Notice to be read (in case you didn't)
Ending of Piedmontese words
What happened at verbs
There are four conjugations, each one with three personal moods (Indicative, Subjunctive, Imperative), and four impersonal moods (Infinitive, Participle, Gerund, Supine). Transitive verbs can have active or passive form, while intransitive ones have only the active form. Some active verbs have the passive form with active meaning and are called deponent verbs.
The tenses of verbs, as already quickly mentioned above, can be all derived from three "stems", contained in the paradigm, which are:
- The stem of the present, or stem of the unfinished action:
Indicative present, imperfect, future
Subjunctive present, imperfect
Imperative present, future
Infinitive present
Gerund
- The stem of the perfect or stem of the finished action:
Indicative perfect, future perfect, past perfect
Subjunctive perfect, past perfect
Infinitive perfect
- The stem of the supine:
Infinitive future, perfect (passive)
Participle future, perfect
Supine
Only the passive voices of the second group of tenses and a part of the third group make use of the auxiliary verb esse (to be), while all the other voices do not use auxiliary verbs.
With respect this scheme, there are variations in the three derived languages under examination:
a) - In general in Italian and French verbs, it is still possible to find a stem of the present and a stem of the perfect, while the supine does not exist, even if the past participle has a stem derived from it. In Piedmontese verbs a stem of the perfect does not exist (or better, it exists but it is no more used), so the past (perfect) tense and the second pluperfect do not exist (are not in use), substituted by the present perfect.
b) - All the three languages have the use of two auxiliary verbs in the active coniugations that in this way have composite tenses. All the passive voices are composite by means of the use of the auxiliary verb essere, être, esse (to be)
c) - All the three languages have created a conditional mood, not present in Latin.
d) - In Italian and Piedmontese the conjugations have been reduced to three, while in French they are still four, even if the third (terminating in -oir) has a very limited number of verbs, and is not so related to the third Latin conjugation. Looking anyway at the ending of conjugation in the three languages (infinitive present), we notice that Piedmontese and French have terminations that are pronounced (excluding the third French conjugation) in the same way.
The evolution of the three languages, for these aspects, has been quite similar, with the exception of the deletion in Piedmontese of some past tenses (also in French these tenses are not so used), and of the French that maintained four conjugations, as above seen. Piedmontese verbs are more similar to the French ones than to Italian ones. In order to compare equivalent items, we will limit, in the following, our comparisons among the examined languge to the tenses derived from the stem of the present.
Then, if we consider a whatever latin verbal voice, we can subdivide it into three parts, whose the first is an invariant stem, the second is a temporal suffix and the last a personal desinence.
In the tenses of our interest, the stem is the theme of the verb, derived from the infinitive (stem of present), and the series of personal desinences should be invariant in the various tenses. We try to find trace of this mechanism in the observed derived language.
We have to introduce here a piedmontese particularity that is the verbal personal pronoun. It is a pronominal series, not present in the other languages, that is always associate to the verb as a subject, no matter if the official subject is explicitly expressed or it is implicit. We will see later this point, and here we report the verbal voices with this pronoun.
We consider first the conjugation of the verb lat. laudare, it. lodare, fr. louer, piem. laudé which are of the first conjugation in all the four languages.
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| Indicative Present |
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| Indicative Imperfect |
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| Indicative Future |
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| Sbjunctive Present |
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| Subjunctive Past (Imperf.) |
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| Conditional Present |
Not existing |
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What we can note is that:
Latin has very few exceptions to the scheme (three small exceptions on: 1^ pers. sing. of present, 1^ pers. sing. of future, 3^ pers. plur. of future)
Italian has many exceptions on desinences, but only one small exception on the temporal suffix.
French has even more exceptions on desinences and some more exceptions on temporal suffix.
Piedmontese has few exceptions on desinences and no exceptions on temporal suffix. In this sense is the closest to the latin scheme. It has anyway two big peculiarities (already mentioned) that are the verbal personal pronouns, and the absence of the perfect tense and composite derived tenses. This is an indication of an autonomous derivation from Latin.
Without writing again all the tenses in tables, we consider the other conjugations (second and third italian and piedmontese, corresponding to the fourth and second french). Besides we know that Latin continue to follow the previous scheme and we do not consider it any more.
On this purpose we take the verb it. rendere, fr. rendre, pm. rende, (to give back, to return, etc.) and the verb it. finire, fr. finir, pm. finì, (to finish, etc.)
For the first verb the fixed stem is rend in all the three languages:
In italian:
Indic. pres. : temp. suff. = " - ". Desinences = o, i, e, iamo, ete, ono
Indic. imperf. : temp. suff. = " ev ". Desinences = o, i, a, amo, ate, ano
Indic. fut. : temp. suff. = " er ". Desinences = ò, ai, à, emo, ete, anno
Subj. pres. : temp. suff. = " - ". Desinences = a, a, a, iamo, iate, ano
Subj. imperf. : temp. suff. = " ess (es for 2^plur.) ". Desinences = i, i, e, imo, te, ero
Condit. pres. : temp. suff. = " ere ". Desinences = i, sti, bbe, mmo, ste, bbero
With respect the considered scheme, there is one small exception in temporal suffixes, but many exceptions in the personal desinences, that have also some differences with respect the ones of the 1st conjugation.
In french:
Indic. pres. : temp. suff. = " - ". Desinences = s, s, -, ons, ez, ent
Indic. imperf. : temp. suff. = " ai (for sing.) , i (for plur.)". Desinences = s, s, t, ons, ez, ent
Indic. fut. : temp. suff. = " r ". Desinences = ai, as, a, ons, ez, ent
Subj. pres. : temp. suff. = " - ". Desinences = e, es, e, ions, iez, ent
Subj. imperf. : temp. suff. = " iss (is for 3^sing.) ". Desinences = e, es, -, ions, iez, ent
Condit. pres. : temp. suff. = " r ". Desinences = ais, ais, ait, ions, iez, aient
With respect the considered scheme, there is one small exception in temporal suffixes, some exceptions in the personal desinences, that are equal to the ones of the 1st conjugation.
In piedmontese:
Indic. pres. : temp. suff. = " - ". Desinences = o, e, -, oma, e, o
Indic. imperf. : temp. suff. = " ì ". Desinences = a, e, a, o, e, o
Indic. fut. : temp. suff. = " r ". Desinences = ai, as, a, oma, eve, an
Subj. pres. : temp. suff. = " - ". Desinences = a, e, a, o, e, o
Subj. imperf. : temp. suff. = " èiss ". Desinences = a, e, a, o, e, o
Condit. pres. : temp. suff. = " eri ". Desinences = a, e, a, o, e, o
With respect the considered scheme, there are no exceptions in temporal suffixes, a few exceptions in the personal desinences, that are nearly equal to the ones of the 1st conjugation.
Also for this conjugation it seems that the piedmontese is closest to the latin scheme.
For the second verb the fixed stem is fin in all the three languages:
In italian:
Indic. pres. : temp. suff. = " isc, (for 1^ and 2^ plur. is empty)". Desinences = o, i, e, iamo, ite, ono
Indic. imperf. : temp. suff. = " iv ". Desinences = o, i, a, amo, ate, ano
Indic. fut. : temp. suff. = " ir ". Desinences = ò, ai, à, emo, ete, anno
Subj. pres. : temp. suff. = " isc, (for 2^ and 3^ plur. is empty)". Desinences = a, a, a, iamo, iate, ano
Subj. imperf. : temp. suff. = " iss (es for 2^plur.) ". Desinences = i, i, e, imo, te, ero
Condit. pres. : temp. suff. = " ire ". Desinences = i, sti, bbe, mmo, ste, bbero
In french:
Indic. pres. : temp. suff. = " i ". Desinences = s, s, t, sons, sez, sent
Indic. imperf. : temp. suff. = " iss ". Desinences = ais, ais, ait, ions, iez, aient
Indic. fut. : temp. suff. = " ir ". Desinences = ai, as, a, ons, ez, ont
Subj. pres. : temp. suff. = " iss ". Desinences = e, es, e, ions, iez, ent
Subj. imperf. : temp. suff. = " iss (for 2^ sing. is empty)". Desinences = e, es, î, ions, iez, ent
Condit. pres. : temp. suff. = " ir ". Desinences = ais, ais, ait, ions, iez, aient
In piedmontese:
Indic. pres. : temp. suff. = " iss, (for 1^ plur. is empty) ". Desinences = o, e, -, ima, e, o
Indic. imperf. : temp. suff. = " ì ". Desinences = a, e, a, o, e, o
Indic. fut. : temp. suff. = " ir ". Desinences = ai, as, a, oma, eve, an
Subj. pres. : temp. suff. = " iss ". Desinences = a, e, a, o, e, o
Subj. imperf. : temp. suff. = " èiss ". Desinences = a, e, a, o, e, o
Condit. pres. : temp. suff. = " iri ". Desinences = a, e, a, o, e, o
Also for this conjugation it seems that the piedmontese is closest to the latin scheme.
Some last considerations on verbs are related to infinitive and participle.
The four latin conjugations end, respectively, in are, ere, ere, ire. In Italian, the secon and third latin conjugations are collapse into only one, and the endings are, respectivey, are, ere, ire. In French, mainy the scheme is the same, and the main conjugations are three, while the fourth contains few verbs havin the infinitive ending in oir, that can be considere a sort of exception. The three french conjugations that are comparable with latin. italian and piedmontese conjugations are the ones with infinitive ending in er, re, ir. In Piedmontese the infinitive ending of the three conjugations is é, e, ì. Considering the french pronounciation, piedmontese and french infinitives are nearly exactly the same.
About the (past) participle we notice that, in latin, it is derived from the supine stem (obtained from the supine by turning the ending m into an s). In the other three languages a supine does not exists, but we can suppose of deriving its stem from the past participle, by deleting the ending vowel. So we obtain:
In Latin:
1st conj..: Laudare - supine: laudatum - related stem: laudat - past participle: laudatus (and related declention)
2nd conj..: Monere - supine: monitum - related stem: monit - past participle: monitus (and related declention)
3rd conj..: Regere - supine: rectum - related stem: rect - past participle: rectus (and related declention)
4th conj..: Audire - supine: auditum - related stem: audit - past participle: auditus (and related declention)
In Italian:
1st conj..: Lodare - past participle: lodato - related supposed supine stem: lodat
2nd conj..: Rendere - past participle: reso - related supposed supine stem: res
3rd conj..: Finire - past participle: finito - related supposed supine stem: finit
3rd conj..: Udire - past participle: udito - related supposed supine stem: udit
In French:
1st conj..: Louer - past participle: loué - related supposed supine stem: lou
2nd conj..: Finir - past participle: finì - related supposed supine stem: fin
3rd conj.: not considered
4th conj..: Rendre - past participle: rendù - related supposed supine stem: rend
In Piedmontese:
1st conj..: Laudé - past participle: laudà - related supposed supine stem: laud
2nd conj..: Rende - past participle: rendù - related supposed supine stem: rend
3rd conj..: Finì - past participle: finì - related supposed supine stem: fin
We notice that, while in Italian it is possible to discover an own "supine" stem, different from the other stems, this is not true both in French and in Piedmontese, which make, instead, use of the present stem for the past participle.
Present participle, in piedmontese, does not exist as such. When the related form there exist, it is simply considered as an adjective.
About past participle, we still notice that often, in Piedmontese, it is not also an adjective, and in these cases there is a specific corresponding adjective, different from the past participle. As an example broken as a past participle is translated into rompù, while as an adjective is translated into rot.
We will see later another particularity related to the interrogative form of piedmontese verbs, making use of a particular personal pronominal series, not present in the other observed languages.
Ending of Piedmontese words
In this part we attempt to analyze a bit more in deep what happened to words coming from Latin. In the first part we saw probably the more interesting part, i. e. how the root of the words have been modified. Looking at the ending of words we enter a bit in the structure of the language (i. e. the grammar).
Nouns and adjectives from Latin to Piedmontese
If we look at the first declension in Latin:
(puella, puellae, puella, puellam, puella, puella --- puellae, puellarum, puellis, puellas, puellae, puellis)
we see that it contains:
1) - some feminine nouns (absentia, bucca, cera, ...)
2) - the feminine gender of nouns having the two genders (lupa, famula, ...)
3) - feminine gender of some adjectives (bona, nova, ...)
4) - few masculine or invariant nouns (auriga, nauta, athleta ...)
This declension ends in a, ae. Examples are in the following table.
It is possible to obtain the "stem" of these words by deleting the desinence "...rum" to the plural genitive.
In Italian the directly derived words maintain the Latin gender, and the ending a for singular. Mainly they are similar to the stem of the latin word (sometrimes unchanged and sometimes modified, but always ending by "a"). For the plural, feminine nouns and forms make use of the ending e, while masculine nouns and forms make use of the ending i. Examples are in the following table.
In French the same words tends to maintain the Latin gender and they have, for the singular number, the ending e For the plural the ending is es, if the singular is invariant with respect the gender, this is also for the plural.
In Piedmontese, these words, for singular, end in a, while for plural feminine forms use e but the masculine forms continue to use a (they are invariant with respect the number). Examples are in the following table.
| Latin | Italian | French | Piedmontese |
| absentia \ &bs'enZi& \ feminine noun (absence) |
assenza \ &ss'enZ& \ plural = assenze |
absence \ &bs'&[ng]s \ plural = absences |
assensa \ &s'æ[ng]s& \ plural = assense |
| cera \ [ch]'er& \ feminine noun (wax) |
cera \ [ch]'er& \ plural = cere |
cire \ s'ir \ plural = cires |
sira \ s'ir& \ plural = sire |
| nova \ n'ov& \ adjective, feminine form (new) |
nuova \ nu'ov& \ plural = nuove |
neuve \ n[oe]v \ plural = neuves |
neuva \ n[oe]v& \ plural = neuve |
| athleta \ &tl'et& \ invariant noun (athlete) |
atleta \ &tl'et& \ plural m. = atleti plural f. = atlete |
athlete \ &tl'et \ plural = athletes |
atleta \ &tl'et& \ plural m. = atleta plural f. = atlete |
We consider now the second declension in Latin
(lupus, lupi, lupo, lupum, lupe, lupo --- lupi, luporum, lupis, lupos, lupi, lupis
bellum, belli, bello, bellum, bellum, bello --- bella, bellorum, bellis, bella, bella, bellis
puer, pueri, puero, puerum, puer, puero --- pueri, puerorum, pueris, pueros, pueri, pueris)
we see that it contains:
1) - some masculine and neuter nouns (populus, exemplum, liber, ...)
2) - the masculine gender of nouns having the two genders (lupus, famulus, ...)
3) - masculine and neuter gender of some adjectives (bonus, bonum -- novus, novum ...)
4) - some feminine (in latin) nouns of cities, regions and plants (Aegyptus, Corynthus, cabasus, humus ...)
Examples are in the following table. We note that the neuter gender disappeared in Italian, French and Piedmontese, and the related nouns and forms migrated into the masculine.
Also in this case it is possible to obtain the "stem" of these words by deleting the desinence "...rum" to the plural genitive.
In Italian the directly derived words assume the masculine gender (except the city names that maintain the Latin feminine gender), for the singular use the ending o (see the stem of the latin word) and for the plural the ending i. Examples are in the following table.
In French these words are masculine ( except the city names), For the singular, in many cases, the ending vowel is dropped, and in some other cases the ending is still e. The plural is always obtained by adding an s to the singular (there are exceptions). Examples are in the following table.
In Piedmontese, in the most of the words of this type, the gender is masculine and, for the singular, the final vowel is dropped, and in some few cases the ending is o. The most of these words are invariant with respect the number (in particular, but not only, the ones ending by consonant, with some exception) and the plural is equal to the singular. In some other cases (exceptions, usually adjectives) the ending i is used. Examples are in the following table.
Here we want to notice a difference between Piedmontese and Italian. If we take the latin noun "liber" with meaning: "book", and the latin adjective "liber" with meaning "free", and we consider the latin singular accusative, we have, respectively "librum" and "liberum". Plural genitive is respectively "librorum" and "liberorum"
In Italian the desinence "...um" of the accusative is changed into "...o" and so the book becomes "libro" and free becomes "libero". These are also the stems of the latin words .
In Piedmontese both the noun and the adjective are equal to the singular nominative of the latin words, and so both are "lìber". The noun means "book" as well as "books", the adjective, at masculine both singular and plural is "lìber", while the feminine is "lìbera" e "lìbere" respectively for singular and plural.
| Latin | Italian | French | Piedmontese |
| liber \ l'iber \ masculine noun (book) |
libro \ l'ibro \ plural = libri |
livre \ l'ivr \ plural = livres |
liber \ l'ibær \ plural = liber |
| lupus \ l'upus \ noun, masculine form (wolf) |
lupo \ l'upo \ plural = lupi |
loup \ lup \ plural = loups |
luv \ l[ue]u \ plural = luv |
| novus \ n'ovus \ adjective, masculine form (new) |
nuovo \ nu'ovo \ plural = nuovi |
neuf \ n[oe]f \ plural = neufs |
neuv \ n[oe]u \ plural = neuv |
There are many forms for the third declension in Latin, for nouns and adjectives. Some of them are reported here:
miles, militis, militi, militem, miles, milite, --- milites, militum, militibus, milites, milites, militibus
caput, capitis, capiti, caput, caput, capite, --- capita, capitum, capitibus, capita, capita, capitibus
turris, turris, turri, turrim, torris, turri, --- turres, turrium, turribus, turres, turres, turribus.
This declension contains:
1) - masculine, feminine, neuter nouns (miles, canis, panis, caput, radix, nox, lac, veritas, libertas, sanitas, pater, ambitio, ...)
2) - nouns having the two genders and two forms (imperator, imperatrix --- fautor, fautrix)
3) - nouns having the two genders and a unique form (custos, ...)
4) - adjectives having three forms for the three genders(acer, acris, acre --- saluber, salubris, salubre (but for the latter also salubris, salubre) ...)
5) - adjectives having two forms for the three genders (different form for neuter) (dulcis, dulce --- equalis, equale --- aeternalis, aeternale --- annualis, annuale; ...) ...)
6) - adjectives having a unique form for the three genders (dives --- vetus --- constans --- diligens ...)
Also in this case it is opportune to have in mind the singular accusative of latin words and possibly the "stem" obtained from plural genitive, even if now the mechanism is not so direct. The singular accusative's termination is in "...em" (exluding very few exceptions : amussis, buris, ravis, sitis, tussis, vis ed the noun of cities having the singular nominative in "...is") and, usually, these nouns and adjectives in Italian have the termination of the singualr in "...e". There is a group of these nouns that in Latin have singular nominative and genitive respectively ending in "...as", "...atis" that usually give rise at words, in Italian, ending with "...à" (stressed a), invariant at plural. Another similar group is the one having singular nominative and genitive respectively ending in "...us", "...utis" that often, but not always, give rise at words, in Italian, ending with "...ù" (stressed u), invariant at plural. For these two groups, in Italian there are also forms obtained from the singular accusative (not so much used, but possibly in poetry end some other few cases) for example from "virtus, virtutis" it follows the italian "virtù", but also "virtute, virtude", while from "salus, salutis" the only derivation is "salute". The Piedmontese follows a similar scheme, and the French as well (but for example in French a termination is "...é" instead of "...à"). Other examples are reported in the table below.
In Italian not always the latin gender is kept for nouns, but usually yes. Nouns and adjectives of both the italian genders have (usually) termination in "...e" for singular, and termination in "...i" for plural. If the italian masculune singular termination is "...o", then the feminine singular termination is "...a", with plural respectively in "...i" and "...e". Therminations in "...à" and "...ù" are anyway invariant. Then we have: cane, cani --- pane, pani --- capo, capi --- radice, radici --- notte, notti --- latte, (...), la verità, le verità --- la libertà, le libertà --- la sanità, le sanità --- padre, padri --- un posto salubre, i posti salubri, una stanza salubre, le stanze salubri --- il dolce, i dolci, la dolce metà, le dolci metà --- and so on. Other examples in the table below.
In French we note, first of all, as an addition at what we said about french plural, that the third latin declension has the plural nominative endin in "...s" and this fact could had influenced the way of doing the plural in French. In general french words directly derived from this declension have lost the desinence (referred to the latin singular accusative). In this case the latin words in "...as, ...atis" and in "...us, ...utis" give rise at french words terminating in "...é" and "...u". The feminine, where applicable, is obtained by adding "...e", and the plural by adding "...s". Shortly, we have: chien, chiens --- pain, pains --- nuit, niuts --- lait, (...) --- verité, liberté, sanité --- doux, douse, doux douses --- annuel, annuelle, annuels, annuelles --- constant, constante, constants, constantes --- and so on. We notice that the "...s" of the french plural, when not in "liason" with the following word, is not pronounced, and this make it closeer the oral French to the Piedmintese. Other examples in the table below.
Piedmontese, also in thiscase is closer to French than Italian. It continue to follow its own way of invariance at plural. Masculine nouns and forms lose very often the desinence and are, as a basis, invariant with respect the number (exceptions are seen in Grammar). Masculine nouns and forms ending in "...o" or in "...e" are anyway invariant at plural. Nouns only feminine follow the same rule and are invariant at plural (like la mare, le mare standing for the mother, the mothers). Feminine forms of words (nouns and adjectives) having the two genders, assume very often, and on the contrary of Italian, the desinence "...a" and change in into "...e" at plural. There are anyway some exceptions. In this case from the latin group of words terminating in "...as, ...atis" it follows the Piedmontese group of words teminating in "...à", as for Italian. Something similar happens for the Latin group in "...us, ...utis". Anyway we note that the use of the terminations "...a, ...à" in Piedmontese is close to the french one more than the italian one. Then we have: ël can, ij can --- ël pan, ij pan --- ël cap, ij cap --- la radis, le radis --- la neuit, le neuit --- ël doss, la dossa, ij doss, le dosse --- la vrità, le vrità and so on. Other examples in the table below.
| Latin | Italian | French | Piedmontese |
| canem \ c'&nem \ masculine noun (dog) |
cane \ c'&ne \ plural = cani |
chien \ shæ[ng] \ plural = chiens |
can \ c&[ng] \ plural = can |
| dulcem \d'ulcem \ adjective, masc. and femin. form (sweet) |
dolce \ d'ol[ch]e \ plural = dolci |
doux \ du \ femin. = douse masc. plural = doux femin. plural = douses |
doss \ dus \ femin. = dossa masc. plural = doss femin. plural = dosse |
| libertas, atis - libertatem \ libert'&tem \ feminine noun (freedom) |
libertà \ libert'& \ plural = libertà |
liberté \ libert'e \ plural = libertés |
libertà \ libert'& \ plural = libertà |
We consider now the fourth declension in Latin.
manus, manus, manui (manu), manum, manus, manu --- manus, manuum, manibus, manus, manus, manibus
genu, genus, genu, genu, genu, genu --- genua, genuum, genibus, genua, genua, genibus. It includes:
1) - Masculine and feminine nouns that follow the first form. (spiritus, versus, manus, domus, acus, quercus).
2) - Neuter nouns that follow the second form. (cornu, genu).
Some exceptions for nouns ending in "...cus" and few others. In Italian the direct derivation of masculine and feminine nouns is close to what we saw for the second declension. Masculine nouns use the ending in "...o" for singular and "...i" for plural. The latine feminine word "manus" (hand), in Italian is still feminine and the used endings are still "...o" and "(cornu, genu)" for singular and plural respectively. On the contrary, the feminine latin word "quercus" (oak-tree), in Italian is still feminine, and the used endings are "...a" and "...e" (quercia, quercie). Derivations from neuter, masculine at singular, have usually at plural both masculine form, ending by "...i", and feminine form, ending by "...a" (as the latin nominative plural). So we have: la mano, le mani --- lo spirito, gli spiriti --- il corno, i corni, le corna --- il ginocchio, i ginocchi, le ginocchia.
In French, as it is in Piedmontese, feminine nouns can easily ending by consonant, as it is for "main" (hand), which in French is not an exception as in Italian. Derivation follows the scheme of the second latin declension, with loss of the final vowel, (sometimes the ending of the feminine is "...e"), and the adding of a "...s" for plural. We have: main, mains --- esprit, esprits --- la corne, les cornes --- genou, genoux. We note that "corne" has derived a feminine gender (it is neuter in Latin).
The Piedmontese, still once, is closer to French than to Italian. The derivation follows what we've seen for the second declension. So, drop of the final vowel and invariance with respect the number. We have: a man, le man --- lë spirit, j'ëspirit --- ël vers, ij vers --- ël còrno, ij còrno --- ël ginoj, ij ginoj. We note that the word "còrno" (as it is for some other words) has the ending in "...o", at the plural the word remains "còrno", and there is only one plural, as a difference with respect Italian and similarly to the French. Other examples in the following table:
| Latin | Italian | French | Piedmontese |
| manus \ m'&nus \ feminine noun (hand) |
mano \ m'&no \ plural = mani |
main \ m&ae[ng] \ plural = mains |
man \ m&[ng] \ plural = man |
| spiritus \sp'iritus \ masculine noun (spirit) |
spirito \ sp'irito \ plural = spiriti |
esprit \ espr'i \ plural = esprits |
spirit \ sp'irit \ plural = spirit |
| cornu \ c'ornu \ neutral noun (horn) |
corno \ c'orno \ plural m. = corni plural f. = corna |
corne(femin.) \ c'orn \ plural = cornes |
còrno \ c'ornu \ plural = còrno |
| genu \ j'enu \ neutral noun (knee) |
ginocchio \ jin'okkio \ plural m. = ginocchi plural f. = ginocchia |
genou \ zhen'u \ plural = genoux |
ginoj \ jin'uy \ plural = ginoj |
Finally we have a look at the fifth declension in Latin.
dies, diei, diei, diem, dies, die --- dies, dierum, diebus, dies, dies, diebus. It includes: 1) - Feminine nouns (res, fides, spes)
2) - "Dies" and "meridies", that can be used also as masculine.
This declension contains only few names, and then not so many words are derived. We have just a look at a couple of examples.
In Italian the direct derivation from "fides" (Faith) brings to "fede", with plural "fedi" (come per la 3^ declinazione), la derivazione diretta da fides, attraverso l'accusativo singolare "fidem" porta a "fede", con plurale "fedi" (as for the derivation from the 3^ declension), while from da "spes" (Hope), through the singular accusative "spem", the word "speme" is derived, with plural "spemi". But for Hopr there is also the word "speranza", (plural "speranze") that is not so much direct, since the root has only some traces of the original.
In French the derivation is not so direct and we have respectively "foi" and "espoir", but also the term "esperance" exists, which followed a derivation similar to the italian one.
The Piedmontese, in this casr is colse to Italian, and the two derived words are "fé", and "speransa".
Some examples in the following table:
| Latin | Italian | French | Piedmontese |
| fides \ f'ides \ feminine noun |
fede \ f'ede \ plural = fedi |
foi \ fu'& \ plural = fois |
fé \ f'e \ plural = fé |
| spes \sp'es \ feminine noun (Hope) |
speme \ sp'eme \ plural = spemi speranza \ sper'&nZ& \ plural = speranze |
espoir \ espu'&r \ plural = espoirs esperance \ esper'&[ng]s \ plural = esperances |
speransa \ sper'&ns& \ plural = speranse |
First of all we say that in Italian, coming from the five latin declensions, there are three "classes" of nouns and adjectives.
The first one includes nouns and adjectives having the singular in "...a" and the plurali in "...i" if masculine, and in "...e" if feminine. The second one includes nouns and adjectives (usually masculine) having the singular in "...o" and the plurali in "...i", and nouns that can also be feminine at plural, having masculine singular in "...o" and a plural feminine in "...a"
The second one includes nouns and adjectives both masculine and feminine or invariant having the singular in "...e" and the plural in "...i".
The first class derives from the first latin declension and from a part of the fifth declension. The second one derives from the second latin declension and from the fourth declension. The third class derives from the third latin declention and part of the fifth declension. Of course there are exceptions to this scheme. The passage from masculine to feminine genders supposes often the change of class of a word.
If we want to look for a similar scxheme for the Piedmontese, we can easily find a first class, having nouns and adjectives ending by "...a". If these nouns and forms are feminine, the plural ending is "...e", but if they are masculine, the plural ending remain unchanged in "...a". Also the origin of these words shows differences with respect the Italian, in particular for what is concerned with feminine forms of adjectives coming from the third declension and which in Italian belongs to the third class, and in Piedmontese migrate to the first class.
For all the other nouns and adjectives, the ending can be in vowel, stressed vowel or consonant for both masculine and feminine nouns and forms, and the rule is always the one of invariance at plural. There are some exceptions, whose the main is concerned with the forms ending with the consonant "...l", which do the plural by changing this "...l" into a "...j". The italian scheme is then not so much followed.
On the contrary of Piedmontese, the French does not lose the plural forms. The french ending "...e" indicates easily, but not always, the feminine noun or form at singular ( for the plural "...es"). We notice here that the final "...s" of the french plural is often not pronounced, and this brings the oral French closer to the Piedmontese. Also for French there are many exceptions.
