chap 2

Question 1

use of cases (basic)

Answer 1

Nominative - Subject of a finite verb

Genitive - Possession, “of____”

Dative - Indirect object; “to/for___”

Accusative - Direct object

Ablative - “by, with, from, in” (often with a preposition)

Vocative - Direct address

Locative - Place

Question 2

First Declension

Answer 2

The long -ā of the ablative singular ending distinguishes it from the nominative singular.

The dative and ablative plural have the same ending , -īs .

The same is true for the genitive and dative singular and the nominative plural endings ( -ae ) .

Question 3

Second Declension Masculine

Answer 3

As in the first declension , the dative and ablative plural have the ending -īs . The dative and ablative singular of the second declension also have the same ending , -ō .

Also, the genitive singular and nominative plural endings ( -i ) are the same .

Some words in -er drop the -e- from the stem in all but the nominative singular . Compare puer , puerī with ager , agrī . The genitive singular shows you the stem that will be used for the remaining forms .

Question 4

Second Declension : Neuter

Answer 4

In the neuter pattern , the nominative and accusative case endings are always the same , both in the singular and the plural .

All other endings are the same as those for the masculine pattern .

Question 5

The Conjunction

Answer 5

Latin uses “ coordinating “ conjunctions ( words like and , but , or ) just as English does , to connect words , phrases and sentences . The most important thing to notice is that the words being connected always have the same function ( e.g. , 2 subjects , 2 verbs ; never a subject and a verb , or a subject and direct object

As in English , conjunctions in Latin are commonly placed between the words or phrases they connect . An exception to this is the enclitic -que , which is added to the second item of those being connected

A coordinating conjunction should lead you to expect another word or phrase with the same function as that in the first item . If two subjects are joined by a conjunction , the verb will usually be plural :

Question 6

The noun

Answer 6

Nouns in Latin fall into five regular groups , called declensions according to the vowel that originally appeared at the end of the noun stem . Sound changes over time have made this vowel disappear in many of the forms . The easiest way to identify the declension of a noun is to look at the genitive singular case ending , which is unique to each declension.

The stem carries the meaning of the noun and the case endings indicate its function in the sentence . To find the stem of a noun , drop the genitive singular ending.

Latin nouns are also identified by gender ( masculine , feminine or neuter ) .

Most first declension nouns are feminine . The common exceptions are often remembered as the “ PAIN “ words , which are all masculine.

Most second declension nouns with a nominative in -us or -er are masculine. Second declension nouns with a nominative in -um are neuter.