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Questions & Answers about Decima lectio incipit.
Why is decima ending in -a?
Because it agrees with lectio, which is a feminine singular noun.
Decima is the feminine nominative singular form of the ordinal adjective meaning tenth. Latin adjectives usually match the noun they describe in gender, number, and case.
So:
- decimus = masculine
- decima = feminine
- decimum = neuter
Since lectio is feminine, Latin uses decima lectio.
What case is decima lectio?
It is nominative singular.
That is because lectio is the subject of the sentence, and the subject of a finite verb is normally in the nominative case. Since decima describes lectio, it also appears in the nominative singular feminine.
So the structure is:
- decima lectio = the subject
- incipit = the verb
What kind of noun is lectio?
Lectio is a third-declension feminine noun.
Its basic dictionary form is:
- lectio, lectionis = lesson, reading
A learner may notice that the stem changes:
- nominative singular: lectio