Memorise Flashcards
(26 cards)
Present Active Indicative
1st sg. amō I love - Second conjugation - moneō I advise
2nd sg. amās You love - Second conjugation - monēs You advise
3rd sg. amat He, she, it loves - Second conjugation - monet He , she , it advises
1st pl . amāmus We love - Second conjugation - monēmus We advise
2nd pl . amātis You ( all ) love - Second conjugation - monētis You ( all ) advise
3rd pl . amant They love - Second conjugation - monent they advise
Indicative Uses
Indicative Uses : Statements and Questions Indicative verb forms are used to make simple statements and to ask simple questions :
Infinitive Use: Complementary
Infinitives have properties of both verbs and nouns , and have several different uses . One of the most common is to complete the meaning of another verb . This use of the infinitive is called the complementary infinitive:
Labōrāre dēbeō tacēre ? I ought to work .
Present Active Infinitive
The infinitive is a verbal noun , a form of the verb that is not limited ( infinitus ) by a personal ending . Here are the present active infinitive verb forms of the first and second conjugations :
1st Conjugation amare laudāre - to love, to praise
2nd Conjugation monēre vidēre - to advise, to see
Uses of cases
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
The noun
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.
First declension
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 ) .
second declension masculine
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 .
Second declension - neuter
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 .
Conjunctions
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 :
Imperative uses
To indicate a direct command, Latin uses a mood called the imperative.
The singular form is usually the same as the present stem, found by dropping -re from the present active infinitive (§5). * The plural form adds -te to the present stem.
ama - (you) love!
amate - (you all) love!
vocative case - direct address
The vocative case in Latin is used to address a person ( or thing ) directly . Its form is identical to the nominative in both the singular and the plural of all declensions , except for the singular of 2nd declension nouns ending in -us or -ius . 2nd declension nouns in -us use the vocative singular ending -e ; those ending in -ius use the ending -ī :
Sometimes the vocative is preceded by ō and , in modern texts , it is often set off from the rest of the sentence by commas . The vocative can appear in statements and questions , but it is especially common in commands
Dative case
The dative case is usually best translated “ to د or “ for “ and , like the genitive , has a number of different uses . Two of the most common uses are to show
indirect object - He gives a gift to the girl .
Reference (interest) - He is working for the master . He has a gift for the boys .
The Adverb
adverbs give information about time, place, manner or degree, and answer questions such as when?, where?, how?, how much?, to what extent? They usually modify verbs, although they may also modify adjectives, other adverbs, or even a whole sentence.
Unlike nouns, adverbs in Latin are not declined. Many adverbs end in -ter or -ē,
The Preposition
Like adverbs, Latin prepositions are not declined. In Latin as in English, a preposition never appears alone in a sentence. It occurs with a noun (or pronoun) called the object of the preposition, which is either in the accusative or the ablative case. Like adverbs, prepositional phrases give information about (e.g.) where, with whom, or why the action of the verb occurs.
A preposition usually comes before its object.
Ablative Case
The ablative singular always ends in a vowel, usually long.
Remember that in the first declension, the long -ā of the ablative singular ending distinguishes it from the nominative singular, which ends in a short -a.
using a phrase with the English prepositions by, with, from, in, or at will cover most of the common uses. One important use of the ablative without a preposition is to show
- Means (Instrument) — the thing by or with which something is done - I see with my eyes
Expressions of Place. Latin regularly uses prepositional phrases to indicate where or in what direction an action happens:
- Preposition with Accusative Place to Which (Motion Towards) Portāsne aquam ad virōs? In templum ambulat. Are you carrying water to the men? She walks into the temple.
Preposition with Ablative (Place Where) Agricola in agrō labōrat . The farmer works in the field
Notice that with either place from which or place to which , you should expect a verb of motion in the sentence .
Word order - chap 4
In general , the first and last words of the sentence in Latin are the most important , so an author may put in those places whatever words he wants to emphasize . If no special emphasis is intended , usually the subject will appear first and the verb last .
Subject - modifier of subject - indirect object - modifier of verb - direct object - adverb - verb
Adverbial modification summary
Adverbial modifiers modify a verb , adverb , or adjective but not a noun.
The new items you have just learned ( adverbs , prepositional phrases , ablative of means ) and the dative of reference from the last chapter ( §19 ) function as adverbial modifiers . These modifiers are not part of the core of a sentence . While the “ core “ items ( subject , verb and , sometimes , direct object ) are required for a sentence to be complete , adverbial modifiers are not required , but can be added to provide extra information about what is going on in the sentence .
Adjectives
Adjectives in Latin look like nouns and use most of the same endings. Unlike nouns, which have only one gender, adjectives have masculine, feminine and neuter forms.
Adjectives fall into two groups; one uses the endings of the first and second declensions, and the other uses endings of the third declension. There are no fourth or fifth declension adjectives.
Some adjectives follow the pattern of puer
Some follow the pattern of ager
Agreement of adjectives
Adjectives agree with the nouns they modify in case , number and gender . This does not mean that they belong to the same declension or that their endings always look the same.
When one adjective modifies two or more nouns of different genders , it often agrees with the nearest noun .
Because Latin uses agreement in case , number and gender to indicate what noun an adjective modifies , the adjective and noun do not have to appear next to each other , or in a particular order , as they usually do in English .
Often an adjective will precede the word it modifies and help to resolve the form of that word if it is otherwise ambiguous
Substantive noun use
In Latin , as in English , an adjective can be used without an accompanying noun ( this is called the “ substantive ” use )
In this use , the adjective functions as a noun , and the meaning is understood from the context ( the land of the free people … ) . In Latin , the gender and number of the adjective give you extra help at filling in the missing noun . If the adjective has a masculine ending , it usually indicates men ( or people in general ) ; if it is feminine , women ; if neuter , things :
More Uses of the Genitive
The genitive can also indicate other relationships between two nouns , although it may still be translated into English with “ of _____” Here are three common uses:
Explanatory - the genitive explains more about the noun deus pontī god of the sea
Objective - the genitive would be the object if the other noun were a verb imperium ponti command of the sea ( he commands the sea )
Subjective - the genitive would be the subject if the other noun were a verb consilium turbae the advice of the crowd ( the crowd advises )
Without context , it can sometimes be hard to distinguish between the objective and subjective uses : “ fear of the enemy “ could mean either someone fears the enemy ( objective ) or the enemy fears someone or thing ( subjective ) .
Adjectival Modification - chap 5
Adjectival modifiers modify nouns . The adjective and the uses of the Genitive case that you have learned so far function as adjectival modifiers . Like adverbial modifiers , they are not part of the sentence core and , thus , are not required elements in a sentence . Adjectival modifiers provide extra information about a noun in the sentence . It is useful to note that the following underlined modifiers are equivalent in function :
Sum - present indicative and infinitive
