Salvēte, sodālēs.
Numbers are a bit weird. While adjectives like Graecus and parvus change their endings to match the nouns they are describing, numbers don’t always get it quite right. Here are how the numbers ūnus, duo and trēs change their endings with -a, -us/-r and -um nouns. When a number’s ending is not a perfect match, I’ll underline it and mark it with a 🏛.
ūna īnsula parva : one small island
duae īnsulae parvae : two small islands
trēs īnsulae parvae : three small islands 🏛
ūnus fluvius parvus : one small river or ūnus puer parvus : one small boy
duo fluviī parvī : two small rivers or duo puerī parvī : two small boys 🏛
trēs fluviī parvī : three small rivers or trēs puerī parvī : three small boys 🏛
ūnum oppidum parvum : one small town
duo oppida parva : two small towns 🏛
tria oppida parva : three small towns 🏛 (It almost matches, but be mindful of that extra -i-.)
All of this is outlined in Handy Latin Tables Pars Prima pages 8-12 (although it uses liber (book) instead of puer. (You may notice that liber looses an -e- when it becomes plural : liber becomes librī. Just ignore that for now).
from Handy Latin Tables Pars Prima pages 8-12
Speaking of numbers, the next few lines introduce an interesting idiom : Numerus servōrum est centum. If we think of servōrum here as meaning ‘of enslaved men’, then the meaning of this sentence should become clear. If somebody asks us Quot servī sunt? we can either answer Centum servī sunt. or Numerus servōrum est centum. Centum, you may remember, means one hundred (C).
From here the text declares Centum est magnus numerus. and Numerus servōrum est magnus. In the margin we are told that magnus numerus servōrum = multī servī. The opposite is also true : parvus numerus servōrum = paucī servī. It may be enough to make your head spin, but it will hopefully prepare you for today’s reading, Capitulum Secundum, lines 42-47.
Lingua Latīna Per Sē Illustrāta : Capitulum Secundum : lines 42-47. To be fair to the publisher, after Capitulum Secundum extracts will not be given - you will need a copy of the textbook of your own.
Satis est. See you back here tomorrow.