====== Declension classes ======
All nouns we learnt in one of the previous lessons were ending with consonant, so adding definite article "//-um//" wasn't a problem. But what if there were some words ending with a vowel? Then, definite article is changed to just "**//-m//**", e.g. "slave" is "snaga", and "the slave" is "snaga__m__". Groups of words that are changed similarly during inflection are called "**//declension classes//**". 

Nûrlâm has two declension classes: 
  - words ending with consonants (declension class I, majority of nouns belong to it)
  - words ending with vowels (declension class II). 
Declension class is very important, as not only the articles, but some other grammatical suffixes differ depending on declension class too.

===== New words =====
There are very few words ending with a vowel (declension class II) to learn. Probably more than half of them are listed here:
  * fau (snow)((uncountable))
  * gai (chain)
  * gau (fruit)
  * ghru (stick)
  * glu (piss)((uncountable))
  * goi (city)
  * hlu (clothes)((uncountable))
  * hrau (flesh, meat)((uncountable))
  * khlau (ear)
  * lau (year)
  * mau (warrior)((note that "mauh" with the same meaning from previous lessons is preferrable variant))
  * noi (bee)
  * poi (berry)
  * sau (skill, ability, craft)
  * shra (person, character)
  * slai (life)
  * snaga (slave, servant, thrall)
  * sru (seed, grain)
  * tau (forest)
  * zrî (joy, fun)((uncountable))

You may notice, that most of them actually end with a diphthong, so technically a semi-vowel, but nonetheless they all belong to declension class II.

All adjectives also have two declension classes depending on if the word ends with a consonant or vowel.

===== Declension classes in longer chains =====
Every addition of suffix or clitic should be done according to declension class of the previous part. For example the word "slave" (=> "snaga") belongs to declension class II, adding adjective "dirty" ("dug") to say "filthy snaga" changes the resulting word "snagadug" to class I. Thus "the slave" becomes "snaga__m__", but "the filthy slave" becomes "snagadug__um__". On the contrary, "orc" (= "uruk", declension class I) becomes "uruk__um__" with article "the", but adding adjective ending with vowel like "sta" (= "short") converts it to declension class II: "uruksta__m__". Some suffixes are the same for both declension classes, like word "za" (this): "this slave" = "snaga__za__", "this orc" = "uruk__za__".

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===== Exercise 1 =====
Translate into Nûrlâm. Join the words together whenever it's possible as in [[lessons:agglutination|previous lesson]].
  - bring two strong slaves
  - burn the city
  - cut the long stick
  - eat this fruit
  - go and see some fun
  - nice skills
  - three redberries
  - sleep all this year
  - stop the large dragon
  - the fat meat
<hidden show answers>
  - thrak krul snagabolg / thrak krul bolg snaga
  - ghâsh goim
  - grish ghrurodhum / grish za ghrurodh / grish za rodh ghru / grish rodh ghrum
  - throkh za gau / throkh gauza
  - ukh agh kin mûd zrî
  - saunîr / nîr sau
  - krig poikarn
  - lor ûk za lau
  - puzg lûgdaum / puzg dau lûgum / puzg za lûgdau / puzg za dau lûg
  - hrautûrzum / tûrz hraum / za hrautûrz / za tûrz hrau
</hidden>

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==== Exercise 2 ====
Translate these words from Nûrlâm into English:
  - faudugum
  - gaibûrdum
  - glum
  - hludugûk
  - khlaurodh
  - maugûrzum
  - shranîrum
  - slairodhum
  - srubhog
  - taustam
<hidden show answers>
  - the dirty snow
  - the heavy chain
  - the piss
  - all dirty clothes
  - long ears
  - the dead warrior
  - the nice person / the beautiful person / the pretty person
  - the long life
  - nice seeds / good grain / nice grain / good seeds
  - the short forest
</hidden>

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===== See also =====
  * [[:lessons|All lessons]]
  * [[lessons:nouns|Lesson "Nouns, articles"]]
  * [[lessons:adjectives|Lesson "Adjectives"]]
  * [[:clitics|Clitics]]
  * [[:declension_classes|Declension classes]]