us.
  • Males are masculine; learn the listed exceptions.

Mastery check

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  1. Give the ablative singular of iter.

    Show answer

    itinere.

  2. What gender is nāvis, and why?

    Show answer

    Feminine: nouns in -is are usually feminine (exceptions include collis, lapis, mēnsis, ignis).

  3. What does vīrēs mean?

    Show answer

    Strength (the plural of vīs).

Further reading

  • D'Ooge, Latin for Beginners, Lesson XLIV, §§ 246–248. Public domain; Project Gutenberg.