In all the basic case usage tables laid out on other pages, five cases have been used:

Summary of case functions
Nominative subject What it is that does the verb
Accusative (direct) object What it is the verb acts upon
Genitive 'of'
Dative (indirect) object 'for, to'
Ablative 'by, with, from'

There is one more case to add in to this pattern.

The vocative case is the case of address. You use it when speaking to someone.

It has the same endings as the nominative in almost all declensions. The only exception is with the masculine singular 2nd declension.

Singular Plural
Nominative servus servi
Vocative serve servi
Accusative servum servos
Genitive servi servorum
Dative servo servis
Ablative servo servis

For names ending in '-ius', the vocative ends in '-i'.

Several features of a phrase may help you to identify vocatives.

  1. an exclamation such as 'o'
  2. a 2nd person verb, which makes it clear you are addressing someone.
  3. an imperative, which similarly makes it clear you are addressing someone.
  4. they will often be placed between commas.

Examples drawn from the exercises

The number after each question indicates the exercise from which it has been drawn, so that you can look at the example in context.

  1. o patria, o divum domus Ilium, et inclutum bello moenia Dardanidum! Exercise 1
  2. o Hymenaee Hymen, o Hymen Hymenaee ... Exercise 4
  3. O fortuna anima, o jucundissimus triumphus, o felicissima laetitia. Exercise 5
  4. 'sic,' inquit 'mea uita Septimille ...' Exercise 8

Further examples drawn from Cicero

  1. quid quaeretis, iudices? Pro Caelio 25
  2. quo usque tandem abutere, Catilinam patientia nostra? In Catilinam I.I.1
  3. etenim iam diu, patres conscripti, in his periculis coniurationis insidiisque versamur ... In Catilinam I.XII.31
  4. Faciam, ut potero, Laeli. De senectute III.7
  5. quaeres a nobis, Gratie, cur tanto opere hoc homine delectemur. Pro Archia 12