Latin Grammar Basics

Latin

Latin Grammar Basics For Desperate People

Tara Tanöz-Sargeant 5/7/2008

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

MAKING NOUNS ........................................................................................................................................................................ 4

Nouns ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 5

MAKING VERBS ......................................................................................................................................................................... 7

CONDITIONAL CLAUSES ........................................................................................................................................................ 9

How many types of condition are there? ............................................................................................................ 9

WITH VERBS IN THE SUBJUNCTIVE .................................................................................................................. 10

UNFULFILLED (UNREAL/REMOTE) CONDITIONS ..................................................................................... 10

FURTHER POINTS ........................................................................................................................................................ 11

WE COULD GO ON! ....................................................................................................................................................... 11

And some for you to try… ......................................................................................................................................... 12

GERUNDS AND GERUNDIVES........................................................................................................................................... 16

MEANING .......................................................................................................................................................................... 16

NOMINATIVE .................................................................................................................................................................. 17

THE GERUNDIVE - verbal adjective .................................................................................................................... 17

FORMATION .................................................................................................................................................................... 17

IN PLACE OF A GERUND ........................................................................................................................................... 18

TO EXPRESS OBLIGATION ....................................................................................................................................... 18

With transitive verbs .................................................................................................................................................. 18

And some to try: ............................................................................................................................................................ 19

INDIRECT STATEMENT ....................................................................................................................................................... 20

INFINITIVES .................................................................................................................................................................... 20

FORMATION OF INFINTIVES.................................................................................................................................. 20

AGREEMENT ................................................................................................................................................................... 21

PRONOUNS....................................................................................................................................................................... 21

NEGATIVE ......................................................................................................................................................................... 22

SUBORDINATE CLAUSES .......................................................................................................................................... 22

And some to try….......................................................................................................................................................... 22

PARTICIPLES AND ABLATIVE ABSOLUTES .............................................................................................................. 23

Deponents......................................................................................................................................................................... 24

And some to try….......................................................................................................................................................... 24

ABLATIVE ABSOLUTE ................................................................................................................................................ 25

What is it? ......................................................................................................................................................................... 25

What does it mean? ..................................................................................................................................................... 25

And some to try….......................................................................................................................................................... 26

Some uses of the SUBJUNCTIVE ...................................................................................................................................... 29

B/ IN THE MAIN PART OF A SENTENCE (and don’t worry about all the fancy names).......... 31

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B/ IN MAIN CLAUSES ................................................................................................................................................. 35


AN INTRODUCTION TO LATIN METRE ............................................................................................................... 38

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MAKING NOUNS

Grammatical Terms

adjectives These are words that describe nouns.

e.g. bonus (good), tristis (sad).

case In Latin, the endings of nouns are changed to show us what job each noun is doing in the sentence. These different endings are called cases.

declension A family or pattern of nouns. e.g. puella (girl) in in the first declension; servus (slave) is in the second declension. Don’t be put off by funny names like this – call them ‘Bob’ if that makes it easier!

gender Whether a noun or adjective is masculine, feminine or neuter.

number Whether a noun or verb is SINGULAR or PLURAL.

prepositions Little words like cum (with), ad (to, towards), in (in).

In Latin, some prepositions are followed by accusative nouns, others by ablative nouns.

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Nouns

Declension: 1 2 2 2 2 Gender: f m m m n girl slave boy field war SINGULAR nominative puellA servUS puER agER bellUM

vocative puellA servE puER agER bellUM

accusative puellAM servUM puerUM agrUM bellUM

genitive puellAE servI puerI agrI bellI

dative puellAE servO puerO agrO bellO

ablative puellA servO puerO agrO bellO

PLURAL girls slaves boys fields wars nominative puellAE servI puerI agrI bellA

vocative puellAE servI puerI agrI bellA

accusative puellAS servOS puerOS agrOS bellA

genitive puellARUM servORUM puerORUM agrORUM bellORUM

dative puellIS servIS puerIS agrIS bellIS

ablative puellIS servIS puerIS agrIS bellIS

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Declension: 3 3 3 Gender: f m n SINGULAR nominative vox civis nomen

vocative vox civis nomen

accusative vocEM civEM nomen

genitive vocIS civIS nominIS

dative vocI civI nominI

ablative vocE civE nominE

PLURAL nominative vocES civES nominA

vocative

accusative vocES civES nominA

genitive vocUM civIUM nominUM

dative vocIBUS civIBUS nominIBUS

ablative vocIBUS civIBUS nominIBUS

GENDER

Almost all 1st declension are FEMININE. Common exceptions: agricola, nauta, poeta plus names.

2nd declension –us and –er are just about all masculine. There are also 2nd declension neuters.

3rd declension can be masculine (civis)or feminine (vox)(these will look the same and the gender just has to be learnt) and they can be neuter (nomen).

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MAKING VERBS

Grammatical Terms

Conjugation A family or pattern of verbs. e.g. amo (1) is in the first conjugation; audio (4) is in the fourth conjugation.

Deponent Verbal cross-dressers! Look like passives but translate like actives.

Imperative An order.

e.g. audi! (listen!), amate! (love!).

Infinitive A to word, the second principal part of a verb. Present active usually ending in -re in Latin.

e.g. amare (to love). But beware of esse (to be).

Mood Indicative: statement about a fact

Imperative: expresses command or request

Subjunctive: something you want or desire to happen, or that is conditional or potentially going to happen.

Number Whether a verb is SINGULAR or PLURAL.

Participle These are made from verbs but do the job of adjectives.

Person 1st person singular = I

2nd person singular = You

3rd person singular = He, She, It

1st person plural = We

2nd person plural = You

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3rd person plural = They

Tense The ‘when’ of a verb. Present, future imperfect, perfect, pluperfect, future perfect.

Transitive Some verbs can take a ‘direct’ object (hit, eat etc.) and these are called transitive verbs. Other verbs cannot be followed by a direct object – that is, you cannot ‘do’ them to anyone (sleep, dream etc.) – and these are called intransitive.

Voice Active or passive.

e.g. amo (I love) is in the active voice, but amor (I am loved) is in the passive voice.

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CON DIT ION AL CL AU S ES

WHA T IS A CONDIT IONA L?

THES E ARE S ENTENCES W HICH CONTAIN AN ‘ IF ’ CLAUS E W HICH LAYS DOW N A CONDITION. THE ACTIO N IN THE MAIN CLAU S E W ILL ONLY B E FULFILL ED IF THE ‘ IF…’ CLAUS E IS FU LFILLED.

T HE T WO P ART S OF A C ONDIT IONA L SENTENCE

These are: the PROTASIS usually comes first and it tells us the ‘if such and such’ part and the APODOSIS, which tells us what results from the condition stated in the protasis. However, you can survive without knowing these terms!

The presence of SI (neg. NISI) is a big clue!

HOW MANY TYPES OF CONDITION ARE THERE?

Well, even the experts don’t seem to agree, so we’ll keep this simple and go for 2 main types.

WITH VERBS IN THE INDICATIVE

OPEN (REAL/SIMPLE) CONDITIONS

These make a plain statement of fact – i.e. there is no assumption or implication about how likely or unlikely it is that the condition will be fulfilled..

For these, Latin uses the indicative in both parts of the conditional and they rarely present any problems.

si tu vales, ego gaudeo. If you are well, I am pleased.

si heri hoc fecisti, peccavisti. If you did this yesterday, you did wrong.

si falsa dicis, te castigabimus.. If you are lying, we will punish you.

If there is any difficulty with these simple conditions, it is, as so often, English which is at fault! English tends to use the present tense to represent future time.

e.g. If you do that, you will be punished.

Clearly, whatever it is you may or may not be going to do is in the future. Latin, being as ever, precise does the same as French and uses the future (or future perfect) tense.

si id feceris, poenas dabas.

Note that the future perfect (feceris) has been used here as Latin uses this tense to indicate that the first action must happen before the action in the main clause.

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nisi celerius curremus, furem non capiemus.

If we do not run faster (Unless we run faster), we shall not catch the thief.

Here, the future is used and not the future perfect. This is because we will have to be running fast when we actually catch the thief. We won’t stop running and then catch him.

WITH VERBS IN THE SUBJUNCTIVE

UNFULFILLED (UNREAL/REMOTE) CONDITIONS

These not only state the idea that ‘if A, then B’, they also imply that the condition has not been, or is not being, fulfilled.

e.g. If you had come early, we should not be standing here now.

(implied: but you did not and we are!)

You might expect Latin to use a subjunctive in a clause where the conditions stated are unreal or unfulfilled – and it does, in both protasis AND apodosis.

In the translation, expect words like ‘would’ or ‘should’. There are 3 tenses of the subjunctive used in unfulfilled conditional clauses. The basic rules

are not too hard to grasp and, generally speaking, the tense of the subjunctive remains the same in both protasis and apodosis.

FUTURE TIME Conditionals referring to future time take the PRESENT subjunctive.

si id dicas, erres. If you were to say that, you would be wrong.

The implication here is that it is highly unlikely that you would say that, but that if you were to (at some stage in the future), you would be wrong. PRESENT TIME Conditionals referring to present time take the IMPERFECT SUBJUNCTIVE..

si rex essem, omnes me timerent. If I were king (now), everyone would fear me (now). This sentence refers to present time – i.e. I am not king, so it is not true that everyone fears me.

PAST TIME Conditionals referring to past time take the PLUPERFECT SUBJUNCTIVE.

nisi canis latravisset, furem cepissemus.

If the dog had not barked, we would have caught the thief.

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This sentence refers to past time. The dog DID bark, so we DID NOT catch the thief.

FURTHER POINTS

1. In unfulfilled conditions, where the verb in the main clause expresses POSSIBILITY, OBLIGATION or NECESSITY (such as possum, oportet, debeo or a gerundive), Latin uses the indicative for the main verb.

nisi anseres clangorem fecissent, arx capi potuit.

2. Conditionals in Oratio Obliqua (Indirect Statement) The protasis sticks with the subjunctive. (NB All subordinate clauses in Oratio Obliqua go into the subjunctive anyway.)

The apodosis goes into the accusative and infinitive. The tense of the infinitive depends on the tense of the main verb, according to the sequence of tenses rule. (See any basic grammar book if you are unsure about this.)

si opus conficeres, gratiam tibi haberem becomes:

dicit, si opus conficeret, gratiam illi se habiturum esse.

3. Alternative (double) conditions. These are introduced by ‘sive… sive…’ alternatively spelt ‘seu… seu…’

sive vera dixisset sive falsa, nemo ei credidisset.

Whether he had told the truth or lied, no one would have believed him.

4. Conditions can begin with ‘si quis’. This should be translated as ‘if anyone’ or ‘if anything’.

si quis exeat, puniatur. If anyone were to go out, he would be punished.

WE COULD GO ON!

There are plenty more little rules and exceptions we could add, but that’s probably more than enough for a basic revision. If you really want to know more, consult a regular grammar.

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AND SOME FOR YOU TO TRY…

1. si illum adiuvisti, certe patriam prodidisti.

2. si in forum descenderis, fortasse senatores in Curiam intrantes videbis.

3. nisi his viatoribus cibum dederitis, fame peribunt.

4. si cras ad Circum ire vultis, iam cubitum ire necesse est.

5. si pisces per aera volent, omnes mirentur.

6. si hanc medicinam bibas, statim convalescas.

7. si diligentius laboravissem, dominus me liberavisset.

8. nisi mecum in forum descendisset, illud spectaculum non vidisset.

9. si quid novi audivisset, nobis rem totam narravisset.

10. sive pro lege in senatu orationem habebis sive tacebis, omnibus Pompeio favere videberis.

11. coniuratus, si de periculo ab amicis moneatur, ex urbe clam nocte egrediatur.

12. ad Curiam statim festinavi si forte consulem viderem.

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A PICTORIAL GUIDE TO CASES

EMPEROR NORMAN NOMINATIVE:

I am in charge here. Whatever is going on, I’m doing it (and don’t you forget it!). I like to come first in a sentence but once I’ve made an appearance I can’t always be bothered to turn up again so then I just hide in the verb. Don’t forget – I’m the subject and the sentence is all about me!

FOOTSOLDIER ANDY ACCUSATIVE:

My job is to do whatever Norman tells me – after all, he’s in charge of the sentence. Whatever he does is happening to me. But I don’t mind – it’s my job, so why should I object. I also like to hang around following prepositions

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GLADIATOR GORDON GENITIVE:

You won’t see me very often but when you do, you’d better remember that everything in this sentence is MINE! Common sense should help you spot me – remember that I’m not NORMAN and I’m not ANDY – Gordon’s genitive.

THE DATIVE TWINS

Like Gordon, we’re fairly easy to spot. We can’t just pop up in any old sentence – you have to show us things, give us things, offer us things or say things to us. If you want to be really flash, we’re a bit like ANDY the OBJECT, but we’re not as direct as him. We hang around on the edge of the sentence, just kind of helping out. We’re also big fans of dative verbs so whenever you see them, we’ll be following close behind.

ALAN THE ABLATIVE:

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Most of the time, I just hang around following prepositions. (But not the same ones as ANDY, who has his own!) You may see things done BY me, you may see people WITH me and you may see things taken FROM me.

VICTOR VOCATIVE:

“Hey, you, over here! It’s VICTOR VOCATIVE. You’ll only see me in speech marks with a comma next to me. I’m just there to be spoken to. Most of the time, I look identical to NORMAN anyway.”

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GERU N DS AN D G ERU N DIV ES

Gerunds and gerundives are easy. They are two parts of the verb, closely related to one another. Like participles, they play an important part in Latin sentence structure.

THE GERUND - ‘verbal noun’.

A word for something (a noun) and it is generated from a verb.

For example, ‘amandum’ comes from ‘amo’ and means

‘loving’ in a phrase like: ars amandi

The art of loving

Do not confuse this with the occasions when ‘loving’ is used to describe something or someone, making it an adjective.

It would then be translated by a PRESENT PARTICIPLE. homo amans

A loving man

FORMATION

– present stem of the verb + -nd + 2nd declension neuter singular endings.

1 2 3 4

acc. am-a-nd-um hab-e-nd-um reg-e-nd-um aud-ie-nd-um

gen. am-a-nd-i

dat. am-a-nd-o

abl. am-a-nd-o

Gerunds are singular and decline like ‘bellum’. The forms vary slightly (-andum or –endum) according to the conjugation of the verb concerned, as you might expect.

MEANING

A gerund will be translated by the infinitive or a verbal noun ending in –ing.

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In simple terms, the GERUND is not used as the subject or the direct object of a sentence.

With a few exceptions, the GERUND is used only when the verb is intransitive or is being used intransitively (i.e. without a direct object) and is active in sense.

NOMINATIVE There is, in effect, no nominative as in this case the job

is done by the infinitive. amare est vivere

errare est humanum

ACCUSATIVE In the accusative, the gerund is most often found in phrases which include a preposition, especially with ad to express the idea of purpose.

libri ad studendum necessarii sunt. Books are necessary for studying.

GENITIVE after some nouns and adjectives: 1/ ars natandi the art of swimming

cupidissimus te audiendi sum I am extremely eager to (desirous of + gen.) hearing you.

2/ With causa expressing purpose.

DATIVE – rarely used but straighforward operam legendo dat. He gives attention to reading.

ABLATIVE – again, used as you’d expect (i.e. by/with/from) omnes vivendo discimus. We all learn by living.

THE GERUNDIVE - VERBAL ADJECTIVE

That is, an adjective formed from a verb. Note that they are passive (although may end up as active in your translation).

FORMATION

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It looks similar to a gerund, in that it has the same characteristic –nd- added to the present stem of the verb, but unlike the gerund it has all 3 genders and singular and plural forms in all cases, just like any 1st/2nd declension adjective (e.g. bonus)

Formation – present stem + -nd + us - not forgetting agreement (since it is an adjective).

am-a-nd-us hab-e-nd-us reg-e-nd-us aud-ie-nd-us

MEANING

IN PLACE OF A GERUND

If a gerund has a direct object, a gerundive is frequently used instead.

So, not ad pacem petendum venerunt (they came to seek peace)

But ad pacem petendam venerunt (lit. they came for peace requiring-to-be-sought)

And note the agreement as the gerundive is an adjective.

TO EXPRESS OBLIGATION

WITH TRANSITIVE VERBS

Used with any tense of sum to express obligation or necessity.

pons est aedificandus The bridge must be built.

epistolae erunt scribendae The letters will have to be written.

The subject of obligation (the person by whom something has to be done), if included, is put into the dative case.

pons nobis est aedificandus

epistolae mihi erunt scribendae

However, note that when the gerundive is formed from a verb which takes the dative, use the normal a/ab + ablative.

mihi (dat.) credendum est a te (abl.). You must have faith in me.

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With intransitive verbs (that is, without any direct object)

The gerundive can also be used impersonally with intransitive verbs, using the neuter nominative singular of the gerundive.

mihi eundum erit. I shall have to go.

militibus fortius est pugnandum. The soldiers must fight more bravely.

AND SOME TO TRY:

1. hic puer e ludo magistro expellendus est, quod omnes alios discipulos vexat. 2. si ante noctem domum pervenire volumus, sine mora nobis proficiscendum est. 3. duas legiones in proelium misit ad hostes superandos. 4. tot et tanti sunt fluctus ut nobis ad portum statim regrediendum sit. 5. ars fabulae bene narrandae est difficillima. 6. hoc tyranno interficiendo civitatem servare possumus. 7. nostri fortiter pugnando hostes facile vicerunt. 8. milites e castris ad agros vastandos exierunt. 9. legati pacis petendae causa ad castra hostium a consule missi sunt. 10. non sine causa, di hominesque hunc urbi condendae locum elegerunt. 11. non sunt autem leniores in exigendis vectigalibus Graeci quam nostri publicani.

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IN DIRECT S T AT EME N T

T HE CONST RU CT ION A ND IT S U SE

Used when the words (or beliefs, or thoughts) of a speaker are reported ‘indirectly’ and so normally introduced by a verb to do with ‘saying’, ‘knowing’ or ‘believing’. Latin uses the ‘accusative and infinitive’ construction – i.e. the subject of the statement is put in the accusative and the verb is put in the infinitive. (If there is also an object, it remains in the accusative.)

This construction is very common in Latin and can be introduced with a noun which simply implies speech.

nuntium accepi servos templum intravisse. I received a message (saying) that the slaves had

entered the temple.

Often, you will see several indirect statements follow one another without repetition of the initial verb of speaking/thinking.

dixit servos templum intravisse; custodes effugisse; servos simulacrum commovere.

INFINITIVES

Latin has infinitives in present, future and perfect tenses, both active and passive (see below). The tense of the infinitive in indirect statement is the same as the tense of the verb of the original statement.

Cicero in urbe est. Ciceronem in urbe esse dixit.. (present infinitive)

Cicero in urbe fuit. Ciceronem in urbe fuisse dixit. (perfect infinitive)

Cicero in urbe erit. Ciceronem in urbe futurum esse dixit. (future infinitive)

FORMATION OF INFINTIVES

Present active: amare monere regere audire

Future active: amaturus esse moniturus esse recturus esse auditurus esse

Add esse to the future participle

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Perfect active: amavisse monuisse rexisse audivisse

Perfect stem (i.e. perfect tense with endings removed) with –isse added

Present passive: amari moneri regi audiri

Only slightly changed from the active

Perfect passive: amatus esse monitus esse rectus esse auditus esse

Past participle passive plus esse

Future passive: amatum iri monitum iri rectum iri auditum iri

IN REALITY THERE IS NO FUTURE PASSIVE INFINITIVE. USE THE SUPINE WITH IRI (PASSIVE INFINITIVE OF EO ‘TO GO’) AND TRANSLATE IT JUST AS IF IT IS AN INFINITIVE.

AGREEMENT

As the subject of Accusative and Infinitive clauses is in the accusative, the future infinitive active and the perfect infinitive passive will also need to be in the accusative case, agreeing with the subject in number and gender.

audio Gallos a Caesare victos esse. I hear that the Gauls have been defeated by Caesar.

Note that the ‘supine’ used in the future infinitive passive (ending in –um) does not decline and should not be made to agree with anything.

PRONOUNS

The reflexive pronoun se is used when the person referred to in the statement is the same as the subject of the verb of speaking/thinking.

‘I am sitting.’

He said that he (the speaker) was sitting. dixit se sedere.

‘You made a mistake.’

He said that he (the person to whom he was speaking) had made a mistake.

dixit illum erravisse.

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NEGATIVE

Latin does not usually use dico with a negative to express the idea that ‘I say… not’. Use nego.

negat servos templum intravisse. He says that the slaves did not enter the temple.

SUBORDINATE CLAUSES

In indirect speech, the verb in a subordinate clause is normally in the subjunctive.

mercator respondit servos qui vinum effunderent magno pretio emptos esse.

The merchant replied that the slaves who were pouring out the wine had been bought at a high price.

AND SOME TO TRY…

1. dicunt nautas tabernas amare. 2. dicit Romanos castra prope flumen posuisse. 3. speramus imperatorem auxilium cras laturum esse. 4. dicit urbem oppugnatam esse. 5. omnes putaverunt triclinium pulcherrimum esse. 6. dominus dixit servum diligentissime laboravisse. 7. negavit se umquam in Italia fuisse. 8. adstantes responderunt senem domum portatum esse. 9. centurio hostes dicit constitisse. 10. vix uxorem servatam esse putavit. 11. senatores pro certo habebant cives numquam cessuros esse. 12. captivos interfectum iri nuntiabat, 13. spero me venturum esse. 14. polliciti sunt se discessuros esse. 15. Marcus dicit eum in Britannia habitare. 16. agricolae affirmaverunt villas suas incensas esse. 17. iuvenis negavit se pecuniam perdidisse. 18. femina suspicabatur puerum mentiri. 19. mercator sperabat se magnas divitias in Hispania comparaturum esse. 20. polliceor me fenestram cras refecturum esse.

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PART ICI PLES AN D A BL A T IV E ABS O LU T ES

WHA T IS A PA RT ICIP LE ?

A VERB AL ADJECTIVE, W HICH MEANS THAT IT A GR EES W ITH A NOU N/PRONOU N IN NU MBER, CAS E AND G EN DER.

MEET T HE PA RT ICIP LES

PRES ENT ACTIVE DENOTES AN ACTION OC CU RRING AT THE S AME TIME AS THE MAIN VER B . CAN B E TRANS LATED B Y ‘…ING ’ B U T ALS O B Y ‘W HILE’ , ‘SINCE’ OR B Y S U B ORD INATE CLAUS ES .

CAN ALS O B E U SED AS A S UB S TANTIVE ( I .E . DO ING THE JOB OF A NOU N) – E .G . AMANS ‘A LOVING PERS ON’ = A LOVER.

RECOG NIS E B Y THE –NS OR –NT ON T HE PRES ENT S TEM OF THE VERB .

ENDING S ARE THE S AME AS 3 R D DECLENS ION TYPE ADJE CTIVES .

AB IERUNT ILLI RID E NTE S . THEY W ENT AW AY LA U GHING .

LUP UM IN SILV AM INTRANTE M CO NSP EXIMUS. W E CAU G HT S IG HT OF T HE W OLF GOING INT O THE W OOD.

PERFECT PASS IVE DENOTES AN ACTION CO MPLETED B EFORE THAT OF THE MAIN VERB . IN MOS T G RAMMAR B OOKS , THIS APPEARS AS THE 4 T H PRINCIPAL PART OF A LATIN VERB . S OME OF THES E YOU S IMPLY HAVE TO L EARN!

TRANS LATES LITERALLY AS ‘HAVING B EEN…’ ( I .E. IT’S PAS T AND IT ’S PASS IVE) BU T THIS PHRAS E W ILL NOT OFTEN MAKE ITS W AY INTO YOU R FINAL TRANS LATION. IT CAN B E HELPFUL, HOW E VER, TO HAVE IT IN M IN D AS YOU B EG IN TO TRANS LATE.

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DECLINES L IKE B O NUS .

CO Q UUS VOC ATUS A CO NV IVIS LAUDATUS EST. ( LIT. HAVING B EEN S U MMONED, THE COOK…)

WHEN HE HA D BEEN SU M MONED, THE COOK W AS PRAIS ED B Y THE G U ES TS .

ALS O REMEMB ER THAT D EPONENT VERBS HAVE A PAS T PARTICIPLE W ITH A N A CT IVE MEANING .

Future active Denotes an action that will take place after the main verb.

Translates literally as ‘about to…’ but also ‘going to…’, ‘intending to…’, determined to…’, ‘on the point of…’.

Recognise by the ur within the 4th principle part of the verb. E.g. amaturus, missurus.

una ex ancillis ad tabernam profecta est panem emptura.

One of the slave girls set out for the shop (intending) to buy bread.

DEPONENTS

Deponent verbs also have present, future and past participles but present and future have an active form (which is odd, as deponents normally look passive). All deponent participles are active in meaning.

AND SOME TO TRY…

1. lupum in silvam intrantem conspeximus. 2. ei roganti respondere semper conor. 3. multi ex adstantibus lacrimabant. 4. legatus a feminis e foro festinantibus visus est. 5. Hannibal hostes castra posituros spectavit.

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6. librum a te mihi datum non legam. 7. servus inventus domum quam celerrime missus est. 8. leo sublatum pedem mihi ostendit.

ABLATIVE ABSOLUTE

WHAT IS IT?

When a noun (or pronoun) is linked with a participle and both are in the ablative. It is a very common usage of the participle. It is called the ablative absolute because the phrase is free-standing and has no grammatical connection with the rest of the sentence..

It is used to state the circumstances under which the action of the main verb took place, a kind of ‘setting the scene’ for what follows.

The participle can be in any of the 3 tenses but futures are extremely rare. Much easier to spot than it is to explain!

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

Present participle The best translation is likely to be something like ‘when’ or ‘while’.

puella spectante, pater discessit. While the girl was watching, her father left.

(lit.) With the girl watching, the father left.

Perfect participle This is the one you will see most as it helps compensate for the lack of a perfect active participle.

So, for example, when a Roman wanted to say:

‘Having received the letter, Caesar sent a messenger.’

he had no straightforward way of doing so. Instead, he uses an ablative absolute:

Caesar, acceptis litteris, nuntium misit.

Caesar, when he had received the letter, sent a messenger.

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Of course, if you happen to be dealing with a deponent verb, this difficulty does not arise. Deponents can still be used in ablative absolutes.

oratore locuto, cives inter se loquebantur.

After the orator had spoken, the citizens talked among themselves.

Future participle

oratore locuturo, cives conticuerunt.

Since the orator was going to speak, the citizens fell silent.

Also note:

The verb esse has no present participle so you will need to supply the word ‘being’ in your translation.

AND SOME TO TRY…

1. libris a pueris lectis, magister hanc fabulam eis narravit. 2. domino interfecto, servus effugit. 3. ille, capto vino, senatori dicebat. 4. leone viso, in speluncam (cave) confugi metu tremens; postea animo recuperato domum

quam celerrime cucurri. 5. sene dormiente, servi in viam exierunt ridentes ac cantantes. 6. leone a milite occiso, omnes cives gaudebant. 7. poeta sic locuto, cives magnopere timebant. 8. magistro intrante, pueri tacuerunt.

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HOW T O MAK E T HE S U BJ U N CT IV E

1 2 3 4 irregular love warn rule hear be Present I amEM monEAM regAM audIAM siM You (singular) amES monEAS regAS audIAS siS He/She/It amET monEAT regAT audIAT siT We amEMUS monEAMUS regAMUS audIAMUS siMUS You (plural) amETIS monEATIS regATIS audIATIS siTIS They amENT monEANT regANT audIANT siNT Imperfect I amAREM monEREM regEREM audIREM esseM You (singular) amARES monERES regERES audIRES esseS He/She/It amARET monERET regERET audIRET esseT We amAREMUS monEREMUS regEREMUS audIREMUS esseMUS You (plural) amARETIS monERETIS regERETIS audIRETIS esseTIS They amARENT monERENT regERENT audIRENT esseNT Perfect I amavERIM monuERIM rexERIM audivERIM fuERIM You (singular) amavERIS monuERIS rexERIS audivERIS fuERIS He/She/It amavERIT monuERIT rexERIT audivERIT fuERIT We amavERIMUS monuERIMUS rexERIMUS audivERIMUS fuERIMUS You (plural) amavERITIS monuERITIS rexERITIS audivERITIS fuERITIS They amavERINT monuERINT rexERINT audivERINT fuERINT Pluperfect I amavISSEM monuISSEM rexISSEM audivISSEM fuISSEM You (singular) amavISSES monuISSES rexISSES audivISSES fuISSES He/She/It amavISSET monuISSET rexISSET audivISSET fuISSET We amavISSEMUS monuISSEMUS rexISSEMUS audivISSEMUS fuISSEMUS You (plural) amavISSETIS monuISSETIS rexISSETIS audivISSETIS fuISSETIS They amavISSENT monuISSENT rexISSENT audivISSENT fuISSENT

O U R F R I E N D T H E S U B J U N C T I V E

I T I S E A S Y T O L O S E A L O T O F S L E E P O V E R S U B J U N C T I V E S B U T I T I S W O R T H R E M E M B E R I N G T H A T , I N T H E E N D , T H E Y A R E J U S T V E R B S . T H E B A S I C V E R B F O R M , T H E I N D I C A T I V E , I N D I C A T E S ( H E N C E T H E N A M E ) S T A T E M E N T S A B O U T F A C T S , T H I N G S T H A T A C T U A L L Y H A P P E N E D ( O R W I L L H A P P E N ) . T H E S U B J U N C T I V E I S T H E R E T O S H O W S O M E T H I N G T H A T Y O U W A N T O R D E S I R E T O H A P P E N , O R T H A T I S C O N D I T I O N A L O R P O T E N T I A L L Y G O I N G T O H A P P E N . W E S O M E T I M E S F I N D T H E S E D I F F I C U L T B U T O N L Y R E A L L Y B E C A U S E W E ’ V E G I V E N U P

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U S I N G T H E M I N E N G L I S H ( U N L E S S Y O U E N J O Y S P E A K I N G L I K E S O M E O N E F R O M T H E D I S T A N T P A S T ) .

I N F A C T , T H E R E I S N O N E E D T O M A K E T H I N G S D I F F I C U L T – T H I N K O F T H E S U B J U N C T I V E A S Y O U R F R I E N D , O R A T L E A S T A P O T E N T I A L F R I E N D . ( W H A T S O R T O F A G E E K H A S S U B J U N C T I V E S A S F R I E N D S ? ? )

I N T E R M S O F T R A N S L A T I O N , Y O U W I L L F I N D T H A T T H E Y A R E V E R Y E A S Y T O T R A N S L A T E . T H E Y C A N ’ T J U S T P O P U P W H E N E V E R T H E Y F E L T L I K E I T A N D , L I K E A T R U E F R I E N D , T H E Y W I L L A L W A Y S T R Y A N D L E T Y O U K N O W W H E N T H E Y A R E C O M I N G – F O R E X A M P L E , W I T H A N U T . S O M E P E O P L E G E T V E R Y E X C I T E D A B O U T A L L T H E D I F F E R E N T N A M E S F O R U S E S O F T H E S U B J U N C T I V E B U T W H A T R E A L L Y M A T T E R S I S W H E T H E R O R N O T Y O U C A N T R A N S L A T E ( A N D T H A T ’ S A C T U A L L Y T H E E A S Y B I T ) .

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S OME U S ES OF T HE S U B JU N CT IV E

A / IN SU BOR DINA TE CLA U SES – T HESE AR E PA RTS OF A SENT ENCE WHICH A R E I N A DDIT ION TO T HE MA IN P AR T OF A SENT ENCE.

1/ P UR POSE ( FINA L) C LA U SES

Expresses the purpose of an action (hence the name) ut + subjunctive = so that / in order to / to

puer arborem ascendit ut milites videret. The boy climbed the tree to see the soldiers.

Negative: purpose ne + subjunctive = so that… not Also note: ne + quis/quid = ne aliquis/aliquid – so that no one / nothing

puer arborem ascendit ne milites se viderent. The boy climbed the tree so that the

soldiers would not see him.

Using relative pronouns (but the translation remains the same) QUI, QUAE, QUOD (OR OTHER RELATIVES) + SUBJUNCTIVE

milites emisit qui puerum depellerent. He sent out soldiers to (lit. who were to) drive the

boy away.

2/ Result (consecutive) clauses

Expresses the result (consequence) of an action UT + SUBJUNCTIVE = THAT

Negative result: ut… non A result clause can usually be recognised by the presence of a ‘signal’ word:

Expect an adverb meaning ‘so’ tam, adeo, ita (so)tot (so many), totiens (so many times), or an adjective like talis (such a…),tantus (so much, so great) … + subjunctive = so (much)… that

puer tam perterritus erat ut descendere non posset.

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The boy was so scared that he was not able to climb down.

3/ cum clauses (causal, concessive, temporal)

cum + present subjunctive = since (causal), although (concessive) cum + pluperfect/imperfect subjunctive = when / since / although

puer, cum consilium audivisset, contentus erat.

When the boy had heard the plan, he was pleased.

Translation will depend upon common sense – the subjunctive just translates like an indicative.

4/ Indirect questions

Expect a question word to introduce the indirect question, whose verb is subjunctive. There will not necessarily be any verb of ‘asking’.

e.g. quando, quis/quid, num, cur + subjunctive The subjunctive is translated like an indicative.

puerum rogavimus cur arborem ascenderet. We asked the boy why he was climbing the tree.

sciebat cur pugnaret. He knew why he was fighting.

5/ Indirect commands

Many Latin verbs meaning ‘warn’, ‘persuade’, ‘order’, command’, ‘encourage’ (e.g. monere, persuadere, imperare, mandare, hortari) are followed by ut / ne + subjunctive.. (Sometimes, an indirect command may not immediately appear to contain any kind of ‘command’, but if you work your way back to the original direct statement, it will be there!)

Usually translated by the infinitive in English. The verbs iubere and vetare are followed by an infinitive.

puerum imperamus ut arborem ascendat. We order the boy to climb the tree.

puerum imperavimus ut arborem ascenderet. We ordered the boy to climb the tree.

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B/ IN THE MAIN PART OF A SENTENCE (AND DON’T WORRY ABOUT ALL THE FANCY NAMES)

1/ Jussive subjunctive

A command in the 3rd person (‘let him…). arborem ascendat. Let him climb the tree.

2/ Hortatory subjunctive (from hortari ‘to urge’)

As above, but in the first person. vivamus, mea Lesbia, atque amemus. Let us live, my Lesbia, and let us love.

3/Potential

Used to express an opinion politely and tentatively, a possibility,. Translates ‘would’ Often with velim, nolim or ausim. Cf. French je voudrais

velim hanc arborem ascendere. I should like to climb this tree.


A!1

1/ Quintus ad Academiam festinavit ut milites videret.

2/ duae legiones advenerunt quae castra defenderent

3/ pueri diligenter laborant ne magister se puniat.

A2:

4/ tanta erat tempestas ut ceteri nautarum portum peterent. 5/ cena talis erat ut eam edere non possemus. 6/ servus dominum adeo timebat ut aufugerit. A3:

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7/ milites, cum consilium audivissent, consenserunt. 8/ cum pecuniam amisisset, tamen laetus fuit. 9/ cum senator multos inimicos haberet, neminem timebat. A4: 10/ eum rogavimus quando domum rediturus esset. 11/ nesciebam quid velletis. 12/ puer rogavit cur se punirem. A5: 13/ legatus Rufum oravit ut eos curaret. 14/ Rufus Quintum rogavit ne e castris discederet. 15/ imperavit ut coquus arcesseretur. B1: 16/ ne domum redeant. 17/ Caesar adveniat! B2: 18/ ad forum festinemus. 19/ statim proficiscamur! B3: 20/ non ausim pugnare. 21/ nolim facere. Translate the following sentences and identify why the subjunctive is being used. 1/ utinam resistere potuissent! 2/ poeta Athenas iter faciet ut templa pulchra spectet. 3/ cum discipuli ludum sero intraverunt, magister eos punire solet. 4/ heri agricolae persuasimus ut nos per agros ambulare sineret. 5/ dic mihi cur Romam redire velis. 6/ quid faceret? 7/ ita se gerebat princeps ut omnes cives eum contemnerent. 8/ mallem domi manere. 9/ vereor ut testis vera dixerit. 10/ ne dominus hoc audiat.SUBJUNCTIVES

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A / IN SU BOR DINA TE CLA U SES

1/ P UR POSE ( FINA L) C LA U SES

Expresses the purpose of an action (hence the name) ut + subjunctive = so that / in order to / to

puer arborem ascendit ut milites videret. The boy climbed the tree to see the soldiers.

Negative: purpose ne + subjunctive = so that… not Also note: ne + quis/quid = ne aliquis/aliquid – so that no one / nothing

puer arborem ascendit ne milites se viderent. The boy climbed the tree so that the

soldiers would not see him.

Using relative pronouns (but the translation remains the same) QUI, QUAE, QUOD (OR OTHER RELATIVES) + SUBJUNCTIVE

milites emisit qui puerum depellerent. He sent out soldiers to (lit. who were to) drive the

boy away.

2/ Result (consecutive) clauses

Expresses the result (consequence) of an action UT + SUBJUNCTIVE = THAT

Negative result: ut… non A result clause can usually be recognised by the presence of a ‘signal’ word:

Expect an adverb meaning ‘so’ tam, adeo, ita (so)tot (so many), totiens (so many times), or an adjective like talis (such a…),tantus (so much, so great) … + subjunctive = so (much)… that

puer tam perterritus erat ut descendere non posset.

The boy was so scared that he was not able to climb down.

3/ Fear clauses

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A fear clause will be introduced by ne or ut. Verb of fearing + ne + subjunctive = that/lest.

puer timet ne leonem videbit. The boy fears that he will see the lion.

Verb of fearing + ut + subjunctive = that… not

timeo ut ea litteras accipiat. I fear that she will not receive the letter.

Also: verb of fearing + ut + subjunctive = that… not

It will be signalled by a main verb meaning ‘to fear’ (e.g. timere, metuere, vereri).

Fear clauses seem to do the opposite of what you expect – if you fear something will happen, you use ne, but if you fear something will not happen, you use ut. All you are doing, in fact, is saying that you want one thing to happen, but you are afraid that the opposite will. It is this fear which is expressed in the fear clause.

4/ cum clauses (causal, concessive, temporal)

cum + present subjunctive = since (causal), although (concessive) cum + pluperfect/imperfect subjunctive = when / since / although

puer, cum consilium audivisset, contentus erat.

When the boy had heard the plan, he was pleased.

Translation will depend upon common sense – the subjunctive just translates like an indicative.

5/ Indirect questions

Expect a question word to introduce the indirect question, whose verb is subjunctive. There will not necessarily be any verb of ‘asking’.

e.g. quando, quis/quid, num, cur + subjunctive The subjunctive is translated like an indicative.

puerum rogavimus cur arborem ascenderet. We asked the boy why he was climbing the tree.

sciebat cur pugnaret. He knew why he was fighting.

6/ Indirect commands

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Many Latin verbs meaning ‘warn’, ‘persuade’, ‘order’, command’, ‘encourage’ (e.g. monere, persuadere, imperare, mandare, hortari) are followed by ut / ne + subjunctive.. (Sometimes, an indirect command may not immediately appear to contain any kind of ‘command’, but if you work your way back to the original direct statement, it will be there!)

Usually translated by the infinitive in English. The verbs iubere and vetare are followed by an infinitive.

puerum imperamus ut arborem ascendat. We order the boy to climb the tree.

puerum imperavimus ut arborem ascenderet. We ordered the boy to climb the tree.

B/ IN MAIN CLAUSES

1/ Jussive subjunctive

A command in the 3rd person (‘let him…). arborem ascendat. Let him climb the tree.

2/ Hortatory subjunctive (from hortari ‘to urge’)

As above, but in the first person. vivamus, mea Lesbia, atque amemus. Let us live, my Lesbia, and let us love.

3/ Deliberative

Generally used in the first person, when the speaker is thinking out loud what to do next, or when he/she wishes to express doubt or disbelief. English translation is often ‘should’.

utrum hic maneam an arborem ascendam? Should I stay here or climb the tree?

4/ Optative (wishes)

The subjunctive is used in wishes, often with utinam (I wish that…). ne is used to express a negative wish. Present is used to express a wish for the future, with or without utinam, translates ‘may’. Imperfect, usually with utinam, used to express a wish that is impossible for the present,

translates ‘might’ or ‘were’. Pluperfect, usually with utinam, expresses an impossible wish in past time, translates ‘had’.

(utinam) arborem ascendat. May he climb the tree.

(utinam) Caesar adesset. I wish that (would that) Caesar were here (now).

(utinam) me vidisses! I wish (would that) you had seen me (then)!

utinam ne adesses. If only you were not present.

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5/Potential

Used to express an opinion politely and tentatively, a possibility,. Translates ‘would’ Often with velim, nolim or ausim. Cf. French je voudrais

velim hanc arborem ascendere. I should like to climb this tree.


A!:

1/ Quintus ad Academiam festinavit ut milites videret.

2/ Londinium venio ut reginam viderem.

3/ duae legiones advenerunt quae castra defenderent.

4/ pueri diligenter laborant ne magister se puniat.

5/ mus sub mensa sedebat ne puellae se viderent.

6/ puerum misi qui infantem emeret.

A2:

7/ tanta erat tempestas ut ceteri nautarum portum peterent. 8/ cena talis erat ut eam edere non possemus. 9/ servus dominum adeo timebat ut aufugerit. A3: 10/ senex timebat ne servi vinum biberent. 11/ timeo ut ille vera dixerit. 12/ verebantur ne piratae se caperent. 13/ nos timemus omnes ne nuntius ad tempus non adveniat. A4: 14/ milites, cum consilium audivissent, consenserunt. 15/ cum pecuniam amisisset, tamen laetus fuit. 16/ cum senator multos inimicos haberet, neminem timebat. 17/ discipuli, cum ignavi sint, poenas dabunt. A5: 18/ eum rogavimus quando domum rediturus esset. 19/ nesciebam quid velletis. 20/ puer rogavit cur se punirem. A6: 21/ legatus Rufum oravit ut eos curaret. 22/ Rufus Quintum rogavit ne e castris discederet.

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23/ imperavit ut coquus arcesseretur. B1: 24/ ne domum redeant. 25/ Caesar adveniat! B2: 26/ ad forum festinemus. 27/ statim proficiscamur! B3: 28/ quid faciam? 29/ utrum hostibus resistamus an fugiamus? B4: 30/ utinam ne in periculum incidamus. 31/ dei te servent. B5; 32/ non ausim pugnare. 33/ nolim facere. Translate the following sentences and identify why the subjunctive is being used. 1/ utinam resistere potuissent! 2/ poeta Athenas iter faciet ut templa pulchra spectet. 3/ cum discipuli ludum sero intraverunt, magister eos punire solet. 4/ heri agricolae persuasimus ut nos per agros ambulare sineret. 5/ dic mihi cur Romam redire velis. 6/ quid faceret? 7/ ita se gerebat princeps ut omnes cives eum contemnerent. 8/ mallem domi manere. 9/ vereor ut testis vera dixerit. 10/ ne dominus hoc audiat.

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AN INTRODUCTION TO LATIN METRE

1. arma virumque cano, Troiae qui primus ab oris

Italiam fato profugus Laviniaque venit

litora, multum ille et terris iactatus et alto

vi superum, saevae memorem Iunonis ob iram,

multa quoque et bello passus, dum conderet urbem

inferretque deos Latio; genus inde Latinum

Albanique patres atque altae meonia Romae.

2. arma gravi numero violentaque bella parabam

edere, materia conveniente modis.

par erat inferior versus: risisse Cupido

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dicitur atque unum surripuisse pedem.

me miserum! certas habuit puer ille sagittas:

uror, et in vacua pectore regnat Amor.

sex mihi surgat opus numeris, in quinque residat;

ferrea cum vestris bella valete modis.

Latin poetry is based on short and long vowels.

Some vowels are long by nature (e.g. most ablatives).

Some vowels are long by position – those followed by 2 or more consonants (but there are some exceptions to this rule).

All diphthongs (2 vowels pronounced as one) are scanned as one long vowel. (e.g. ae, au)

A syllable is generally short if it contains a vowel which is immediately followed by another vowel or an h.

Watch out for elision where final syllables are swallowed up or chopped off!

Latin Grammar Basics

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