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Dorothy Sayers:

Latin should be begun as early as possible--at a time when inflected speech seems no more astonishing than any other phenomenon in an astonishing world; and when the chanting of "Amo, amas, amat" is as ritually agreeable to the feelings as the chanting of "eeny, meeny, miney, moe." Read "The Lost Tools of Learning"

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Latin for Children Curriculum

FREE RESOURCES:

  • Latin for Children FlashDash Game.
    Supports all three Primers (you choose) and playfully practises all the vocabulary.
  • Latin for Children FLASH CARDS, Primer A, B, & C (PDF)
    LFC, Primer A - Latin Deck - English Deck
    LFC, Primer B - Latin Deck - English Deck
    LFC, Primer C - Latin Deck - English Deck
    Decks are split into two different decks (Latin & English) so that you can print them separately or on the backs of each other (single sided or double sided)
  • How to Teach Latin (PDF). 15 pages on teaching LFC for school teachers.
  • Latin for Children--Suggested Weekly Schedule (PDF). Suggestions for a weekly schedule using the LFC Primer A and the Mastery Bundle.
  • 91 pages of exercises, quizzes & tests (modified July, '07 PDF) & Answer Key (PDF, Nov, '07) for use with LFC, Primer A. FREE to copy, use and distribute (not for resale). These files have been contributed by various authors. Feel free to submit your worksheets for consideration.
  • 36 pages of exercises (PDF) for use with LFC, Primer B. FREE to copy, use and distribute (not for resale). Thanks to all who contributed. Answer Key (PDF).
  • LFC B, Who's Who? (PDF). Find out who the mystery images are throughout the textbook.
  • Why Study Latin? (PDF) Author Karen Moore explains 5-reasons why it's useful to add Latin to your child's education.
  • Error corrections sheet (PDF): LFC, Primer A v.3.2, posted 8/7/08.
  • LFC A Activity Book correction (PDF): Chapter 28 puzzle
  • LFC A DVD Chapter Maxims (PDF): Correction sheet for three chapter maxims on the old DVD series (no longer sold).

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Chapter 2/lesson 1 - Imperfect Active Indicative

The imperfect is a construct like:
I was seeing.


In Latin it would look like this:
Videbam.

English has a similar construct called progressive past. Actions seem incomplete, and so the imperfect label. For example, "I was running," "We were sailing," "They were calling." Note that 'to be' is always there. Latin, however, would sometimes use imperfect like simple past; accordingly, "We were sailing" could be translated as "We sailed." Other translations of imperfect can be used to/kept such as "We used to sail/We kept sailing."

Regardless of language, the concept of an imperfect is important. Imperfect is called imperfect for a reason - in Latin, the verb "perficere" means to finish/complete, which is what perfect is from. Thus, imperfect, in the grammatical sense, means not finished - that the action could be or could not be completed. Perfect instead means it has been finished - I saw. You have already seen, and it is now completed. I was seeing implies that the action is not yet completed.

The perfect tense, which we will learn later, is a more immediate reference to the past. The name, imperfect, helps you remember its use: in situations where you can't say when an event started or ended or happened, you must use the imperfect.

In situations where you can know when an event started or ended or happened, use the perfect.

You conjugate the imperfect tense this way: verb + ba + personal ending

The endings for imperfect are:

Sg.
1. -bam
2. -bas
3. -bat
Pl.
1. -bamus
2. -batis
3. -bant

Note that the only thing we add are ba + the personal endings (the same as in the present tense) to the infinitive stem. This gives us the imperfect conjugation.

Note that in third and fourth conjugations, you will have to form it differently. There is *no* rule to explain this, it just is, although there are memorization techniques that can help.

venire is 4th conjugation and is formed like: veniebam veniebas veniebat veniebamus veniebatis veniebant

For third conjugation, an example used in some textbooks/study guides is: capere (to capture or seize)

capiebam capiebas capiebat capiebamus capiebatis capiebant

Note that it is easiest to think of what the endings -ere and ire lack. The imperfect -ba + the personal ending, which we can call the imperfect conjugation, must be prefixed by ie.

A few examples:

amabam - I was loving (A-conjugation--1st)
monebatis - You were warning [object/personage] (of something negative) (Pl.) (2nd Conjugation)
vinciebamus - We were defeating (long I-conjugation--3rd conjugation)
capiebant - They were catching (short I-conjugation--3rd conjugation)
pellebat - She/he/it was propelling (drive something (not a vehicle), propel something) (consonantic conjugation)

(Wiki-reading tips: See discussion. Some of the above may be unclear, however the clarifying '--' and '/' indicate verification. We may not know what the original author intended, but we know what conjugations the examples are.)

Friday, September 12, 2008

Chapter 1/Lesson 6-Pronouns

Personal Pronouns in English

Pronouns are nouns which are used instead of another noun ('pro', in place of 'noun', noun.)

There are three catagories of pronouns which are divided up into persons: 1st, 2nd, and 3rd.

• 1st person refers to the person speaking, I, we. • 2nd person refers to the person addressed, thou, ye (you and you all). • 3rd person is for everything else (he, she, it, they (insert any noun here).

In addition, pronouns can be singular or plural. They are declined like all other nouns.

• I is 1st person singular (only me), we is 1st person plural (me and others). • Thou/you is 2nd person singular (only thee), ye/ you all is 2nd person plural (you and others). • He, she, it is 3rd person singular (he/she/it is one), (they are many).

Personal Pronouns in Latin

1st/2nd Person Pronouns

[edit] Table of Personal Pronouns in all of their cases: I, thou, we, ye

Note: Thou is the archaic singular of the archaic plural ye - useful for distinguishing
you (singular) from you (plural)


Singular Plural
Case 1st Person 2nd Person 1st Person 2nd Person
Nominative ego I you nōs we vōs you
Genitive meī of me tuī of you nostrī(nostrum) of us vestrī (vestrum) of you
Dative mihi to me tibi to you nōbīs to us vōbīs to you
Accusative me you nōs us vōs you
Ablative from me from you nōbīs from us vōbīs from you

Nota Bene: the genitive is used in certain phrases like:

  1. memor nostrī, mindful of us
  2. paucī vestrum, a few of you.

For the possessive uses (my sister, your bicycle), Latin does not use the genitive, but the possessive adjectives:

meus, mea, meum = my;

tuus, tua, tuum = thy;

suus, sua, sum = his/hers/its/their;

noster, nostra, nostrum = our;

vester, vestra, vestrum = your

Example: Pater noster = Our Father

3rd Person Pronouns

Technically 3rd person pronouns do not exist in Latin as they do in English. However they do have equivalents.

Adjectives modify nouns and take the gender of the noun in which it modifies. However adjectives do not necessarily need a substantive present in the sentence to modify. The substantive can be presumed. In this way, '3rd person' pronouns are formed.

Example 1

Take the masculine form of the adjective 'ille'. Literally it means 'That (masculine) thing.' However one could take it for simply meaning 'he', depending on the context. Similarly, the pronoun 'iste' means 'this (masc.) thing'. Iste and ille are declined in exactly the same way.

If no substantive is provided assume words like these: 'man', 'woman', 'thing', 'idea', 'concept', 'reason' etc. Let context be your guide.

Common Adjectives Used as 3rd Person Pronouns In Latin

Declension of Ille (that)

Declension of ille (that): Singular

Latin English
Masculine Feminine Neuter Masculine Feminine Neuter
Nominative ille illa illud he she it
Genitive illīus illīus illīus his her, hers its
Dative illī illī illī to him to her to it
Accusative illum illam illud him her it
Ablative illō illā illō by, with, from him her it
Declension of ille (that): Plural

Latin English
Masculine Feminine Neuter
Nominative illī illae illa they, those
Genitive illōrum illārum illōrum their, theirs, of those
Dative illīs illīs illīs to them, to those
Accusative illōs illās illa them, those
Ablative illīs illis illīs by, with, from them, those

Ille is often used as a kind of pronoun.

Examples of the Usage of Ille:

1. ille est dominus - he is the master (ille as pronoun)
2. ille dominus est malus - that master is bad (ille as adjective)
3. illam videt - he sees her (or 'she sees her' - illam as pronoun)
4. illam puellam videt - he (or she) sees that girl (illam as adjective).

Declension of Is, ea, id: (personal pronouns w/ translations)

            M:       F:       N:
Nominative is ea id he she it

Genitive eius eius eius his her, hers its
Dative eī eī eī to him to her to it
Accusative eum eam id him her it
Ablative eō eā eō by, with, from him, her, it.

Nominative ei eae ea they, those

Genitive eōrum eārum eōrum their, theirs, of those
Dative eīs,iīs eīs,iīs eīs,iīs to them, to those
Accusative eos eās ea them, those
Ablative eīs,iīs eīs,iīs eīs,iīs by, with, from them, those

Like ille, is can be used as a form of a pronoun.

Examples of the Usage of Is

1. is est dominus - he is the master (is as pronoun)
2. is dominus est malus - that master is bad (is as adjective)
3. eam videt - he sees her (or 'she sees her' - eam as pronoun)
4. eam puellam videt - he (or she) sees that girl (eam as adjective).

Declension of the Relative pronoun qui, quae, quod: (meaning who, which, he)

            M:       F:       N:
Nominative quī quae quod who who which
Genitive cuīus cuīus cuīus whose
Dative cuī cuī cuī to whom to whom to which
Accusative quem quam quod whom whom which
Ablative quō quā quō by, with, from whom, which.

Nominative qui quae quae who who which
Genitive quorum quarum quorum whose
Dative quibus quibus quibus to whom, to which
Accusative quos quas quos whom whom which
Ablative quibus quibus quibus by, with, from whom, which

Notice that the same forms are used to ask a question, with the following exceptions:


            M:       F:       N:
Nominative quis quis quid who which what
Accusative quem quam quid whom which what

Uses of the Relative Pronoun

The relative pronoun takes on the case depending on the function it serves in the relative clause. For example, in the sentence "He sees the man who has a slave," "who" is translated as nominative because it is the subject of the clause "who has a slave." The antecedent (noun to which the pronoun refers) is usually before the relative clause.

Examples of the Usage of the Relative Pronoun

  1. Virum videt (he/she sees) qui servum (servant) habet (he/she has).
    He sees the man who has a slave
  2. Ille est vir cujus servus est malus.
    That's the man whose slave is bad.
  3. Quis eum videt?
    Who sees him?

Declension of hic, haec, hoc (meaning this)

Singular

            M:       F:       N:
Nominative hic haec hoc this
Genitive huius huius huius
Dative huic huic huic
Accusative hunc hanc hoc
Ablative hōc hāc hōc

Plural

Nominative hī       hae      haec      these
Genitive hōrum hārum hōrum
Dative hīs hīs hīs
Accusative hōs hās haec
Ablative hīs hīs hīs

N.B. Hic as an adverb means 'here'. N.B. Hic can also be used as a pronoun.

Example of the Usage of Hic

hic servus, non ille, est malus: This slave, not that one, is bad.

Exercises

Give a suitable LATIN translation for the following:

  1. To him
  2. To her
  3. For her
  4. For him
  5. To it
  6. I
  7. You
  8. Ye
  9. of You
  10. of him
  11. We
  12. Thou
  13. of thee
  14. in him
  15. in her

Give a suitable ENGLISH translation for the following:

  1. meus
  2. meī
  3. ille
  4. illud
  5. huic
  6. hoc
  7. nōs
  8. nostrī
  9. vōs
  10. vestrum

Lessons in this series:

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Chapter 1/Lesson 5-Accusative

Noun declension tables

1st declension 2nd declension
Feminine Masculine Masculine Masculine Neuter
SINGULAR PLURAL SINGULAR PLURAL SINGULAR PLURAL SINGULAR PLURAL SINGULAR PLURAL
nominative puell-a puell-ae serv-us serv puer puer ager agr bell-um bell-a
accusative puell-am puell-ās serv-um serv-ōs puer-um puer-ōs agr-um agr-ōs bell-um bell-a

Nota Bene: Puer uses the same suffixes as all other 2nd declension masculine nouns, except it omits the -us suffix in the nominative. Ager, a second declension noun meaning 'field' has no suffix in the nominative like puer, and in addition drops the 'e' when in other cases other than the nominative (see table)

Memorise this extended table.

Exercises

Grammar: The Accusative

As you learned in the last lesson, the verb 'esse' (to be) usually takes the nominative case, because then the word after it is a complement. Most other verbs take the 'accusative' case.

In a sentence, the accusative is the "what" - in English grammar, this is known as the direct object.

For example: The girl sells the box.

What did the girl sell? The box. Thus, box is the direct object, and when we translate it into Latin:

Example
English: The girl sells the box.
Latin: Puella vendet cistam.
Explanation: NOMINATIVE VERB ACCUSATIVE

Cistam, then, is in the accusative, because it is the direct object.

Again, when an adjective describes a noun in the accusative case, the adjective must agree in number, case, and gender.

For example:

Example
English: The girl sells the big box.
Latin: Puella vendet magnam cistam.
Explanation: NOMINATIVE VERB ADJECTIVE ACCUSATIVE NOUN ACCUSATIVE

Examples of Adjectives Agreeing with the Nominative and Accusative Case

Abbreviations: NOM = nominative, ACC = accusative, S = singular, P = plural, m. = masculine, f. = feminine


Latin English Summary
bon-us lūd-us The good school (NOM S m.)
bon-um lūd-um The good school (ACC S m.)
bon-ī lūd-ī The good schools (NOM P m.)
bon-ōs lūd-ōs The good schools (ACC P m.)
bon-us puer The good boy (NOM S m.)
bon-ī puer-ī The good boys (NOM P m.)
bon-ōs puer-ōs The good boys (ACC P m.)
bon-um puer-um The good boy (ACC S m.)
bon-a puell-a The good girl (NOM S f.)
bon-am puell-am The good girl (ACC S f.)
bon-ae puell-ae The good girls (NOM P f.)
bon-ās puell-ās The good girls (ACC P f.)

Exercise 3

Determine whether the adjective agrees with the substantive in all three categories: case, gender, number.


Questions: Does it Agree?
1. magn-us agr-ōs True/False
2. magn-a puella True/False
3. poet-a* bon-us True/False
4. magn-um serv-um True/False
5. poet-ae* magn-ae True/False
6. bell-a magn-a True/False
* Nota bene: Poeta (meaning poet) is a masculine noun, even though it ends in -a.

Grammar: The Use of the Accusative

Lesson Vocabulary

Latin English

puell-a f. girl
puer m. boy
bell-um n. (2nd decl.) war

(puer) ama-t (the boy) loves
(puer) curri-t (the boy) runs
(puer) porta-t (the boy) carries
(puer) specta-t (the boy) watches
(puer) da-t (the boy) gives

fuisse
fuī
fuistī
(puer) fuit
fuimus
fuistis
fuērunt
to have been
I have been
you have been
(the boy) has been
we have been
you (pl.) have been
they have been

Nota Bene: 'fuisse' and all the forms of it, the past tense of 'esse', behaves exactly like the present tense.


The newly introduced verbs, ama-t, curri-t, and porta-t take the accusative as the 'object'. Unless specified, any verb you look up in the dictionary will take the accusative, not the nominative. This means transitive verbs, which are verbs that happen to someone or something, e.g.:

I heal you. (acc.)
You make my day. (acc.)
She hit your arm. (acc.)

In the examples above, the bold words are the subject of the sentence clause- and because something happens "to" them, they can't be in nominative.

Grammatical Explanation Using English Sentences

Grammatical Explanation 1
English: The boy hits the car.
Explanation: NOMINATIVE VERB ACCUSATIVE


Grammatical Explanation 2
English: The girl hugs the boy.
Explanation: NOMINATIVE VERB ACCUSATIVE


Grammatical Explanation 3
English: He who flees, deserves the guillotine.
Explanation: NOMINATIVE VERB VERB ACCUSATIVE

Exercise 4: Find the Nominative and Accusative

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Chapter 1/Lesson 4-Adverbs and Prepositions

From Wikibooks, the open-content textbooks collection

Comparatives, Superlatives, Conjunctions, Prepositions and Adverbs

Comparatives and superlatives of adjectives are formed by appending the suffix -ior (genitive is -ioris) for comparatives and -issimus for superlatives. All comparatives are declined like third declension nouns while superlatives are declined like second declension nouns, and thus must match the gender of the noun the superlative modifies. Often stem changes occur when appending theses suffixes.

Irregular Adjectives

Fortunately, there are only a few irregular adjectives.


Irregular Adjective: bonus
bonus melior optimus
good better best


Irregular Adjective: malus
malus peior pessimus
bad worse worst

.

Adverbs

Adverbs are formed usually by replacing the suffix appended to the stem with the -e, or -i and sometimes -um. Adverbs modify the verb in the clause which the adverb is contained in. The adverb may be placed anywhere with the clause. Adverbs may be of positive, comparative and superlative form. Unlike adjectives and substantives, adverbs do not have declension or gender. And thus they are referred to as being 'indeclinable.' Following suffices are appended to form the comparative and superlative forms of adverbs: -ius for comparatives and -issime for superlative.

Example

Adverbs
forte fortius fortissime
bravely more bravely most bravely

Irregular Adverbs

Many of the irregular adjectives are irregular in their adjectival forms as well.


Irregular Adverb: bene
bene melior optime
well better best


Irregular Adverb: male
male peius pessime
badly more badly most badly

There are many other adverbs which do not have comparative or superlative forms.

Review:

  1. What is the comparitive adverbial form of sol-us, sol-a, sol-um (alone)?
  2. What is the positive adverbial form of laetus? (happy)
  3. What is the positive adjectival form of iratior? (angrier)
  4. What is the postive adverbial form of certus? (certain)
  5. What is the superlative adjectival form of certus?
  6. What is the superlative adverbial form of certe?
  7. What is the superlative adjectival form of male?
  8. What is the superlative adverbial form of malus?
  9. What is the comparative adjectival form of desertus? (deserted)

Conjunctions

Conjunctions are indeclinable particles that join clauses together to form sentences. Examples of forms of conjunctions in English are: and, but and so. Conjunctions are either coordernating (joining two main clauses) or subordinating (joing a subclause to a main clause).


List of Common Conjunctions
Coordinating Conjunctions
atque and
aut or
aut...aut^^ either...or
enim (usually placed second in sentence) for
ergo and so, therefore
et and
et...et^ both...and
igitur therefore
itaque and so
nam for
nec/necque and not, nor
nec/necque...nec/necque^ neither...nor
-que* and
sed but
tamen (usually placed second in a sentence however
Subordinating Conjunctions
cum when
dum while, for the time
nisi unless, except
quamquam however
quod because
si if
ubi where, when
ut as/with result clauses: in order to, so, to

Exercise 2

Based upon your reading of that table, how would one translate these sentences?

  1. Aut tu es bonus aut tu es malus ergo dic mihi veritatem.
  2. Cavete canem quod nec estis fortes nec cum virtute.
  3. Et canis et catus sunt laeti creati.
  4. In animo habeo ire ad grammaticum hodie sed habeo laborem domi.
  5. Ut abacum heri quod calculator non laborabat.

Prepositions

You have met a few prepositions already. Prepositions are indeclinable and genderless. Prepositions are placed before substantives and adjectives. Most prepositions take only the accusative or ablative case. Some prepositions may take both, however their meanings differ depending on the case.

Below is a list of common prepositions that take the accusative case:

ad, ante, circum, contra, extra, in, inter, per, post, prope, propter, super trans.

Below is a list of common prepositions that take the ablative case:

a/ab, cum, de, e/ex, in pro, sine, sub

Exercise 3

  1. Using your dictionary, translate the prepositions above, and write them out with the case they take.

Translate the following sentences:

  1. eo domum (Latin omits 'ad' with 'domus,' specific city names, and small islands; e.g. Eunt Romam = They go [to] Rome.)
  2. cum bona fortuna ero dives!
  3. circum agrum est aedificium cum atrio
  4. tu non es vir sine animis.
  5. familia venit cum amore.
  6. matrimonium gemet filios.
  7. Res audiebuntur cum dicantur in lingua Latina.

List of Frequent Adverbs, Prepositions, and Conjunctions in Latin

de 'http://www.georgetown.edu/faculty/irvinem/classics203/resources/latin.lex'

  • atque, ac (conj): and [also], and; atque is used before consonants, ac before vowels,

e.g. pro rege ac patria, ager ac aedificium

  • ad modum: adv. very, quite; fully; + neg. = at all
  • ad huc/adhuc: thus far, as yet, still, in addition, in the future
  • aliquam: in some degree
  • aliqui -qua -quod: some, any
  • aliquis -qua -quid: someone, something; some, any
  • aliquando: at times, sometimes; once, formerly
  • aliquotiens: several times, at different times
  • at (form of ad = in addition to): but (intro startling transitions)
  • atque: and as well, even, together with, in everything;
  • atque...atque, both..and
  • atqui: rather, however, but at any rate, but for all that (transition in arg.)
  • aut: or, at least, or else; aut...aut: either...or
  • autem: but, on the other hand, however
  • coram: adv. and prep. in the presence of, before
  • dehinc: adv. while, from here, from now, henceforth; then, next
  • deinde: adv. from there; then, afterwards; secondly, next (in order), in the second (next) place
  • demum: adv. at last, finally, not till then; precisely, exactly, just, in fact, certainly, to be sure; modo demum: only now, just now.
  • denique: adv. finally
  • donec: while, as long as, until
  • dum: conj. while, now; so long as, provided that, if only; until
  • enim: (conj) namely, indeed, certainly, in fact, for, because
  • eo quod: because
  • etenim: (conj) and indeed, for, as a matter of fact
  • etiam: also, besides; even, actually; (time) still
  • etsi: (conj.) though, although, and yet
  • fas (est): indecl. (it is) right, proper
  • huc: here, to this place; so far, for this purpose
  • ibi: there, then, therein, on that occassion
  • idcirco: for that reason, on that account, therefore
  • ideo: therefore, for this reason
  • illuc: (adv.) (to) there; to that; to him/her
  • immo: (adv.) or rather; indeed; no, yes (emphasis)
  • interdum: occasionally, sometimes, now and then
  • inde: from there, from that source, then, after; from then
  • iuxta: (adv) near by, alike, equally; (prep) close to, right after, near to, beside.
    • iuxta (7th-15th c.): according to
    • iuxta aliquid: to some extent
  • ita: thus, so, in this way; ita...ut: just as, so...that
    • ita...quomodo: just as
  • licet: all right; (with dat + inf) it is right for someone to; (conj) although, even if
  • modo: only, just now
  • necnon: also, moreover, certainly, besides
  • nempe: to be sure, of course
  • non numquam: sometimes
  • nondum: not yet
  • nonnullus -a -um: some, several
  • nuper: recently, lately
  • nusquam: nowhere
  • ob: before, in front of; on account of, because of; for the sake of; instead of; in proportion to
    • ob rem: to the purpose, usefully
    • quam ob rem: wherefore, accordingly
  • olim: once; of old; one day
  • praeterea: besides, moreover; hereafter
  • postea: afterwards
  • postmodum: afterwards; presently
  • procul: far off
  • proinde: adv. consequently, therefore; just as
  • propterea: for that reason, therefore
  • prorsus/prorsum: (adv.) forwards; absolutely; in short
  • prout: (conj) according as
  • qua: (adv) where, as far as, how; qua..qua: partly...partly
  • qualibit: anywhere, any way, as you please
  • qualis -e: what sort of, what kind of, such as, as
  • qualiter: adv. how, as, just as
  • quam: (adv) how, how much; as, very
  • quamdiu: as long as; while; inasmuch as
  • quamquam: although
  • quamvis: (adv) however; (conj) although
  • quando: when (after nisi, ne) ever; (conj) when, since, because
  • quandoque: (adv) at some time; (conj) whenever, as often as, since
  • quantum: (adv) as much as, as far as, so much as, to what extent
  • quantus: how great, how much
    • in quantum: to what extent
    • quanto: for how much
  • quantum ad: in terms of, as far as x is concerned, with respect to
  • quapropter: wherefore
  • quare: by what means, how; why, wherefore
  • quasi: as if, as though
  • quatenus: adv.(inter.) how far, how long? (rel.) as far as, in so far as, since
  • quemadmodum: (adv) in what way, how; (conj) as, just as
  • quicquam: anything
  • quicumque quae- quod-: whoever, whatever; all that, any whatever
  • quidam quae- quid-: a certain one, someone, a kind of
  • quidem: indeed, in fact
  • quippe: adv. certainly, of course; conj.(explaining) for in fact, because, since
  • quisquam quid-: anyone, anything
  • quisque quidque: each, each one, every
  • quisquis, quidquid: whoever, whatever; all
  • quo: where, what for, to what end
  • quoad: as to, with respect to
  • quocumque: wither so ever, how so ever
  • quod: (conj) because, as far as, in so far as, as for the fact that, in that, that
    • quod si: but if
  • quodamodo: in a way
  • quomodo: how, in what way; (rel) as, just as
  • quondam: once, sometimes, formerly
  • quoniam: because, since, seeing that, now that
  • quoque: also, too
  • quot: how many; (conj) as many
  • quotiens: how often (rel) as often as
  • rursus: again, in turn
  • recte: rightly, correctly
  • rursum: again
  • sane: reasonably, sensibly; certainly, doubtless, truly; of course; c. neg. = really, at all; to be sure, however
  • scilicet: adv. evidently, naturally, of course; (as explan. particle:) namely, that is to say, in other words
  • semel: once
  • seu: = et
  • simul: at the same time; together; likewise
  • sin: but if
  • siquidem: if in fact; if only, if indeed; since indeed, since that
  • talis -e: adj. such, of such a kind, the following
  • taliter: in such a manner, so
  • tam: so, so greatly; tam...quam: so...as, much...as well as
  • tamen: yet, nevertheless, still
  • tamquam: as, just as; (conj) as if, just as if
  • tandem: at last, finally
  • tantum: (adv) so much, so greatly; to such a degree; so far; only
  • tantus -a -um (adj): of such (a size); so great, so much
  • tot: as many, so many
  • tunc: (avd) then, just the; thereupon, accordingly, consequently
  • ubicumque: wherever, everywhere
  • unde: whence, from where; wherefore; this being the case
  • usque: as far as, all the way, continually, straight on, up to; until
  • ut...ita: while...nevertheless
  • uterque -raque -rumque: both, each (of two)
  • utinam: would that, if only
  • utique: anyhow, at least, at any rate
  • utpote: as, in as much as
  • utrum: (conj) either, whether
  • velut: as, just as, as it were, as though
  • verumtamen: but yet, nevertheless
  • vero (conj): but, truly
  • videlicet: clearly, evidently; namely
Lessons in this series:

Latin Primer - Parsing #6

PARSING

If the learner is very young he may be led step by step to parse in the following manner

IN CHAPTER:
1 He may name the parts of speech according to his grammar

2 He may also decline some of the more easy nouns and verbs

3 and 4 And here some that are less easy naming their declensions and conjugations

5 He may resolve nominative cases and their verbs by the first concord and what other rules he may have learnt in his grammar applicable to the nom case particularly its gender

6 He may go on to parse accusative cases governed by verbs genitive cases the latter of two nouns infinitives adjectives of whatever sort agreeing with nouns in the nom accus or gen cases always declining such verbs as what participles he parses are derived from and applying his grammar rules as far as he has learnt them

7 He may account for other oblique cases governed of verbs and likewise of prepositions and under Rule 6 here he may begin to parse the ablative absolute

8 In the eighth chapter he may parse verbs that have no nom case expressed and adjectives that have nouns expressed supplying the ellipsis and here under Rule 8 he may begin to parse relatives as connected with their antecedents if he can be made to comprehend that

9 Now he may resolve the governments of adjectives parse nouns of time and place and observe under Rule 1 1 how nom cases as well as others follow after certain verbs

10 and 11 In parsing the word governed he may observe how such word though construed after the word governing it is commonly and elegantly set before in the Latin and he should be careful to write so himself in his Latin

12 13 and 14 He may be reasonably expected to resolve any word that occurs in these chapters particularly in such peculiarities of the Latin idiom as are here exemplified and these too he should study to imitate in his writings NB Of what words or sentences the learner is about to parse in Latin he may in each chapter parse first the concise English translation This will greatly assist him in both languages by leading him to observe their relative differences and accordances In this he must compare adjectives and adverbs in the three degrees note the signs of cases persons voices moods tenses their agreements governments and decline nouns pronouns and verbs in this or some such ner viz
Text nicht verfügbar
The Latin Primer In Three Parts : Part I. Rules of Construction ... : Part II. Rules of Position ... : Part III. A Large and Plain Description of the Latin Verse ... Von Richard Lyne

Lessons in this series:

Chapter 1/Lesson 3-Present Verbs

From Wikibooks, the open-content textbooks collection

Verbs are parts of speech which denote action. There are two main forms of verbs in Latin:

• Principle Verbs (the main verb which is found in every sentence)

• Adjectival Verbs (also known as participles, gerunds and gerundives which describe the state of the described noun).

Every sentence must have a verb. In a sense, the principle verb is the sentence and all the nouns, adverbs and participles are only describing the scenario of the verb. Thus in Latin this constitutes a sentence:

est. 

If you want to explain 'who' is or exists, you add a nominative substantive:

Cornēlia est. 

We now know Cornelia 'is'. But what is she? So we add an adjective.

Cornēlia est bona. 

Now we can see that Cornelia is good, but to elaborate further we can add an adverb:

Cornēlia vix est bona. 

Now we know that Cornelia is 'hardly' (vix: hardly, scarcely, barely) good.

Thus, in English, the shortest Latin sentence is:

I am.

in Latin:

sum 

Examples

These two examples will demonstrate the difference between an adjectival verb and a principle verb.

The resurrected Jesus appeared to his disciples.
'resurrected' is a perfect participle (Adjectival) describing Jesus, while 'appeared' is the principle verb in the sentence.
The shocked disciples see Jesus.
'shocked' is a perfect participle (Adjectival) describing the disciples, while 'see' is the principle verb in the sentence.

Review:
  1. What is the difference between a principle and adjectival verb?
  2. What constitutes a sentence?
  3. Write a sentence in English, and Latin.
  4. Conjugate the verb 'to be' in the past and present tense in English and Latin (I am, You are, He is etc.)
  1. Principal verbs are main verb which is found in every sentence. Adjectival Verbs are participles, gerunds and gerundives which describe the state of the described noun.
  2. a verb
  3. Eg.- Sum, I am
  4. Sum, es, est, sumus, estis, sunt


Personal Endings

Verbs in Latin are inflected to reflect the person who performs the action. English does the same to some extent in the verb to be:

Latin English
sum I am
es You are
est (He/she/it) is
sumus We are
estis You (all) are
sunt They are

Latin, however, inflects all verbs, and is much more extensive than English, allowing writers and speakers of Latin to often drop the personal pronoun (as mentioned last lesson), as the performer of the action is understood by the formation of the verb. The Personal pronoun is only usually added for emphasis. In a way, the ending on Latin verbs are a type of pronoun.

Moods

There are several moods. Each has its own uses to convey certain ideas. The most commons moods are:

• Indicative • Subjunctive or Conjunctive • Imperative

The two moods we will first learn are the imperative (commands and orders) and the indicative (declarative statements and factual questions).

Imperative: Which we use when we make orders.
Go away. Fetch me the keys. Do not order me around!
Indicative: Statements which are declarative, and questions concerning facts.
John plays football.

Voice

There are two constructions verbs can have regarding voice.

Verbs can have either an active or passive voice.

Exampli Gratia 'I smash the car.' 'smash' is an active verb construct.

The passive is used when the nominative is affected by the verb.

E.g. 'The car is smashed by me.' 'is smashed' is a passive construct.

Review:

  1. What is 'voice'.
  2. What is active voice?
  3. What is passive voice?
  4. Construct a sentence in English using each of these voices.

Tense

Tense in Latin is comprised of two parts: TIME and ASPECT. Time reflects when the action is occuring or did occur: past, present, or future. Aspect refers to the nature of the action: simple, completed, or repeated. The "completed" aspect is generally termed "perfective" and repeated aspect "imperfective."

Theoretically, a verb could have nine tenses (combinations of time and aspect). However, Latin only has six, since some possible combinations are expressed by the same verb forms. Latin tenses do not correspond exactly to English ones.

Below is a rough guide to tense in Latin.


Time
A
S
P
E
C
T

Present Future Past
Simple Present Tense
"I walk"
Future Tense
"I will walk"
Perfect Tense
"I walked"
Imperfective Present Tense
"I am walking"
Future Tense
"I will be walking"
Imperfect Tense
"I was walking"
Perfective Perfect Tense
"I have walked"
Future Perfect Tense
"I will have walked"
Pluperfect Tense
"I had walked"

As is evident, some Latin tenses do "double duty." The Latin Present and Future Tenses can either express simple or progressive aspect. Particularly difficult to grasp is the Latin Perfect tense, which can either express an action completed from the point of view of the present ("I have just now finished walking"), or a simple action in past time (its "aorist" sense, from the old Indo European aorist tense, which Latin lost but is still present in Greek).


  1. Revision: Fill this table of noun declensions.
Singular
Nominative puella servus rēx cornū rēs
Vocative




Accusative




Genitive




Dative




Ablative




Plural
Nominative puellae servī rēgēs cornua rēs
Vocative




Accusative




Genitive




Dative




Ablative




  1. Copy out the table of pronoun declensions from Lesson 6.
  2. Memorise all these tables.

Infinitive

The infinitive (impersonal) is the form of the verb which simply means 'to (verb)' e.g. 'to do', or 'to be', or 'to love', or 'to hate' etc. All forms which are not in the infinitive are in the finite (personalised) form.

The infinitive has a -re at the end of the stem of the verb. The infinitive of 'to be' is an exception and is 'esse'.

Dēbeō currere nunc = I ought to run now.

esse, aut nōn esse = To be, or not to be?

Review:

Irregularities

Verbs which use the passive formation in an active sense are known as deponent. Verbs which don't have a form for every tense and mood are known as defective. You will meet a few words like this soon.

  1. What is a deponent verb?
  2. What is an irregular verb?
  3. What is a defective verb?

Personal Pronouns

In case you do ever use a personal pronoun to emphasise the SUBJECT of the verb, one must remember that the personal pronoun must be in the nominative case and the number and person of the verb must match that of the subject. (Revise Lesson 7 if unfamiliar with the terms person and subject).

Principle Parts

When one looks up a verb in the dictionary, the principle parts are given. From these principle parts you can find the correct form of the verb for every circumstance.


Present Imperfect 1st Person Imperfect Infinitive Present Perfect 1st Person Supine
amō amāre amāvi amātum
Determines whether the vowel is dropped in the 1st person singular present imperfect. Gives the imperfect stem and infinitive Gives the perfect stem Allows you to form adjectival forms of the verb (Participles)

Using the Dictionary

All nouns are given in the nominative, as well as the declension and gender of the noun. Verbs are alphabetized using the 1st person singular (the first principle part) and the infinitive is given. Supplementary principle parts are given if the various other principle parts do not follow the standard pattern of formation from the infinitive and 1st person singular.

Verbs: Conjugation in the Present Imperfect

The present imperfect is the simplest tense. To form the present imperfect all that is required is to place the personal endings at the end of the verb stem.

Thus, if you have the stem 'ama' (love), to make it 'I love' you place an ō at the end.

I love  =  amō (amaō*)
we love = amāmus
  • Latin drops the 'a' in amaō forming amō.

Latin could add personal pronouns, however only for added emphasis and in conjunction with the corresponding person ending on the verb. Otherwise the sentence will not make sense. For example:

ego amō = I (not you) love

nōs amāmus = We (not you) love

but that would be for special emphasis: It's I, not you, who love.

Here are the forms of the verb 'porta', carry, in the present imperfect tense:

portō     I carry                     first person singular
portās thou carriest, you carry second person singular
portat he, she, it carries third person singular
portāmus we carry first person plural
portātis you (all) carry second person plural
portant they carry third person plural

'porto' can also be translated 'I am carrying' (present imperfect), 'I do carry' (present emphatic). 'I carry' is known as the 'present simple' tense in English.. Again the 'a' gets dropped when the 'ō' is placed on porta. Porta, and ama are known as 1st conjugation verbs; in other words, verbs which have a stem ending in 'a'.

There are three other conjugations, and below are some examples of verbs from each of the four conjugations (present imperfect tense):


porta, carry (1st. Conj) mone, warn (2nd Conj) rege, rule (3rd Conj.) audī, hear (4th Conj)
portō, I carry moneō, I warn regō, I rule audiō, I hear
portās, thou carriest monēs, thou warnest regis, thou rulest audis, thou hearest
portat, he/she/it carries monet, he/she/it warns regit, he/she/it rules audit, he/she/it hears
portāmus, we carry monēmus, we warn regimus, we rule audimus, we hear
portātis, ye carry monētis, ye warn regitis, ye rule auditis, ye hear
portant, they carry monent, they warn regunt, they rule audiunt, they hear

Each verb uses the same final letter or letters to indicate the 'subject' - I, thou, he/she/it, we, you, they.

Before these final letters, the first conjugation has an 'a' (although when an 'o' is placed, the 'a' is often dropped), the second an 'e', and the third and fourth usually an 'i'. The third person plural forms in the third and fourth conjugations have a 'u'. These verb forms really should be learned by heart.

The commonest verb of all is irregular (see next lesson). Here is a table of the verb in English, Latin and two Romantic languages.


esto: be
Latin English French Spanish Icelandic
sum I am je suis yo soy ég er
es thou art tu es tú eres þú ert
est he/she/it is il/elle est él/ella es hann/hún/það er
sumus we are nous sommes nosotros/-as somos við erum
estis ye are vous êtes vosotros/-as sois þið eruð
sunt they are ils/elles sont ellos/-as son þeir/þær/þau eru

The personal endings are the same as in the four regular conjugations.


Imperative Mood

The imperative mood is an order (eg. Go!, Run!, Away Now!). The imperative mood is formed by simply using the stem of the verb. If the order is to a large group of people, or you are trying to show respect, you must use the -te suffix.

amō eum = I love him.

amā eum = Love him!.

amāte eum = Love (respectful, or plural) him!


currō casam = I run home.

currā casam = Run home!

currāte casam = Run (respectful, or plural) home!


Regō prudente = I rule wisely.

Regi prudente = Rule wisely!

Regite prudente = Rule (respectful order) wisely!

Lessons in this series: