[*] 286. Adjectives, Adjective Pronouns, and Participles agree with their nouns in Gender, Number, and Case:—
- vir fortis, a brave man.
- illa mulier, that woman.
- urbium māgnārum, of great cities.
- cum ducentīs mīlitibus, with two hundred soldiers.
- imperātor victus est, the general was beaten.
- secūtae sunt tempestātēs, storms followed.
[*] Note.--All rules for the agreement of adjectives apply also to adjective pronouns and to participles.
[*] a. With two or more nouns the adjective is regularly plural, but often agrees with the nearest (especially when attributive):—- “Nīsus et Euryalus prīmī ” (Aen. 5.294) , Nisus and Euryalus first.
- “Caesaris omnī et grātiā et opibus fruor ” (Fam. 1.9.21) , I enjoy all Cæsar's favor and resources.
[*] Note.--An adjective referring to two nouns connected by the preposition cum is occasionally plural (synesis, § 280. a): as,Iuba cum Labiēnō captī (B. Afr. 52), Juba and Labienus were taken.
[*] b. A collective noun may take an adjective of a different gender and number agreeing with the gender and number of the individuals implied (synesis, § 280. a):—- “pars certāre parātī ” (Aen. 5.108) , a part ready to contend.
- “colōniae aliquot dēductae, Prīscī Latīnī appellātī ” (Liv. 1.3) , several colonies were planted (led out) [of men] called Old Latins.
- “multitūdō convictī sunt ” (Tac. Ann. 15.44) , a multitude were convicted.
- māgna pars raptae (id. 1.9), a large part [of the women] were seized.
[*] Note.--A superlative in the predicate rarely takes the gender of a partitive genitive by which it is limited: as,vēlōcissimum animālium delphīnus est (Plin. N. H. 9.20), the dolphin is the swiftest [creature] of creatures.