Now let’s look at Part I: Grammar - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Now let’s look at

Part I: Grammar

Parts of speech

, such as…

Verbs

Tense, person & number

Nouns

Cases, genders

Adjectives

Adverbs

Conjunctions

Enclitics

Pronouns

Slide2

Let’s start with principal parts of words.

First of all…what are principal parts?

Nouns, verbs, and adjectives have principal parts. All nouns, verbs, and adjectives are listed alphabetically according to their principal parts in all Latin dictionaries. The principal parts are used to obtain

stems

. Stems become the base of that word for its function.

Slide3

Now let’s observe the principal parts of verbs.

There are

four

principal parts for most Latin verbs that help us form the various tenses and voices each verb can command.

The first principal part

is the present active 1st person singular form. It usually ends in 'o'. First person singular means the subject is 'I'. Present Active is the tense. The word '

amo

' therefore means 'I love', 'I am loving' or 'I do love'. Three English forms in ONE Latin word!

The second principal part

is the present active INFINITIVE. This word is simply translated as 'to .....' such as '

amâre

= to love'. But it is a very important word since it gives us the conjugation to which a word belongs and the root that one will use to form the rest of the present tense as well as the imperfect and future tenses. Don't get confused by the terms I am using, they will be discussed shortly.

The third principal part

is much like the first but rather than the present active tense, it gives us the root for the perfect tenses merely by removing the '

i

'. As it sits it is used much as the first principal part. '

amâvî

' = I have loved, I did love or I loved...again three for one!

The fourth principal part

is a verbal adjective. It is called the Perfect Passive Participle and will have many uses. The fourth part ends in 'us' and is translated as 'having been .....

ed

'. e.g.

amatus

- having been loved

Slide4

Looking up words in the dictionary.

In a dictionary you will see a verb written in any of these ways:

amo

,

amâre

,

amâvî

,

amatus

- to love, like

amo

, -

âre

, -

âvî

, -

atus

- to love, like

amo

(1) - to love, like

The "(1)" above indicates that the verb belongs to the 1st conjugation and that the principal parts will always be -

âre

,

âvî

,

atus

.

Slide5

Classifying verbs by conjugation.

Just as a noun or adjective belongs to a family called 'declension' and verb also has a connecting family called conjugation. There are 4 conjugations in Latin. They are identified by the infinitive or 2nd principal part of a verb. The first and fourth conjugations are somewhat regular with only a few words that do not fit a pattern. The third is very irregular and needs a lot of attention when memorizing verbs of the third conjugation.

Conjugation Infinitive Ending

1st -

âre

2nd -

êre

3rd -ere

4th -ire

Slide6

Stems

Principal parts of verbs can be used to find the stem of a verb:

Present Stem

- Drop the "-re" from the present active infinitive (second principal part).

Perfect Stem

- Drop the "-

i

" from perfect active indicative (third principal part).

Perfect Passive Participle Stem

- Drop the "-us" from the perfect passive participle (fourth principal part).

Stems are used in the formation of:

Tenses

(active and passive voices; indicative and subjunctive moods)

Imperative mood

(Present and Future; active and passive)

Infinitives

(Present and Perfect active and passive, and Future active)

Participles

(Present active, Perfect passive, Future active and passive)

Slide7

Tenses

Tenses tell the time

in which an action takes place.

There are

six

tenses in Latin.

Present tense - indicates present action- happening now

e.g. I talk, I am talking, I do talk =

narro

Imperfect tense - indicates a past action that may still be happening, an action that was recurring (happened over and over again)

e.g. I was talking, I used to talk

Future tense - indicates an action that has yet to happen

e.g. I will talk

Perfect tense - another past tense but this indicates an action that is finished.

e.g. I have talked, I did talk, I talked

Pluperfect tense - indicates an action that took place earlier than recent past.

e.g. I had talked - 'had' is always used as an auxiliary verb in this tense

Future Perfect tense - rarely used in English; most frequent with 'if' clauses.

e.g. I will have talked...very awkward in English translation.

During Latin I you will work with only the Present, Imperfect, Future and Perfect tenses.

Note too that where Latin has but one form, English can have several!

Slide8

How do you conjugate verbs in the tenses?

Three divisions of a tense

Stem:

present, perfect, and participle

Tense indicator:

vowels, -

ba

, - bi or vowel ending of perfect stem - era or -

eri

Personal ending:

present, perfect, passive

Slide9

Stem

Comes from the principal parts of verbs. The first principal part (Present Active Indicative) furnishes no stem. Therefore, the present stem comes from the 2nd p.p. (Present Active Infinitive). The perfect stem comes from the 3rd

princial

part (Perfect Active Indicative), and the participle stems comes from the 4th

princial

part (Perfect Passive Participle).

Slide10

Personal endings.

Present Perfect Passive

-o/-m -

mus

-

i

-

imus

-r -

mur

-s -

tis

-

isti

-

istis

-

ris

-mini

-t -

nt

-it -

erunt

-

tur

-

ntur

Slide11

Present Tense.

Tense indicator - 1 of 3 vowels: -a, -e, -

i

/-u

Formation: Present stem + present personal endings

Translation: common, progressive, emphatic (I sing, I am singing, I do sing)

1st

sg

.

cantô

moneô

regô

audiô

2nd

sg

.

cantâs

monês

regis

audîs

3rd

sg

.

cantat

monet

regit

audit  

1st pl.

cantâmus

monêmus

regimus

audîmus

2nd pl.

cantâtis

monêtis

regitis

audîtis

3rd pl.

cantant

monent

regunt

audiunt

Slide12

Imperfect Tense.

Tense indicator: -

ba

Formation: Present stem + -

ba

+ present personal endings

Translation: was/were -

ing

, used to ..., kept on -

ing

, etc.

Incomplete action

in the past.

1st

sg

.

cantabam

monebam

regebam

audiebam

2nd

sg

.

cantabas

monebas

regebas

audiebas

3rd

sg

.

cantabat

monebat

regebat

audiebat

 

1st pl.

cantabamus

monebamus

regebamus

audiebamus

2nd pl.

cantabatis

monebatis

regebatis

audiebatis

3rd pl.

cantabant

monebant

regebant

audiebant

Slide13

Future Tense.

Tense indicator: -bi (1st and 2nd conj.) or -e (3rd, 3io, and 4th conj.)

Formation: Present stem + bi/e)

Translation: will/shall

1st

sg

.

cantabo

monebo

regam

audiam

2nd

sg

.

cantabis

monebis

reges

audies

3rd

sg

.

cantabit

monebit

reget

audiet

 

1st pl.

cantabimus

monebimus

regemus

audiemus

2nd pl.

cantabitis

monebitis

regetis

audietis

3rd pl.

cantabunt

monebunt

regent audient

Slide14

Perfect Tense.

Tense indicator: perfect personal endings

Formation: Perfect stem + perfect personal endings

Translation: -

ed

past tense, have/ has -

ed

, did (

completed action

in the past - "I have done it," (it is now done) as opposed to the imperfect "I was doing it" (but it wasn't necessarily done).

1st

sg

.

cantavi

monui

rexi

audivi

2nd

sg

.

cantavisti

monuisti

rexisti

audivisti

3rd

sg

.

cantavit

monuit

rexit

audivit

 

1st pl.

cantavimus

monuimus

reximus

audivimus

2nd pl.

cantavistis

monuistis

rexistis

audivistis

3rd pl.

cantaverunt

monuerunt

rexerunt

audiverunt

Slide15

Pluperfect Tense.

Tense indicator: -era-

Formation: Perfect stem + era + present personal endings (imperfect tense of sum)

Translation: had -ed. Even

futher

in the past than the perfect tense, used to put events in perspective, such as in conditional sentences (you will come across these in the near future)

1st

sg

.

cantaveram

monueram

rexeram

audiveram

2nd

sg

.

cantaveras

monueras

rexeras

audiveras

3rd

sg

.

cantaverat

monuerat

rexerat

audiverat

 

1st pl.

cantaveramus

monueramus

rexeramus

audiveramus

2nd pl.

cantaveratis

monueratis

rexeratis

audiveratis

3rd pl.

cantaverant

monuerant

rexerant

audiverant

Slide16

Future Perfect Tense.

Tense indicator: -

eri

-

Formation: Perfect stem +

eri

+ present personal endings (future tense of sum)

Translation: will/shall have -ed. Indicates completed action in the future, that something will be completed in the future.

1st

sg

.

cantavero

monuero

rexero

audivero

2nd

sg

.

cantaveris

monueris

rexeris

audiveris

3rd

sg

.

cantaverit

monuerit

rexerit

audiverit

 

1st pl.

cantaverimus

monuerimus

rexerimus

audiverimus

2nd pl.

cantaveritis

monueritis

rexeritis

audiveritis

3rd pl.

cantaverint

monuerint

rexerint

audiverint

Slide17

Passive Voice.

To form the Passive Voice in the Present, Imperfect and Future Tenses:

Form the Active voice

Remove the personal endings

Add the Passive voice personal endings

Active Endings Passive Endings

Singular Plural Singular Plural

1st person o/m

mus

r/or

mur

2nd person s

tis

ris

mini

3rd Person t

nt

tur

ntur

Slide18

Synopses of the Present tense - 1st, 2nd, 3rd IO conjugations  

Active Passive Active Passive Active Passive

1st Person Singular

portô

portor

moneô

moneor

rapiô

rapior

2nd Person Singular

portâs

portâris

monês

monêris

rapis

raperis

* 3rd person Singular

portat

portâtur

monet

monêtur

rapit

rapitur

1st Person Plural

portâmus

portâmur

monêmus

monêmur

rapimus

rapimur

2nd Person Plural

portâtis

portâmini

monêtis

monêmini

rapitis

rapimini

3rd Person Plural

portant

portantur

monent

monentur

rapiunt

rapiuntur

Slide19

Examples of Imperfect tense -- 1st person singular forms

Active Passive Active Passive Active Passive

portâbam portâbar monêbam monêbar rapiêbam* rapiêbar*

Notice the imperfect tense sign -

ba

- is simply added between the stem and the personal ending.

Slide20

Perfect Passive System

Recall that the Passive voice in the Present, Imperfect and Future tenses is formed by changing the personal endings from active to passive:

Active Endings Passive Endings

Singular Plural Singular Plural

1st person

o/m

mus

r/or

mur

2nd person

s

tis

ris

mini

3rd Person

t

nt

tur

ntur

But the Perfect system is not formed in the same way. In fact, it's a snap because there are NO new forms to learn, just a new way to combine old forms. The perfect system passive verbs are compound verbs using normal, very familiar forms of the verb '

esse

' along with a perfect passive participle declined just like the adjectives you first learned.

Slide21

How to Form the Perfect Passive Systems

Select the

4th principal part

of the verb, also called the

perfect passive participle

.

Change its ending to the nominative case ending that matches the number and gender of the verb's subject.

Determine the tense of '

esse

' that will apply --

If the passive verb is to be perfect tense, use the present tense of

esse

:  

sum-

es

-

est

-

sumus

-

estis

-

sunt

If the passive verb is to be pluperfect tense, use the imperfect tense of

esse

:  

eram

-eras-

erat

-

eramus

-

eratis

-

erant

If the passive verb is to be future perfect tense, use the future tense of

esse

:  

ero-eris-erit-erimus-eritis-erunt

Select the correct form of

esse

that matches the number and person of the verb's subject.

Why doesn't the tense of

esse

have to be the same as the tense of the passive verb you are creating? Because the perfect passive participle that will be combined with

esse

already connotes its own degree of '

pastness

.'

Slide22

Perfect Passive Systems

Here's a demonstration of how to create a

Passive Perfect tense

verb,

have/has been carried

. The Latin verb with its principal parts will be

porto,portare

,

portavi

,

portatus

-

carry

.

Portatus

, -a, -um is the 4th principal part, and it is declined just like any 1st/2nd declension adjective. To create a

perfect passive

tense, it will be combined with the

present tense of '

esse

'

.

[

portatus

,

portata

,

portatum

] sum

I have been carried

[

portatus

,

portata

,

portatum

]

es

you have been carried

[

portatus

,

portata

,

portatum

]

est

he (she, it) has been carried

[

portati

,

portatae

,

portata

]

sumus

we have been carried

[

portati

,

portatae

,

portata

]

estis

you have been carried

[

portati

,

portatae

,

portata

]

sunt

they have been carried

Slide23

Perfect Passive Systems

Now in the

Pluperfect Passive tense

--

had been carried

:

[

portatus

,

portata

,

portatum

]

eram

I had been carried

[

portatus

,

portata

,

portatum

] eras

you had been carried

[

portatus

,

portata

,

portatum

]

erat

he (she, it) had been carried

[

portati

,

portatae

,

portata

]

eramus

we had been carried

[

portati

,

portatae

,

portata

]

eratis

you had been carried

[

portati

,

portatae

,

portata

]

erant

they had been carried

Slide24

Perfect Passive Systems

And now in the

Future Perfect Passive

--

will have been carried

:

[

portatus

,

portata

,

portatum

]

ero

I will have been carried

[

portatus

,

portata

,

portatum

]

eris

you will have been carried

[

portatus

,

portata

,

portatum

]

erit

he, she, it will have been carried

[

portati

,

portatae

,

portata

]

erimus

we will have been carried

[

portati

,

portatae

,

portata

]

eritis

you will have been carried

[

portati

,

portatae

,

portata

]

erunt

they will have been carried

Slide25

Infinitives

In English, the infinitive is composed of two words,

to

+

verb; to love, to walk, to enjoy, to be

. When you look up a verb in the dictionary you find it without the

to

. This form is called the dictionary form;

love, walk, enjoy, be

.

The infinitive is a verbal noun; it is the

name

of the action of the verb. Thus,

ambulâre

means

to walk

or

walking

, walking being the name of the action of that verb. Infinitives can be active or passive in voice; they can be present, perfect, or future in tense.

 

Active Passive

Present

portâre

portârî

to carry

to be carried

Perfect

portâvisse

portatum

esse

to have carried

to have been carried

Future

portaturum

esse

portatum

îrî

*

to be about to carry

to be about to be carried

*

Slide26

Practice Exercise

Fill in the blanks using the answers below:

perfect passive participle

future

-

ur

-

-

êre

 

perfect active stem

second

-ere

-

êrî

 

future active participle

îre

-

îrî

-

ârî

-

âre

The present active infinitive is the __________ principle part of the verb.

The endings of the present active infinitive are: 1

st

conjugation __________; 2

nd

conjugation __________; 3

rd

conjugation __________; 4

th

conjugation __________.

The present passive infinitive of 1

st

conjugation verbs ends in letters __________; the 2

nd

conjugation in __________; the 4

th

conjugation in __________.

The perfect active infinitive is formed by adding -

isse

to the __________.

The perfect passive infinitive is formed by using the word

esse

with the __________.

The future active infinitive is formed by using the word

esse

with the __________.

What letters are the sign of the future active infinitive (and future active participle)? __________

What English word, derived from the future active participle of sum, contains these letters?

Slide27

How to form an Imperative Verb

To form a Latin verb in the singular imperative mood:

Find the Present Stem from the Present Active Infinitive (2nd principal part)

Drop the '-re'

Examples:

ambula

- walk!

docê

- teach!

lege

- read!

cape - take!

audî

- listen!

Exceptions:

ducere

-

duc

(duke);

facere

-

fac

(FAHK);

iacere

-

iac

(YAHK);

dicere

-

dic

(DEEK)

Words in parentheses are the pronunciation helps for these words

Slide28

How to form an Imperative Verb

To form a Latin verb in the plural imperative mood:

Find the Present Stem from the Present Active Infinitive (2nd principal part)

Drop the '-re'

Add- '-

te

' EXCEPT third conjugation. Drop the entire infinitive ending (-ere) and add '-

ite

' (pronounced it eh- short '

i

' sound)

There are NO exceptions to the plural forms, so

duc

becomes

ducite

in the plural.

Examples:

ambulâte

- walk!

docête

- teach!

legite

-read! c

apite

- take!

audîte

-listen!

When the vowel which precedes the '

te

' is marked with an accent, make that vowel a long sound and put the stress of the word here please. When a short '

i

' is used (3rd conjugation verbs), put the stress on the syllable that precedes the '

i

' syllable.

Listen! Imperative is used to express a command!

Slide29

Indirect Statements

A popular use for infinitives is in a grammatical construction called an

indirect

statment

.

First, think of what a

direct statement

is:

Puer

librum

portat

.

The boy carries a book. This is a simple and direct comment.

When one introduces the direct statement with a clause - such as

Caesar dixit

,

Marcus

scit

, Cornelius

putat

or Aurelia

vidit

- the phrase

. . . that the boy carries a book

is written differently.

Boy

is written as an accusative and

carry

as an infinitive:

Caesar dixit

puerum

librum

portare

 

Caesar said that the boy carried a book

Marcus

scit

puerum

librum

portare

 

Marcys

knows that the boy carries a book.

Cornelius

putat

puerum

librum

portare

 

Cornelius thinks that the boy carries a book.

Aurelia

vidit

puerum

librum

portare

 

Aurelia saw that the boy carried a book.

Note the introductory verbs

dixit,

scit

,

putat

,

vidit

.

These belong to categories of dixit - verb of

saying

,

scit

- verb of

knowing

,

putat

- verb of

thinking

and

vidit

- verb of

perceiving.

Note the various translations of the infinitive.

It carries the same tense

as the introductory verb of saying, knowing, thinking or perceiving when the infinitive is in the present tense.

The rule:

Verbs of saying, knowing, thinking and perceiving are followed by an infinitive, the subject of which is in the accusative case.

Slide30

Practice Exercise

Translate the following indirect statements into English.

Eucleides

dicit

ludum

optimum

esse

.

Scio

Cornelium

esse

senatorem

Romanum

.

Scimus

Corneliam

puellam

Romanam

esse

.

Puto

Sextum

puerum

temerarium

esse

.

Audivi

Corneliam

ad

tabernam

ire.

Video

viam

longam

esse

.

Putavimus

servos in

agris

laborare

.

Audiebat

servos in

culina

clamorare

.

Credo

Aureliam

in

urbem

descendere

.

Dixerunt

Marcus

dormire

.

Slide31

Applying the Principle of Indirect Statement

Study this example:

Davus

est

iracundus

.  Quid

dicis

?    

Dico

Davum

esse

iracundum

.

Now, following this pattern, try combining these pairs of sentences:

Sextus

est

puer

temerarius

.   Quid

dicis

?

   

Dico

_________________________________________________

Pater Marci

est

crudelis

.   Quid

putat

Sextus

?

   

Sextus

putat

___________________________________________

Cornelius

est

senator

Romanus

.   Quid

dicitis

?

   

Dicimus

______________________________________________

Slide32

Applying the Principle of Indirect Statement

Study this example:

Davus

est

iracundus

.  Quid

dicis

?    

Dico

Davum

esse

iracundum

.

Now, following this pattern, try combining these pairs of sentences:

Adstantes

furem

ex aqua

extrahunt

.   Quid vides?

   Video

adstantes

________________________________________

Puer

exclamat

, "Aqua non

frigida

est."   Quid

exclamat

puer

?

   

Puer

exclamat

aquam

___________________________________

Cornelius

iratus

ad

pueros

venit

.   Quid

pueri

vident

?

   

Pueri

vident

__________________________________________

Slide33

Applying the Principle of Indirect Statement

Study this example:

Davus

est

iracundus

.  Quid

dicis

?    

Dico

Davum

esse

iracundum

.

Now, following this pattern, try combining these pairs of sentences:

Sextus

canem

capit

.   Quid

Eucleides

videt

?

   

Eucleides

videt

_______________________________________

Cornelia in arena

currit

.   Quid

Sextus

credit?

   

Sextus

credit ________________________________________

Slide34

A Brief Summary of the Latin Participle

Simply put, a participle is

a verbal adjective

. In English, there are two participles: the present (

working, seeing, walking

) and the past (

worked, seen, walked).

In

Latin

there are three participles you need to know at this time:

the present active, the perfect passive and the future active:

Slide35

A Brief Summary of the Latin Participle

Present Active Infinitive Present Active Participle

Portâre

portans

,

portantis

to carry

carrying

Docêre

docens

,

docentis

to teach teaching

Ducere

ducens

,

ducentis

to lead

leading

Capere

capiens

,

capientis

to take taking

Invenîre

inveniens

,

invenientis

to find

finding

CAVE!!! In English the present participle is used in conjunction with the verb

to be

to form the progressive present tense:

he is walking

. NOT IN LATIN! In Latin, the present tense is used for the simple present -- he walks, the progressive present -- he is walking, and the emphatic present -- he does walk. All these meanings are encompassed in the one Latin form,

ambulat

.

Slide36

Present Active Participle

as with all forms in the Present System, use the Present Active Infinitive as the basis for the new form.

Drop

-re

. Add

-ns

for the nominative singular form. Add

-

ntis

for the genitive singular form, which will give you the root for all the other case forms. Treat this participle as a third declension adjective.

Look at the chart above and note that, as with the imperfect tense, there is the vowel -e- (with the exception of the 1st conjugation); also note that -

io

verbs retain the -

i

-, seen in -

ie

- before -ns or -

ntis

.

When translating, equate -

ns,-ntis

, -

nti

, -

ntem

, -

nte

, -

nti

( abl.

sg

.), and so on, with the English ending "-

ing

." Or think of it this way: -

nt

= -

ing

Read pp. 133-135 in Book II of

Ecce Romani

for further explanations and demonstrations of this participle.

Slide37

A Brief Summary of the Latin Participle

Present Active Infinitive Perfect Passive Participle

Portâre

portatus

,

portata

,

portatum

to carry

carried, having been carried

Docêre

doctus

,

docta

,

doctum

to teach

taught, having been taught

Ducere

ductus

,

ducta

,

ductum

to lead

led, having been led

Capere

captus

,

capta

,

captum

to carry

taken, having been taken

Invenîre

inventus

,

inventa

,

inventum

to find

found, having been found

Slide38

Perfect Passive Participles

Perfect

Passive

Participle

As with all forms of the Perfect System, start with the 4th principal part of the verb. This happens to BE the perfect passive participle, unless the 4th principal part ends in -

urus

. In that case, there is NO passive form of the verb

and,thus

, NO perfect passive participle!

Change the endings to agree with the noun or pronoun being modified. Use the same technique as with 1st and 2nd declension adjectives, since that's exactly what this participle is.

Translate as

having been .....

ed

, .....ed.

For example, "having been carried" OR "carried," "having been seen" OR "seen," and so on.

Look at the chart above for examples from each conjugation.

Read pp. 50-51 in Book II of

Ecce Romani

for further explanations and demonstrations of this participle.

Slide39

A Brief Summary of the Latin Participle

Present Active Infinitive Future Active Participle

Portâre

portaturus

,

portatura

,

portaturum

to carry

going to carry, about to carry

Docêre

docturus

,

doctura

,

docturum

to teach going to teach, about to teach

Ducere

ducturus

,

ductura

,

ducturum

to lead

going to lead, about to lead

Capere

capturus

,

captura

,

capturum

to take going to take, about to take

Invenîre

inventurus

,

inventura

,

inventurum

to find

going to find, about to find

Slide40

Future Active Participles

Here's a slight deviation from the rules. Use the 4th principal part of the verb, which is also the Perfect Passive Participle. Drop -us and add -

urus

, unless the 4th principal part of the verb already ends in -

urus

(see point 1 on the perfect passive participle above).

Change the endings to agree with the noun or pronoun being modified. Use the same technique as with 1st and 2nd declension adjectives, since that's exactly what this participle is.

Translate to show future action with

going to ---, about to .....

.

Look at the chart above for examples from each conjugation.

Read pp. 184-186 in Book II of

Ecce Romani

for further explanations and demonstrations of this participle.

Slide41

Principal Parts of Nouns

There are

three

principal parts for every noun:

Nominative Case - the subject of a sentence

Genitive Case - possession,

partitive

, value, etc.

Gender - indicates whether a noun is masculine, feminine or neuter. All nouns have genders and they aren't always logical to us. More will be explained about how one can remember the genders of words.

Exempli Gratia

:

culina

,

culinae

, feminine.

Nota

Bene

! The principal parts of a noun usually are given in this format in a dictionary:

culina

, -

ae

f. kitchen

Slide42

The Stem of a Noun

The stem of a noun comes from the

genitive singular

, also called the 2nd principal part of a noun. The rule states:

Drop the genitive singular ending of a noun for the base (stem).

Example:

culina

,

culin

ae

, f. kitchen. The stem/base is

culin

-

. All other case endings are added to this stem.

Slide43

Cases

Nouns are

declined

in cases. By putting different endings onto the stem of a noun you change the case, thus the function. The

nominative

case is used for the subject of the verb or the predicate nominative noun. The

genitive

case is used to show possession.

Each case has a singular and plural form.

Slide44

Declensions

Nouns and adjectives belong to families just as you and I do. These families are called declensions. There are 5 declensions but you will be leaning only the first three in the beginning of this course. Words CANNOT leave their families and we understand the declension or family to which a noun belongs by the genitive case.

The following chart shows you the nominative and genitive forms of the 5 declensions.

Declension

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

Nominative via

amicus

mïles

arcus

reiës

singular

Genitive

viae

amicï

mïlitis

arcüs

reëï

singular

Gender

f.

m.

m.

m.

f.

Nominative

culina

(

sg

.) The/A kitchen (

sg

.)

(subject)

culinae

(pl.) The kitchens (pl.)

Genitive

culinae

(

sg

.) of the kitchen/the kitchen's

(possession)

culinärum

(pl.) of the kitchens/the kitchens'

Slide45

What is a Case?

A

case

, in Latin, is a grammatical term to indicate a change that occurs usually in the ending or terminus of a

noun

or

adjective

(

puella

,

puellae

,

puellam

). Sometimes the whole word changes. (is,

eius

,

eam

).

The reason for cases in Latin is to indicate how a word functions within a sentence. There are cases in English that are obvious in pronouns.

He

is a nominative case and

him

is an accusative case.

Since word order is not mandated in Latin, it is the case ending that indicates whether a noun is the subject, direct object or object of a preposition. The case of an adjective must be the same as the noun it modifies. Therefore, even if a noun and adjective are not placed next to one another, the reader knows that they belong together.

In English we use

we

as the subject of a sentence. One never says "He saw

we

in a store" or "My friend went with

we

to the market." In place of the nominative

we

, one needs to use the accusative form US as either the direct object of a verb (He saw US or I went to the store with US)

Slide46

Latin has five cases, six when one counts the vocative which usually is the same as the nominative form and thus sometimes not listed as a separate case.

Nominative

- subject of a sentence or predicate noun

We saw the game...subject is

We

; They were friends. Friends = they so both are nominative.

Compound subjects - My friend and I went to the game...both friend and I are nominative.

Genitive

- possession (of ..., ______'s, _____s' and root of the word

I am the daughter OF a wonderful woman...both wonderful and woman are genitive singular

Dative

- indirect object with verbs of giving, telling, saying

I gave something to someone...the 'to someone' is dative and one does not write 'to' in Latin; the dative case indicates the 'to'. One uses 'to' only with direction.

Slide47

Latin has five cases, six when one counts the vocative which usually is the same as the nominative form and thus sometimes not listed as a separate case.

Accusative

- direct object of a verb; object of many Latin Prepositions

When one has a transitive verb, a verb that can have a direct object such as 'see', it is usually followed by a direct object. The dog sees the cat. Dog is the subject, nominative

sg

. and cat is the direct object, accusative sing. In English we know the dog is doing the action and the cat receiving it because of the word placement. In Latin I can write '

felem

canis

videt

' or '

canis

felem

videt

' and because of the noun endings, I know that the dog is seeing the cat and not the reverse.

There will never be a direct object with an intransitive verb. Intransitive verbs are forms of 'to be' and many action verbs such as 'run' or 'walk'. One can recognize these verbs in a dictionary when the fourth principal part ends in '

urus

' rather than 'us'. More VERB information can be found on the verb section of the grammar pages.

The accusative case usually follows most prepositions as well as in '

canis

prope

villam

ambulat

' which says 'The dog is walking near the farmhouse'.

Slide48

Latin has five cases, six when one counts the vocative which usually is the same as the nominative form and thus sometimes not listed as a separate case.

Ablative

- prepositional phrases with or without Latin prepositions as well as many other uses which you will learn as the year progresses. You can also find out more about the ablative uses in

Grammatica

under Latin II. When you see an ablative form and there is no Latin preposition, translate as 'by means of' or merely 'by' or 'with'.

e.g. He was hit with a stick...by means of a stick.

When the name of a town, city, or small island is in the Ablative case, use 'from'.

e.g.

Venit

Româ

- He comes from Rome.

The ablative can also show MANNER.

e.g.

magnâ

voce - with a loud voice

The ablative can indicate the TIME WHEN something occurred.

e.g.

primâ

luce

- at dawn

The ablative is also used with a select group of prepositions that fit the acronym SID SPACE.

Thanks to Sally Davis for this acronym!

Sub In De Sine Pro A(b) Cum E(x) are the prepositions which are followed by ablative nouns. Note that In means In or On when the ablative is used whereas it means INTO when followed by the accusative case.

Vocative

- direct address

The vocative form is the same as the nominative except for masculine singular nouns ending in 'us' or '

ius

' such as Marcus and

Lucius

.

e.g.

Marce

, get up!,

Luci

, wash the dishes!

All plural forms are the same as the nominative.

Slide49

What is a Declension?

Latin nouns are divided into

five

declensions, groups or families. Each declension as a set of different endings which reflect the case of a noun. Go to cases for more information about this. Latin Adjectives are divided into

three

of the five declensions.

One knows the declension of a noun by the 2

nd

principal part which is also called the genitive case. When you learn a new word that is either a noun or adjective, you also recognize the declension to which it belongs.

Exempli Gratia

-

Nouns

puella

,

puellae

f. - the '

ae

' indicates 1st declension

puer

,

pueri

m. - the '

i

' indicates 2nd declension

nomen

,

nominis

n. - the 'is' indicates 3rd declension

portus

,

portûs

m - the '

ûs

' indicates 4th declension

res,

rei

f. - the '

ei

' indicates 5th declension

Adjectives

clarus

-

clara

-

clarum

= 1st and 2nd declensions

fortis

, forte = 3rd declension

Slide50

What declension of a noun do I use?

A noun can only belong to one declension. In Latin, there are five declensions. In Latin I you will cover the

first

three declensions of nouns. The key to knowing which declension a noun belongs is found within the principal parts. The principal parts give key information. Here is how it works:

Look at the 2nd principal part (Genitive singular)

1st declension nouns:

puella

,

puellae

, f. girl vita,

vitae

, f. life

pecunia

,

pecuniae

, f. money

auriga

,

auriagae

, m. charioteer

All 1st declension nouns have a genitive singular ending of

-

ae

so the

-

ae

ending indicates a 1st declension noun. Most are

feminine

but not all.

2nd declension nouns:

servus

,

servï

, m. slave

puer

,

puerï

, m. boy

caelum

,

caelï

, n. sky, heaven bellum,

bellï

, n. war

All 2nd declension nouns have a genitive singular ending of

-ï

. 2nd declension nouns are either

masculine

or

neuter

.

3nd declension nouns:

lux

,

lucis

, f. light

pater

,

patris

, m. father corpus,

corporis

, n. body

All 3rd declension nouns have a genitive singular ending of

-is

.

Slide51

Third Declension Nouns

Also, even though there are only two sets of declension endings in 3rd declension nouns, all three genders are used. Masculine and feminine nouns are declined the same in third declension.

When students memorize the principal parts, they should realize there is a purpose. These parts will give them clues to grammar concepts. If a student is working with the noun "slave" and has memorized the p.p.(principal parts), the student will know to put only 2nd declension endings on

servus,etc

.

Now you the student must memorize the cases of nouns and their uses!

Slide52

What noun case do I use?

1. Nominative: subject and predicate nominative noun

Predicate nominative nouns follow linking verbs (sum

to be

,

fio

to become

).

My vehicle

is a

truck

.

Meum

vehiculum

est

auto

plaustrum

.

2. Genitive: shows possession

(In English the genitive case will be used when a noun is an object of the preposition

"

of"

or

a noun using

's

or

s'

.)

My brother's

vehicle is a car. OR The vehicle

of my brother

is a car.

Mei

fratris

vehiculum

est

auto

raeda

.

Slide53

What noun case do I use?

3. Dative: Indirect object: indicates the receiver of the direct object

Indicator verbs:

giving (

dô

,

donô

)

showing (

monstrô

)

telling (

dicô

,

narrô

,

nuntiô

).

Translation:

1.) place the indirect object noun before the direct object

Sextus

gives Cornelia a dog.

2.) use the prepositions

to / for

after the direct object

Sextus

gives the dog to Cornelia.

Watch out! After the indicator verbs listed above,

to / for

are not translated in Latin. Check out the English sentences below. It gives two ways to translate the indirect object in English.

Your father is giving

me

your bike. OR Your father is giving your bike

to me

.

Tuus

pater

mihi

tuam

birotam

dat.

Slide54

What noun case do I use?

4. Accusative: Direct Object

1.) Direct Object (answers the question "what?"/"whom?" after the verb)

I see the slave walking to the farmhouse.

Servum

ambulantem

ad

villam

videô

2.) object of prepositions such as

in

(into),

trans

(across),

post

(behind),

ad

(to, toward),

prope

(near), and other prepositions.

I see the slave walking to the farmhouse.

Servum

ambulantem

ad

villam

videô

.

Slide55

What noun case do I use?

5. Ablative: The catch-all case

1.)

Object of prepositions

such as:

in

(in, on0,

sub

(under),

cum

(with) and other prepositions.

Father was walking with mother in the fields.

Pater cum

matre

in

agrîs

ambulâbat

.

2.) Other uses: means, manner, specific time etc.

See FAQ: What are the uses of the ablative case?

5. Vocative: noun of direct address (give a command to or ask a person a question)

Vocative case endings are the same as the Nominative case endings.

Exception: Vocative singular of certain 2nd declension, masculine nouns

Nouns ending in -us for the Nom.

sg

. will change to -e for the Vocative

Nouns ending in -

ius

for the Nom.

sg

. will change to -î for the Vocative

Marcus, look at the sky!

Marce

,

spectâ

caelum

!

Son, why are you running in the farmhouse?

Filî

,

cür

in

villâ

curris

?

Slide56

What noun case do I use?

  Nominative Vocative 1. girl

puella

puella

2. boy

puer

puer

3. slave

servus

serve 4. messenger

nuntius

nuntî

Now the student must memorize the declension case endings! Your textbook,

Ecce

Romanî

presents the case endings one case at a time. The full set is in the back of the textbook on page 267.

Look at this sentence:

I see the

slave

working.

How is

slave

used? It is the direct object of the verb

see

. Therefore, it goes into the

accusative

case. What is the 2nd principal part of

slave

? It is

-î

, therefore, it is a 2nd declension noun. What case ending do I use? Look on page 267 for 2nd declension accusative singular. What is that ending? It is

-um

, therefore

servum

.

Look at this sentence:

The

slaves

see me.

How is

slaves

used? It is the subject, and it is plural; therefore, nominative plural of 2nd declension therefore,

servî

.

This becomes a matching game. Memorize endings and principal parts, figure how the word is used, then select the proper ending.

Slide57

Principal Parts of Adjectives

Principal Parts Nom.

sg

. masculine Nom.

sg

. Feminine Nom.

sg

. neuter

1st and 2nd

altus

alta

altum

Declension

pulcher

pulchra

pulchrum

3rd Declension

fortis

fortis

forte

celer

celeris

celere

The stem of the adjective comes from the Nom.

sg

. f. (2nd principal part) by dropping the feminine ending: -a for 1st and 2nd Declension, and the -is for 3rd Declension.

Memoria

tene

! Declensions: Nouns and adjectives are declined in cases. A noun can belong to only one declension. There are five declensions of nouns. An adjective can belong to only one of two types (1st and 2nd declension or 3rd declension) but will contain endings for all three genders.

Exempli Gratia

- The table below gives some examples of an adjective and a noun in agreement, and gives the gender, number and case - all of which must agree!

Adjective & Noun Number Gender Case

tall tree (direct object) singular feminine Accusative

arborem

altam

with tall men plural masculine Ablative

cum

virîs

altîs

of the brave boy singular masculine Genitive

puerî

fortis

Slide58

How can you tell the declension of an adjective?

Adjectives are of two sorts:

1st & 2nd declension

(

tardus

,

tarda

,

tardum

)

3rd declension

(gravis, gravis, grave)

Adjectives are declined in cases, as are nouns (nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, ablative). Adjectives have all three genders (masculine, feminine, neuter).

To determine the declension, start by looking at the principal parts.

nominative singular masculine, nominative singular feminine and Nominative singular neuter

1st & 2nd declension adjectives have these endings:

-us, -a, -um

or

-

er

, -a, -um

;

3rd declension adjectives have these endings:

-is, -is, -e

Adjectives agree with the gender of the noun.

Noun:

amicitia

, -

ae

,

f.

. - friendship

Adjective:

magnus

,

magna

, magnum - great, large

Decline:

amicitia

magna

- great friendship

SINGULAR

PLURAL

Nom.

amicitia

magna

amicitiae

magnae

Gen

.

amicitiae

magnae

amicitiârum

magnârum

Dat.

amicitiae

magnae

amicitiîs

magnîs

Acc.

amicitiam

magnam

amicitias

magnas

Abl.

amicitiâ

magnâ

amicitiîs

magnîs

Slide59

How can you tell the declension of an adjective?

Adjectives agree with the gender of the noun

Noun

:

mîles

,

mîlitis

,

m.

. - soldier

Adjective:

magnus

, magna, magnum - great, large

Decline:

mîles

magnus

- great soldier

SINGULAR

PLURAL

Nom.

mîles

magnus

mîlitês

magnî

Gen

.

mîlitis

magnî

mîlitum

magnôrum

Dat.

mîlitî

magnô

mîlitibus

magnîs

Acc.

mîlitem

magnum

mîlitês

magnôs

Abl.

mîlîte

magnô

mîlitibus

magnîs

Adjectives agree with the gender of the noun

Noun

:

baculum

, -î,

n.

. - stick

Adjective: gravis, gravis,

grave

- heavy, severe

Decline:

baculum

grave

- heavy stick

SINGULAR

PLURAL

Nom.

baculum

grave

bacula

gravia

Gen

.

baculî

gravis

baculôrum

gravium

Dat.

baculô

gravî

baculîs

gravibus

Acc.

baculum

grave

bacula

gravia

Abl.

baculô

gravî

baculîs

gravibus

Slide60

Positive Degree

This is the form in which an adjective is listed in a vocabulary or dictionary, such as:

acer

,

acris

, acre

-

keen, sharp

iratus

, a, um

-

angry

pinguis

,

pingue

-

fat

bonus, a, um

-

good

laetus

, a, um

-

happy

prudens

,

prudentis

–

wise

celer

,

celeris

,

celere

-

swift

magnus

, a, um

-

great

pulcher

,

pulchra

,

pulchrum

-

beautiful

facilis

, facile

-

easy

nobilis

,

nobile

-

noble

stultus

, a, um

-

stupid

Some of these adjectives belong to the first and second declension and some to the third declension. They

never

leave their declensions while they are positive degree adjectives, no matter what the declension of the noun that they modify. They must always agree in gender, case and number with their noun, and they

may

happen to agree in declension too. Thus, you will see such combinations as:

1st/2nd declension adjective & 1st, 2nd, 3rd declension nouns

irata

ancilla

,

iratae

ancillae

iratus

vir

,

irati

viri

iratus

consul,

irati

consulis

irata

imperatrix

,

iratae

imperatricis

3rd declension adjective & 1st, 2nd, 3rd declension plural nouns

celeres

raedae

,

celerium

raedarum

celeres

pueri

,

celerium

puerorum

celeria

itinera

,

celerium

itinerum

Slide61

Comparative Degree

In English, represented by the "more ----- " or "-----

er

" forms. In Latin, by endings that incorporate -

ior

or -

ius

. To form the comparative, add

-

ior

to the stem. The only exception is that

-

ius

, instead of -

ior

, is added to the stem for the neuter nominative and accusative singular forms. The comparative adjective in Latin is

always

declined in the 3rd declension:

iratior

,

iratius

-

angrier

laetior

,

laetius

-

happier

stultior

,

stultius

-

more foolish

prudentior

, -

ius

-

more sensible

pinguior

,

pinguius

-

fatter

nobilior

,

nobilius

-

nobler

facilior

,

facilius

-

easier

pulc

hr

ior

,

pulc

hr

ius

-

more beautiful

celerior

,

celerius

-

swifter

a

cr

ior

,

a

cr

ius

-

keener

  Notice above that

pulcher

and

acer

drop out -e-, so that the stem is

pulchr

- or

acr

-, and the comparative form is built on that stem. Magnus and bonus, two very common adjective, have irregular forms that are discussed on the

Irregular adjective

page. Remember, a comparative form belongs ONLY to the third declension, regardless of the declension of its positive form.

Slide62

Comparative Degree

Masculine Feminine Neuter

Singular

nom.

novior

vir

novior

femina

nov

ius

tempus

gen.

novioris

viri

novioris

feminae

novioris

temporis

dat.

noviori

viro

noviori

feminae

noviori

tempori

acc.

noviorem

virum

noviorem

feminam

nov

ius

tempus

abl.

noviore

viro

noviore

feminâ

noviore

tempori

Plural

nom.

noviores

viri

noviores

feminae

noviora

tempora

gen.

noviorum

viriorum

noviorum

feminarum

noviorum

temporum

dat.

novioribus

virîs

novioribus

feminîs

novioribus

temporibus

acc.

noviores

viros

noviores

feminas

noviora

tempora

abl.

novioribus

virîs

novioribus

feminîs

novioribus

temporibus

Often a comparison will contain

quam

because it is stating that one person or thing is more "------"

than

another person or thing is: A rabbit is faster than a tortoise (is) =

Lepus

celerior

est

quam

testudo

(

est

). Keep that in mind when you are translating the practice sentences below.

Slide63

Superlative Degree

In English, represented by "most -----" or "very -----" or "-----

est

". In Latin, the superlative is indicated by ----

issimus

,-a,-um, ----

illimus

,-a,-um, or ----

errimus

,-a,-um. A superlative adjective in Latin is ALWAYS declined in the 1st and 2nd declensions. To form the superlative, add

-

issimus

to the stem of the adjective. Decline the new adjective like "

altus

". There are two variations on this rule:

If the adjective ends in the nominative masculine singular in -

er

,

double the r

and then add

-

imus

,-a,-um.

For example,

celer

becomes

celerrimus

.

If the adjective is

facilis

,

difficilis

,

similis

,

dissimilis

,

gracilis

or

humilis

,

double the l

and then add

-

imus

,-a,-um.

For example,

difficillimus

. (All other adjective whose positive form ends in -

lis

will add the normal ending -

issimus

.)

iratissimus

, -a, -um -

very angry

laetissimus

, -a, -um -

happiest

stultissimus

, -a, -um -

most foolish

prudentissimus

, -a, -um -

most wise

pinguissimus

, -a, -um -

fattest

nobilissimus

,-a, -um -

very noble

facillimus

, -a, -um -

easiest

pulcherrimus

, -a, -um -

most beautiful

celerrimus

, -a, -um -

swiftest

acerrimus

, -a, -um -

very keen

 

The superlative forms of

magnus

and bonus also have irregular spellings and are discussed on the

Irregular adjective

page.