Nouns

First-Declension Nouns

Stems and Types of First-Declension Nouns

The first declension is also known as the vocalic declension, since it consists of nouns with a stem historically ending in an ā- and ō-sounds.

The following types of noun belong to the first declension:

  • strong: disyllabic nouns or nouns with a heavy penult;
  • weak: nouns with a light penult;
  • nouns in -oa.

Nouns in -a

Overview of forms:

strong cirya ship
sg pl
com. cirya ciryar
gen. I ciryo ciryaron
gen. II ciryava ciryaiva
dat. ciryan ciryain
instr. ciryanen ciryainen
loc. ciryasse ciryassen
abl. ciryallo ciryallon1
all. ciryanna ciryannar
weak telluma dome
sg pl
com. telluma tellumar
gen. I telluma tellumáron
gen. II tellumáva tellumaiva
dat. telluman tellumain
instr. tellumánen tellumainen
loc. tellumasse tellumassen
abl. tellumallo tellumallon
all. tellumanna tellumannar

A few nouns of the first declension, like erma matter, have historically ended in a short ă-sound. Those belong to the strong declension.

Note

Nouns having in the last syllable -ra use i-plural instead of r-plural: aura posession — aure possessions.2

Nouns in -o

Overview of forms:

strong ondo stone
sg pl
com. ondo ondor
gen. I ondo ondoron
gen. II ondova ondoiva
dat. ondon ondoin
instr. ondonen ondoinen
loc. ondosse ondossen
abl. ondollo ondollon
all. ondonna ondonnar
weak ontamo mason
sg pl
com. ontamo ontamor
gen. I ontamo ontamóron
gen. II ontamóva ontamoiva
dat. ontamon ontamoin
instr. ontamónen ontamoinen
loc. ontamosse ontamossen
abl. ontamollo ontamollon
all. ontamonna ontamonnar

Many male names and agental nouns with suffixes -mo, -ro belong to the weak declension3: Ulmo — Ulmóva.

Note

Nouns having in the last syllable -ro (especially unstable agental suffix) use i-plural instead of r-plural: nostaro parent — nostari parents.2

Nouns in -oa

Overview of forms:

coa house
sg pl
com. coa coar
gen. I cuo4 coaron
gen. II coava coaiva
dat. coan coain
instr. coanen coainen
loc. coasse coassen
abl. coallo coallon
all. coanna coannar

Second-Declension Nouns

Stems and Types of Second-Declension Nouns

The second declension is also known as the e-declension, since it consists of nouns with a stem historically ending in an ē-sound. It is perhaps the most common declension.

The following types of noun belong to the second declension:

  • strong nouns in -e: disyllabic or with a heavy penult;
  • strong nouns in -ye: disyllabic or with a heavy penult;
  • their weak variants with a light penult.

Nouns in -e

Overview of forms:

strong lasse leaf
sg pl
com. lasse lassi
gen. I lasseo lassion
gen. II lasseva lassíva
dat. lassen lassin
instr. lassenen lassínen
loc. lassesse lassissen5
abl. lassello lassillon
all. lassenna lassinnar
weak undume abyss
sg pl
com. undume undumi
gen. I undumèo6 undumion
gen. II unduméva undumíva
dat. undumen undumin
instr. unduménen undumínen
loc. undumesse undumissen
abl. undumello undumillon
all. undumenna unduminnar

Some nouns which have a diphthong in the root are weak: huine gloom — huinéva, etc.

In some texts forms like nasser natures, wenderon of maidens, lasseron of leaves can be found. Those are literary and largely out of use.

Note

Some nouns in -e irregularly decline like nouns in -ye, particularly those ending in -le, -ve and -tse: fintaler tricks, tyáver tastes, lotser flowers.

Nouns in -ye and -ie

Overview of forms:

strong selye daughter
sg pl
com. selye selyer
gen. I selyo7 selyeron
gen. II selyeva selyéva
dat. selyen selyéna8
instr. selyenen selyénen
loc. selyesse selyessen
abl. selyello selyellon
all. selyenna selyennar
weak tyalie mirth
sg pl
com. tyalie tyalier
gen. I tyalio9 tyaliéron
gen. II tyaliéva tyaliéva10
dat. tyalien tyaliéna
instr. tyaliénen tyaliénen10
loc. tyaliesse tyaliessen
abl. tyaliello tyaliellon
all. tyalienna tyaliennar

Disyllabic nouns in -ie are strong: tie path — tieva, etc.

Note

Abstract nouns can have epenthetic -n- in common, genitive-partitive and dative: márie happiness — máriéno, máriéna.

Third-Declension Nouns

Stems and Types of Third-Declension Nouns

The third declension is also known as the semivocalic declension, since it consists of nouns with a stem historically ending in short ĭ- and ŭ-sounds, syllabic or non-syllabic.

The following types of noun belong to the third declension:

  • nouns in -ë, which show -i- in inflection;
  • nouns in -ö, which show -u- in inflection;
  • their weak variants.

Nouns in -ë

Overview of forms:

strong súrë wind
sg pl
com. súrë súri
gen. I suryo súrion
gen. II súriva súríva
dat. suryen11 súrin
instr. súrinen súrínen
loc. súrisse súrissen
abl. súrillo súrillon
all. súrinna súrinnar
weak lindë song
sg pl
com. lindë lindi
gen. I lindio lindion
gen. II lindiva lindíva
dat. lindin lindína
instr. lindinen lindínen
loc. lindisse lindissen
abl. lindillo lindillon
all. lindinna lindinnar

Nouns in -ö

Overview of forms:

strong ruscö fox
sg pl
com. ruscö rusqui
gen. I rusquo rusquion
gen. II ruscuva rusquiva
dat. rusquen11 rusquin
instr. ruscunen rusquínen
loc. ruscusse ruscussen
abl. ruscullo ruscullon
all. ruscunna ruscunnar
weak luppö lump
sg pl
com. luppö luppuvi
gen. I luppuo luppuron
gen. II luppuva luppuiva
dat. luppun luppuin
instr. luppunen luppuinen
loc. luppusse luppussen
abl. luppullo luppullon
all. lupunna luppunnar

Note

Weak nouns might have plural forms of the first declension: macsö mire — macsor.

Warning

Words of this declension originally tend to be reanalyzed as belonging to the first and second declension respectively12: taurisse > tauresse, languen > langon. Use them consistently!

Fourth-Declension Nouns

Stems and Types of Fourth-Declension Nouns

The fourth declension is also known as the animate declension.

The following types of noun belong to the fourth declension:

  • masculine nouns in -u;
  • feminine nouns in -i.

Overview of forms:

masculine ainu angel
sg pl
com. ainu ainur
gen. I ainuo ainúron
gen. II ainúva ainuiva
dat. ainun ainuin
instr. ainúnen ainuinen
loc. ainusse ainussen
abl. ainullo ainullon
all. ainunna ainunnar
feminine tári queen
sg pl
com. tári tárir
gen. I tário tárion
gen. II táríva táríva
dat. tárin tárin13
instr. tárínen tárínen
loc. tárisse tárissen
abl. tárillo tárillon
all. tárinna tárinnar

Note

Nouns in -ru have i-plural: veru husband — veruvi, veruion.

Note

Some nouns in -i permit r-plural genitive: quendi woman — quendir, quendíron.

Fifth-Declension Nouns

Stems and Types of Fifth-Declension Nouns

All fifth-declension nouns have a stem ending in a consonant.

Although the endings used are generally the same throughout the entire declension (for exceptions, see the individual sections below), a number of different subtypes of the fifth declension are distinguished. The differences between these types largely depend on two factors:

  • (type of) the consonant in which the stem ends;
  • length of the vowel in the stem.

It is often impossible to derive the stem of a fifth-declension noun (and thus the exact pattern of that noun's declension) from the common singular alone: the genitive is required to determine which subtype the noun belongs to. Compare, for example:

n-base aran king
sg pl
com. aran arani
gen. I arano aranion
gen. II aranwa araníva
dat. aranen aranin
instr. aranwen aranínen
loc. aranesse aranissen
abl. aranello aranillon
all. aranna arannar
nd-base wilwarin butterfly
sg pl
com. wilwarin wilwarindi
gen. I wilwarindo wilwarindion
gen. II wilwarindua wilwarindíva
dat. wilwarinden wilwarindin
instr. wilwarindanen wilwarindínen
loc. wilwarindesse wilwarindissen
abl. wilwarindello wilwarindillon
all. wilwarindenna wilwarindinnar
nt-base oron mountain
sg pl
com. oron oronti
gen. I oronto orontion
gen. II orontua orontíva
dat. oronten orontin
instr. orontanen orontínen
loc. orontesse orontissen
abl. orontello orontillon
all. orontenna orontinnar

Overview of Bases

  • if common singular ends in -n, the base might be -nd-, -nt-, -ng-, -m-, -mb-;
  • if common singular ends in -s, the base might be -ss-, -st-, -cs-, -ts-, -ps-;
  • if common singular ends in -t, the base might be -c-, -p-, -ct-;
  • if common singular ends in -r, the base might be -rd, -rt;
  • if common singular ends in -l, the base might be -ld.

Note

In Late Quenya14 final -t became -s, and subtypes (2) and (3) merged into one large group.

Assimilated and Other Special Forms

Nouns with simple bases have some distinct endings in the singular:

  • bases on -m have genitive-adjective in -nwa, instrumental in -mnen;
  • bases on -n have genitive-adjective in -nwa, instrumental in -nwen, allative in -nna;
  • bases on -l have genitive-adjective in -lwa, instrumental in -lmen, ablative in -llo;
  • bases on -r have genitive-adjective in -rwa, instrumental in -rmen;
  • bases on -s have genitive-adjective in -rwa, instrumental in -rmen, locative in -sse;
  • bases on -t have instrumental in -twen.

In addition to those, for some old nouns it is possible to encounter similar forms in other cases, which are, however, rarely used in later speech:

  • in ablative:
    • bases on -n, -r and -s can have -llo;
    • bases on -m can have -lmo;
  • in locative:
    • bases on -l, -n and -r can have -lde, -nde and -rde;
    • bases on -l and -t can have -lse and -tse;
  • in allative:
    • bases on -l can have -lda.

Monosyllabic Nouns

Monosyllabic nouns belonging to fifth declension can be divided into groups:

  • strong nouns which keep long stem;
  • weak nouns which keep short stem;
  • mixed nouns which have long stem in common, but otherwise short.

Overview of forms:

strong mól slave
sg pl
com. mól móli
gen. I mólo mólion
gen. II mólua mólíva
dat. mólen mólin
instr. mólanen15 mólínen
loc. mólosse mólissen16
abl. mólollo mólillon
all. mólonna mólinnar
weak cas head
sg pl
com. cas cari
gen. I caro carion
gen. II carwa caríva
dat. caren carin
instr. carmen carínen
loc. carasse carissen
abl. carallo carillon
all. caranna carinnar
mixed tál foot
sg pl
com. tál tali
gen. I talo talion
gen. II talwa talíva
dat. talen talin
instr. talmen talínen
loc. talasse talissen
abl. talallo talillon
all. talanna talinnar

Warning

Nouns that appear monosyllabic in common singular might have a base with a cluster: nís woman — nissi, tol island — tolli. They follow the polysyllabic declension.

Note

Sometimes adverbial cases allow two forms: short assimilated (talse on foot) or long proper (talasse on foot). The former are crystalized adverbs, and the latter are typically used with a specific noun. The difference might be vague at times.

Sixth-Declension Nouns

Stems and Types of Sixth-Declension Nouns

All sixth-declension nouns are irregular vocalic nouns.

The first group includes monosyllabic nouns that have a stem ending in a vowel. These nouns decline as nouns of either first or fourth declension, but are often defective and extended to disyllabic forms.

fá17 breath
sg pl
com. fá fár
gen. I fáo fáron
gen. II fáva faiva
dat. fán fain
instr. fánen fainen
loc. fasse fassen
abl. fallo fallon
all. fanna fannar

The second group includes nouns that end in a consonant in common case, but decline as vocalic nouns.

Error

nóre declines as tál per PE17/106

nór18 land
sg pl
com. nór nóri
gen. I nóreo nórion
gen. II nóreva nóríva
dat. nóren nórin
instr. nórenen nórínen
loc. nóresse nórissen
abl. nórello nórillon
all. nórenna nórinnar

  1. With alternative euphonic variant -llor. This is applicable to ablative plural in general. ↩

  2. To avoid unpreferrable rVr sequence. Plural on -e is not controversial, appearing in [DN4], [DN5b], [DN5c], and generally agreeing with a behaviour of the final -ai in OP1 and plural adjectives. The situation with -oi is more obscure: [DN5] suggested -oi > -o, while [OP1] — -oi# > -ui# [PE19/66]. However, [PE19/63] indicates that -ui# > -ue, -uvi. Alternative of -oi# > -i# from [PE19/66] is also possible, thus making unstable -r(o) regular. The last choice is used here. ↩↩

  3. Such explanation for Ulmóva is given in [PE21/8]. ↩

  4. Supposedly, kawā-ō > kawō > köo > kuo. Alternative form có from kawā-ō > koa-ō > köo > kō has been proposed before, and both could coexist [PE21/40]. ↩

  5. Classically, lassessen, etc, as per PD. The change is first suggested in [DN5b], but supported by such later examples as lúmissen at times. ↩

  6. Alternatively, undumo. The position of the stress is debatable, but here I follow [PE21/41] and mark atypical stress with a grave accent. On undumo, cf [3]. ↩

  7. Considering AQ plural lassio (from a regular change ei-o > io), I assume in agreement with [PE21/7] a singular form lasso. It is expected that genitive-partitive -o was originally replacing final vowels of the first and second declensions (thus we don't see -uo in nouns on -o), similar to dual -u. From this perspective I find early forms of DN4 and DN5 on -yo and -io fitting LQ paradigm. ↩

  8. In DN6 we find plural dative on -ino. This form seems to be its suitable update, taking long dative into account. ↩

  9. tyalièo is attested in [PE17/72]. However, whether it was a fixed idea is debatable (particularly in having three vowels in hiatus, cf. the Note below), as well as what is its stress patern, is unclear. ↩

  10. Despite these plural forms being distinct in DN4 and DN5, iei > iai change seems to be solidly discarded, and syncretism is unavoidable. ↩↩

  11. Alternatively, súrin, ruscun, etc. Perhaps one of the most contentious positions of all the charts. On more detailed reasoning for this choice, see [TBD]. ↩↩

  12. First discussed in DN4, this is strongly supported by Tolkien's, most probably unintentional, change of historical forms: compare [PE21/76] and [PE17/92] for one instance. Instead of discarding semivocalic forms, here such instances are treated as later analogies and reinterpretations. ↩

  13. Alternatively, tárína, but the same form can be used in singular. A disambiguation with plural epenthetic -n (tárínan) seems possible [cf TBD]. ↩

  14. At least post-Exile, but perhaps even limited to Gondorian usage [cf TBD]. ↩

  15. Or molmen. ↩

  16. Originally molossen. However, it is possible that the same time lassessen > lassissen change happened, consonantal declension did so as well. Here done to bridge with DN4 forms. ↩

  17. Beside regular foa. ↩

  18. Beside regular nóre. ↩