(1.) ENDING IN A VOWEL.
2437. In words of more than one syllable, final #a# and #e# are short;
final #o#, #u#, and #i#, are long: as,
(_a._) N. #aquila#; Pl. N. and Ac. #oppida#, #cētera#, #omnia#.
(_b._) N. #ille#; N. and Ac. #rēte#; #impūne# (701); V. #bone#; Ab.
#tempore#; Inf. #prōmere#; Imperat. #rege# (826); Pres. Ind. and
Imperat. #querere#; Perf. #rēxēre#.
(_c._) N. #sermō#; D. and Ab. #verbō#; #vērō# (704). #iō#. #regō#,
#erō#, #amābō#, #rēxerō# (826); #estō#.
(_d._) N. and Ac. #cornū# (587); D. and Ab. #metū# (590, 425, 593);
#diū#.
(_e._) G. #frūmentī#; V. #Vergilī# (459); G. #domī# (594); D. #nūllī#,
#orbī#; Ab. #sitī# (554). Imperat. #vestī# (845). Inf. #querī#,
#locārī#; Ind. Perf. #rēxī# (856), #rēxistī#.
[Erratum:
2437a ... #oppida#, #cētera#, #omnia#
omnīa]
Exceptions in #a#.
2438. (_a._) Final #a# is long in the ablative, in indeclinable words,
and in the imperative: as,
(_a._) Ab. #mēnsā# (426).
(_b._) #quadrāgintā#; many indeclinable words are ablatives: as,
#contrā#, #iūxtā#, (707). The indeclinable #heia#, #ita#, and #quia#
(701), have short #a#.
(_c._) Imperat. #locā# (845). But #puta#, _for instance_, has short #a#
(130, 4).
2439. (_b._) Final #a# is long in some Greek nominatives and vocatives:
as, N. #Ēlectrā#; V. #Aenēā#, #Pallā#.
[Erratum:
2438c ... But #puta#, _for instance_, has short #a# (130, 4).
short #a#.]
Exceptions in #e#.
2440. (_a._) Final #e# is long in cases of nouns with stems in #-ē-#
(596), in adverbs from stems in #-o-#, and in the imperative singular
active of verbs in #-ēre#: as,
(_a._) #diē# (G., D., or Ab.), #hodiē#, #prīdiē#; see also 603.
(_b._) #altē# (705); also #ferē#, #fermē# and #ohē# or #ōhē#; but #e# is
always short in #bene# and #male#; #īnferne# and #superne#.
(_c._) #docē# (845); for #cave#, see 130, 4.
2441. (_b._) Final #e# is long in the endings of some Greek nouns: as,
N. #crambē#, #Circē#; V. #Alcīdē#; Ne. Pl. N. and Ac. #cētē#, #melē#,
#pelagē#, #tempē#.
Exceptions in #o#.
2442. (_a._) Final #o# is short in the nominatives #ego#, #duo#. It is
sometimes shortened in #homo# (130, 3) and in the nominative of other
stems in #-n-# (484, 485): as, #mentio#, #Nāso#, #virgo#. #o# is
regularly short in #endo#, in the ablatives #cito# and #modo#, used as
adverbs, and in many other words in late poetry: as, #īlico#, #immo#,
#ergo#, #quando#, #octo#, &c.; very rarely in the ablative of the
gerund.
2443. (_b._) Before Ovid, #o# of the present indicative is regularly
long. It is shortened only in the following words (130, 3): in
volo, six times (Cat., 4 times; Hor., Prop.).
scio, twice (Verg.).
nescio, six times (Verg., twice; Hor., twice; Tib., Prop.);
and once each in #eo# and #veto# (Hor.), #dēsino# (Tib.), and #findo#
(Prop.). From Ovid on, short #o# is not uncommon.
Short #o# in other forms of the verb is rare: as, #dīxero# (Hor.);
#esto#, #ero#, #dabo# (Ov.); but #o# is always short in the imperative
#cedo#, _give_, _tell_.
Exceptions in #u#.
2444. Final #u# is short in #indu# and #noenu#.
Exceptions in #i#.
2445. (_a._) Final #i# is short in #nisi#, #quasi#, and #sīcuti#; also
in the endings of some Greek nouns: as N. and Ac. #sināpi#; V. #Pari#,
#Amarylli#; D. #Paridi#, #Minōidi#; Pl. D. #Trōasi#.
2446. (_b._) Final #i# is common in #mihī̆#, #tibī̆#, #sibī̆#; #ibī̆#,
#ubī̆# (129, 2).
[Errata:
2445a ... Final #i# is short in #nisi#, #quasi#, and #sīcuti#
_text unchanged, but form “sīcutī” with long ī occurs at least
twice in this book_]
(2.) ENDING IN A SINGLE CONSONANT NOT #s#.
2447. A final syllable ending in a single consonant not #s# has its
vowel short: as,
#dōnec#. #illud#. #animal# (536); #semel#. #agmen#. #calcar# (537);
#soror#, #stultior# (132). #moror#, #loquar#, #fatēbor# (132);
#regitur#, #regimur#, #reguntur#. #regit# (826); #amat#, #sciat#,
#pōnēbat#; #tinnit#, #possit#; #iacet#, #neget#, #esset# (132).
Exceptions.
2448. (_a._) The last vowel is long in #allēc#, and in compounds of
#pār#; in the contracted genitive plural of stems in #-u-#: as #currūm#;
in all cases of #illic# and #istic# except the nominative masculine, in
the adverbs #illūc# and #istūc#, and sometimes in #nihī̆l#. Also in the
endings of some Greek nouns: as, N. #āēr#, #aethēr#, #sīrēn#; Ac.
#Aenēān#.
2449. (_b._) In the short form of the genitive plural of stems in #-o-#
and #-ā-#, the vowel was originally long, but afterwards short: as,
#dīvŏ̄m# (462), #caelicolū̆m# (439).
2450. (_c._) The last vowel is long in #iīt# and #petiīt# and their
compounds.
(3.) ENDING IN #s#.
2451. Final syllables in #is# and #us# have the vowel short; those in
#as#, #es#, and #os#, have the vowel long: as,
(_a._) N. #lapis#, #fīnis#; G. #lapidis#, #fīnis#; #magis#. Indic. Pres.
#regis# (826); Fut. #eris# (851, 826), #eritis#, #locābis# (853, 826),
#locābitis#.
(_b._) N. #dominus#; #currus#; N. and Ac. #tempus#; #prius#; #rēgibus#;
#īmus#; #regimus#.
(_c._) #aetās#; Pl. Ac. #mēnsās# (424). Indic. Pres. #locās# (840); Imp.
#erās# (848); #regēbās# (847); Plup. #rēxerās# (880); Subj. Pres.
#regās#, #vestiās#, #doceās# (842).
(_d._) N. #hērēs#; #sēdēs#; #nūbēs#; #Cerēs#; #fidēs#; Pl. N. and Ac.
#rēgēs# (424); Indic. Pres. #docēs# (840); Fut. #regēs# (852); Subj.
Pres. #siēs# (841); #locēs# (843); Imp. #essēs# (850); #regerēs# (849);
Plup. #rēxissēs# (881).
(_e._) N. #custōs#; #arbōs#; Pl. Ac. #ventōs# (424).
Exceptions in #is#.
2452. (_a._) Final #is# has #ī# in all plural cases: as,
N. and Ac. #omnīs#; D. and Ab. #viīs#, #locīs# (108, _a_), #vōbīs#. Also
in the nominatives singular #Quirīs# and #Samnīs#, usually in #sanguī̆s#
(486), and twice in #pulvī̆s#.
2453. (_b._) Final #is# has #ī# in the second person singular of verbs
in #-īre#, in #māvīs#, in compounds of #sīs#, and in all present
subjunctives singular: as, #duīs#, #edīs#, #velīs#, #mālīs#, #nōlīs#.
For #-rī̆s# of the perfect subjunctive and the future perfect, see 877,
878, 883, 884.
Exceptions in #us#.
2454. #u# is long in the nominative singular of consonant stems with #ū#
before the final stem consonant: as, #tellūs#, stem #tellūr-#; #palūs#,
once #palus# (Hor.), stem #palūd-#; in the genitive singular and
nominative and accusative plural of nouns with stems in #-u-#: as,
#frūctūs#; and in the ending of some Greek names: as, N. #Panthūs#; G.
#Sapphūs#.
Exceptions in #as#.
2455. Final #as# has short #a# in #anas# and in the ending of some Greek
nouns: as, N. #Īlias#; Pl. Ac. #cratēras#.
Exceptions in #es#.
2456. Final #es# has short #e# in the nominative singular of stems in
#-d-# and #-t-# which have the genitive in #-idis#, #-itis#, and #-etis#
(475, 476): as, #praeses#, #teges#, #comes# (but #ē# in #abiēs#,
#ariēs#, and #pariēs#), also, in #penes#, in compounds of #es#, _thou
art_, and in the endings of some Greek nouns: as, N. #Cynosarges#; Pl.
N. #Arcades#, #cratēres#.
Exceptions in #os#.
2457. Final #os# has short #o# in the nominative of stems in #-o-#: as,
#servos#, #suos#, #Dēlos#; also in #compos#, #impos#, and #exos#; and in
the endings of some Greek nouns: as, N. and Ac. #epos#; G. #chlamydos#,
#Erīnyos#.