Dative Plurals

📚 Year 8 Latin ⏱️ 35 min 📊 Lesson 2
Learning Intention
Learn how to give things to MORE THAN ONE person in Latin
Success Competencies
1
I can recognise the plural dative ending (-īs)
2
I can tell the difference between giving to one person vs many people
3
I can translate sentences with dō, nārrō, and tollō using plural datives
4
I can use plural datives in my own Latin sentences

Last lesson, we learned how to give things to one person. Today, we're learning how to give things to many people!

The good news? The plural ending is the same for both 1st and 2nd declension words. Much simpler!

🎯 Recalling what we learned last lesson

Quick Recall: Singular Datives

Let's quickly remind ourselves of the singular dative endings we learned last time:

2nd Declension: -ō
dominō
to the master
1st Declension: -ae
puellae
to the girl
pater fīliō pecūniam dat
Click to reveal translation
māter puellae dōnum dat
Click to reveal translation
🎯 Building Competency 2: Spotting plural vs singular

Spotting the Difference

Look at these pairs of sentences. What's different?

Giving to ONE person:
pater fīliō cibum dat
Click to reveal translation
Giving to MANY people:
pater fīliīs cibum dat
Click to reveal translation
Giving to ONE person:
māter puellae aquam dat
Click to reveal translation
Giving to MANY people:
māter puellīs aquam dat
Click to reveal translation
What did you notice?
The plural datives all end in -īs!
fīliīs = to the sons
puellīs = to the girls
🎯 Building Competency 1: Recognising -īs endings

The Plural Dative Ending: -īs

Here's the great news: BOTH 1st and 2nd declension use the same ending for plural datives!

Plural Dative (1st & 2nd Declension): -īs
dominīs
to the masters
servīs
to the slaves
fīliīs
to the sons
amīcīs
to the friends
puellīs
to the girls
fīliīs
to the daughters
How to Form It:
Take the stem and add -īs
domin- + īs = dominīs
puell- + īs = puellīs
Singular
fīliō
to the son
puellae
to the girl
Plural
fīliīs
to the sons
puellīs
to the girls
🎯 Building Competency 3: Translating with dō and nārrō

Using dō (give) with Plurals

Let's practise using with plural datives. Remember: the pattern stays the same!

māter fīliīs cibum dat
Click to reveal translation
pater servīs pecūniam dat
Click to reveal translation
dominus amīcīs vīnum dat
Click to reveal translation
puella puellīs epistulās dat
Click to reveal translation

Using nārrō (tell) with Plurals

māter puellīs rem narrat
Click to reveal translation
amīcus dominīs fābulam narrat
Click to reveal translation
pater fīliīs rem narrat
Click to reveal translation
🎯 Building Competency 3: Understanding dative means "for" as well as "to"

New Verb: tollō (raise, lift up)

New Vocabulary
tollō, tollere raise, lift up
clāmōrem a shout (accusative)

This verb is special because it shows us that the dative doesn't always mean "to" - sometimes it means "for" or "in support of"!

Common Phrase:
clāmōrem tollō = I raise a shout
When you raise a shout FOR someone, you use the dative!
Example:
mīlitēs imperātōrī clāmōrem tollunt
Click to reveal translation

Notice how we translate this as "FOR the general" not "TO the general"? You don't raise a shout TO someone - you raise it FOR them, in their support!

cīvēs rēgī clāmōrem tollunt
Click to reveal translation
puellae dominō clāmōrem tollunt
Click to reveal translation
servī amīcīs clāmōrem tollunt
Click to reveal translation
Remember!
The dative case can mean:
TO someone (with dō, nārrō)
FOR someone (with tollō)

It shows who receives OR who benefits!
🎯 Building Competencies 2 & 3: Singular AND plural together

Mixing Singular and Plural

Now the real test: can you spot whether each sentence is giving to ONE person or MANY people?

pater fīliō pecūniam dat
Click to reveal translation
pater fīliīs pecūniam dat
Click to reveal translation
māter puellae rem narrat
Click to reveal translation
māter puellīs rem narrat
Click to reveal translation
mīlitēs imperātōrī clāmōrem tollunt
Click to reveal translation
servī dominīs clāmōrem tollunt
Click to reveal translation
dominus servō vīnum dat
Click to reveal translation
amīcus amīcīs fābulam narrat
Click to reveal translation
🎯 Building Competency 4: Using plural datives yourself
Practice: Translate into English

Click each sentence to reveal the translation.

1. māter fīliīs aquam dat.
The mother gives water to her sons.
2. servus dominō vīnum dat.
The slave gives wine to the master.
3. pater puellīs dōna dat.
The father gives gifts to the girls.
4. amīcus servīs rem narrat.
The friend tells the story to the slaves.
5. dominus fīliō pecūniam dat.
The master gives money to his son.
6. mīlitēs imperātōrī clāmōrem tollunt.
The soldiers raise a shout for the general.
7. puella amīcīs epistulās dat.
The girl gives letters to her friends.
8. cīvēs rēgī clāmōrem tollunt.
The citizens raise a shout for the king.
9. māter puellae fābulam narrat.
The mother tells the story to the girl.
10. servī dominīs clāmōrem tollunt.
The slaves raise a shout for the masters.
Practice: Translate into Latin

Click each sentence to reveal the Latin.

1. The slaves give wine to the master.
servī dominō vīnum dant.
2. The girl gives water to her friends.
puella amīcīs aquam dat.
3. The father tells the story to his son.
pater fīliō rem narrat.
4. The mother gives gifts to the daughters.
māter fīliīs dōna dat.
5. The soldiers raise a shout for the king.
mīlitēs rēgī clāmōrem tollunt.
6. The friend gives food to the girl.
amīcus puellae cibum dat.
7. The citizens raise a shout for the masters.
cīvēs dominīs clāmōrem tollunt.
8. The boys give letters to the slaves.
puerī servīs epistulās dant.
9. The master tells the story to the friends.
dominus amīcīs rem narrat.
10. The girls raise a shout for the general.
puellae imperātōrī clāmōrem tollunt.

✓ Lesson Complete!

Excellent work! You can now use both singular and plural datives. Remember: -īs works for BOTH 1st and 2nd declension plurals!