3RD DECLENSION

                                         CONSONANT - STEMS

                            The stem of gen. pl. ends in any consonant

                              (e. g. dolorum, pulmonum, thoracicum).

                                             I - STEMS

                             The stem of gen. pl. ends in the vowel i

                                (e. g. pelvium, aurium, animalium).

                                           Latin origin

                                           Latin origin

                                           Greek origin

                                              m. + f.

                                                n.

                                              m. + f.

                                                n.

                                                f.

                                                sg.

                                               dolor

                                              doloris

                                              dolorem

                                              dolore

                                                pl.

                                              dolores

                                              dolorum

                                              dolores

                                             doloribus

                                                sg.

                                              corpus

                                             corporis

                                              corpus

                                              corpore

                                                pl.

                                              corpora

                                             corporum

                                              corpora

                                            corporibus


                                                sg.

                                              pelvis

                                              pelvis

                                              pelvem

                                               pelve


                                                pl.

                                              pelves

                                              pelvium

                                              pelves

                                             pelvibus

                                                sg.

                                               rete

                                               retis

                                               rete

                                               reti

                                                pl.

                                               retia

                                              retium

                                               retia

                                              retibus

                                                sg.

                                               dosis

                                               dosis

                                               dosim

                                               dosi

                                                pl.

                                               doses

                                              dosium

                                               doses

                                              dosibus

These two paradigms differ only in akuz. sg. and nom., akuz. pl.:

dolorem X corpus (akuz. sg.)

dolores X corpora (nom., akuz. pl.)


Pelvis differs from dolor only in gen. pl.: dolorum X pelvium

Rete differs from corpus in abl. sg. (corpore X reti), nom. and akuz. pl. (corpora X retia) and
gen. pl. (corporum X retium)

Dosis must have -im in akuz. sg., -i in abl. sg. and -ium in gen. pl.

Greek nouns with the following endings in nom. sg. and gen. sg. are declined like dolor or corpus:

-itis, -itidis (encephalitis) → like dolor, they are always fem.

-er, -eris (ureter) → like dolor, they are always mask.

-ma, -matis (trauma), - oma, -omatis (carcinoma) → like corpus, they are always neut.


A noun is declined like pelvis in two cases:

1) There is the same number of syllables in nom. and gen. sg.: e.g. cutis, pubes, auris, avis, axis

2) There is a group of consonants before -is in gen. sg., e.g. pons, pont-is, mors, mort-is,
larynx, laryng-is, pars, part-is

A noun is declined like rete if it ends in -e, -ar or -al in nom. sg., e.g. cochlear, calcar,
animal

A noun is declined like dosis if it ends in -sis, -xis or -osis in nom. sg., e.g. basis,
prophylaxis,  narcosis

+ some words of Latin origin: tussis, pertusis, sitis, febris, tuberculosis