Reviewer: Latin

Inflection

The biggest single difference between English and Latin is that Latin is a highly inflected
language. In English the order of the words in a sentence indicated the meaning of the
sentence; in Latin, on the other hand, the spelling of the words (not their order) indicates the
meaning.
The changes in spelling are known as inflections.
Inflections in nouns, adjectives and pronouns are considered declensions.
Inflections in verbs are called conjugation.

A. Declensions

Example No. 1
a. The man bites the dog (subject – verb – object)
b. The dog bites the man (subject – verb – object)
REMEMBER:
Possible answers on letter (a)
1. Homo canem mordet 4. Mordet homo canem Declining Nouns:
2. Canem homo mordet 5. Canem mordet homo 1. Case (subject/object)
3. Modert Canem homo 6. Homo mordet canem Further will be discussed on
the latter
Homo 2. Number (singular/plural)
- Man as Subject 3. Gender
Canem (masculine/femina/natural)
- Dog as an Object
Mordet
- Bites as a Verb

Possible answers on letter (b)

1. Hominem Canis Mordet 4. Mordet hominem canis
2. Canis hominem mordet 5. Canis mordet hominem
3. mordet canis hominem 6. Hominem mordet canis

Hominem
- Man as the object
Canis
- Dog as Subject
Mordet
- Bites as verb
B. Conjugation – inflectional change in a verb
This shows the following
1. Person (First person, second person & third person)
2. Number (singular, plural)
3. Tense (past, present, future)
4. Voice (active, passive)
5. Mood (statement, question or command)

Ex. Homo Canem Mordet

1. Third person
2. Singular
3. Present Tense
4. Active Indicative
5. Statement

DECLENSION AND CONJUGATIONS

LATIN ENGLISH LATIN ENGLISH LATIN ENGLISH

Rosa Rose Regina Queen Flora Flowers
Victoria Victory Gloria Glory Augusta Majestic
Barbara Foreign Viola, Violeta Violet Alma Cherishing
Amabel Lovable Clara Bright Letitia Happiness
Amy Beloved Laura Laurel Sylvia Of the forest
Amanda Worthy of love Stella, Estelle Star Gratia, Grace Grace
Beatrice Making happiness Celestine Heavenly Miranda Gratitude
worthy of
admiration
*ends in -a because they are feminine, comes from the first a-declension

Conjunctions
Et (and, both)

( I ) present tense – ending in -o

Infinitive (to) – ending in -are

Examples:
1. Amo, amare (I love/like, to love/like) - amateur
2. Laboro, laborare (I work, to work) - laboratory
3. Laudo, laudare (I praise) – laudable
4. porto, portare (I carry, to carry) – portage, deportment
5. voco, vocare (I call, to call) – vocation, vocative
The Signs of the Zodiac:

Latin English Latin English Latin English

Aries The Ram Leo The Lion Sagittarius The Archer
Taurus The Bull Virgo The Maiden Carpricorn (us) The Goat
Gemini The Twins Libra The Scales Aquarius The Water Bearer
Cancer The Crab Scorpio The Scorpion Pisces The Fisher

The Planets

Latin English Latin English

Juppiter Jupiter (kingdom of Mars Mars (god of War)
Gods)
Saturnus Saturn (god of Neptunus Neptune (god of the sea)
sowing)
Mercurius Mercury (the Pluto God of the lower world
messenger of God)
Venus Venus (goddess of
love)

Nouns
1. Agricola, agricolae masculine farmer (agriculture)
2. Aqua, aquae femina water (acquarium)
3. Casa, casae femina cottage, house
4. femina, feminae femina woman (feminine)
5. puella, puellae femina girl
6. stella, stellae femina stars (stellar, constellation)
7. terra, terrae femina land earth (Terrace, territory)

The stems or bases are agricol-, aqu-, femin-, puell-, and terr-. These are obtained by dropping
the genitive singular ending -ae.

New Morphology

Latin nouns are identified by listing their case, number and gender. The different forms of a
noun are indicated by the endings are known as cases.
1. Nominative (Subject) 4. Accusative (Object)
2. Genitive (Possession) 5. Ablative (Prepositional phrase)
3. Dative (Indirect Object) 6. Vocative (direct address)
Note: The most important case to know is the genitive singular. This is the case that supplies
the stem, or base of the noun.

Remember: First declension (a-declension) nouns are all feminine, unless the word indicates a
male, as in the case of Agricola, which means farmer.

Consider the declension of the first declension noun stella:

Case Name Use Singular Plural Example

1. Nominative Subject Stella Stellae The star shines

The star The stars brightly
2. Genitive Possession Stellae Stellarum The light of the
Of the star Of the stars star is bright
3. Dative Indirect Object Stellae Stellis The rocket flies
To/for the star To/for the stars to the stars
4. Accusative Direct object Stellam Stellas I like the stars
The star The stars
5. Ablative Prepositional Stella Stellis The light came
phrases From, by, with, From, by, with, from the stars.
in the star in the stars
6. Vocative Direct Address Stella Stellae O stars, shine
O Star O stars brightly!

Verb Conjugations:
1. Person (1st, 2nd or 3rd)
2. Number (singular, plural)
3. Tense (present, imperfect, future, perfect, pluperfect or past perfect, and future perfect)
4. Voice (active or passive)
5. Moods (indicative, subjunctive, imperative, infinitive, participle, gerund and supine)

A-Conjugation
Verbs that end in -are in the present infinitive are first conjugation verbs.

Agricola laborat, the farmer works (third person singular)

Agricolae laborant, the farmers work (third person plural)
 Person Singular Plural Example
1st Amo I like, am liking Amamus we like Amamus aquam. We like water
2nd Amas you like Amatis you like Amas aquam. You like water
rd
3 Amat he, she, it likes Amant they like Amant aquam. They like water
These are the present active indicative forms of amo.
Present because the action is taking place in the present
Active because the subject of the verb is doing, not receiving the active.

Amare infinitive means to love

Introduction to Adjectives

Nouns
1. Filia, Filiae, feminine, daughter (filial)
2. Nauta, Nautae, masculine, sailor (nautical)

Adjective – describes or tells something about a noun

1. Bona, good (bonanza) 5. Parva, small
2. Magna, large, great (magnanimous) 6. Pulchra, pretty, beautiful
3. Mala, bad, evil (malice) 7. Romana, Roman
4. Mea, my, mine 8. Tua, your, yours

Verbs – action words

1. Nato, Natare, swim
2. Sum, Esse, be

Adverbs
1. Non, not (nonstop)
2. Male, badly (malformed)
3. Bene, well (benefactor)

Sign of a question
Ne – attached to the end of the first word of the sentences

New Reading Grammar – Adjectives

A.
Filia Filia pulchra Filia bona
daughte Pretty daughter Good daughter
r

You will notice that although the adjective generally comes before the noun it describes in
English, in Latin it can come after the noun it describes.
B. An adjective must be in the same gender (masculine, feminine, or neuter) and number
(singular, plura) and have the same case as the noun it modifies.

This is known as noun-adjective agreement. As you will learn later, the inflectional endings
need not be the same, however; what matters is the agreement between the adjective and the
noun that it modifies in case, number and gender.

Case Name Singular Plural

1. Nominative Casa magna Casae Magnae

Subject Large cottage Large cottages
2. Genitive Casae Magnae Casarum Magnarum
Possessive of the large cottage of the large cottages
3. Dative Casae Magnae Casae Magnis
Indirect Object to, for the large cottage to, for the large cottages
4. Accusative Casam Magnam Casas Magnas
Direct Object the large cottage the large cottages
5. Ablative Casa Magna Casis Magnis
Prepositional Phrases From, with, by, in the large From, with, by, in the large
cottage cottages
6. Vocative Casa Magna Casae Magnae
Direct Address O large cottage O large cottages

Adverbs
An adverb tell something about the verb, and usually precedes it.

Agricola non natat. The farmer does not swim.

Agricola bene natat. The farmer swims well.
Agricola male natat The farmer swims badly.

The adverbs bene, male and non all tell something about the verb natat.

Questions

-ne on the end of the first word of a sentence is one common way to indicate that the sentence
is a question.
Natatne Agricola? Does the farmer swim?
 I. Analyze/Identify the following verbs:

1) sunt 3rd person, plural. - Present, active indicative

2) laboratis 2nd person, plural - Present, active indicative
3) portas 2nd person, singular - Present, active indicative
4) estis 2nd person, plural - Present, active indicative
5) laudamus 1st person, singular - Present, active indicative
6) portant. 3rd person, plural. – Present, active indicative

II. Translate the following English sentences to Latin. Please take note of corresponding places of
the adjectives and adverbs:

1) The girls swim well. Puella bene natat (3rd person) nominative
2) Are the women working well? Feminaene Laborantbene (3rd person) nominative
3) The houses are mine. Casae meae sunt (1st person) nominative
4) My daughters are beautiful. Filiae meae pulchrae sunt (1st) direct object
5) The sailors praise the pretty girls. Nautae laudant puellas pulchras (3rd, plural)
6) Are they calling the women? Vocantne feminae (3rd, nominative)
7) I am carrying water. Porto aquam (1st person)
8) Maria and Clara are beautiful girls. Maria et Clara sunt puellae pulchrae (2nd, subject)
9) He works the land badly. Male Laborat terram (3rd person, accusative)
10) The small cottages are beautiful. Casae Parvae Pulchrae Sunt (3rd person, nominative)

III. Analyze/identify the following nouns:

1) nautis m, plural, dative/ablative, to/for the sailors; from/with the sailors

2) casa f, singular, nominative/ablative/vocative, the housel from/with by/ O
3) puellae f, singular (genitive, dative) , plural (nominative, vocative)
4) terrarum f, plural, genitive(possessive)
5) aquam f, accusative, singular
6) stellas f, accusative, plural

IV. Translate the following Latin sentences to English:

1) Bene natamus. We swim well (1 st person, plural)

2) Diego non sum. I am not Diego (1st person, singular)
3) Adsumus. We are present (1st person, plural)
4) Aquamne portas. Are you carrying the water (2 nd person, singular)
5) Agricolas male laudant. They praise the farmers badly (3 rd person, plural)
6) Non laborant. They are not working (3rd person, plural)
7) Filiaene meae pulchrae sunt. Are my beautiful daughters? (3 rd person, pl)
8) Nautae pulchram puellam non laudant. The Sailors do not praise the beautiful girls (genitive)
9) Puellae parvae meae non natant. My little girls are not swimming (dative, 3 rd plural)
10) Puellaene parvae non natant. Are the little girls not swimming? / Do the little girls not swim
V. Conjugate the verb “esse.”

Singular Plural
Sum Sumus
I am We are
Es Estis
You are You are
Est Sunt
He, she, it is; there is They are; there are

New Reading Vocabulary

Nouns

1. insula (een-soo-lah), insulae (een-soo-lai), f., island (insular, insulate)

2. patria (pah-tree-ah), patriae (pah-tree-ai), f., native country (patriot)
3. paeninsula (pai-neen-soo-lah), paeninsulae (pai-neen-soo-lai), f., peninsula
4. copia (koh-pee-ah), copiae (koh-pee-ai), f., supply, abundance (copious, cornucopia)
5. copiae (plural), forces, troops
6. silva (sihl-wah), silvae (sihl-wai) f., forest, woods (sylvan)
7. Germania (gehr-mah-nee-ah), Germaniae (gehr-mah-nee-ai), f., Germany
8. Britannia (brih-tah-nee-ah), Britanniae (brih-tah-nee-ai), f., Britain
9. Italia (ih-tah-lee-ah), Italiae (ih-tah-lee-ai), f., Italy
10. Iulia (yoo-lee-ah), Iuliae (yoo-lee-ai), f., Julia

Adjectives

1. multa (muhl-tah), much. In the plural, multae means many (multicolored)

2. clara (klah-rah), clear, famous, bright (clarity)
3. antiqua (ahn-tee-kwah), ancient, old (antique)”

Verbs

1. pugno (puhg-noh), pugnare (puhg-nah-reh), fight (pugnacious)

2. oppugno (ohp-puhg-noh), oppugnare (ohp-puhg-nah-reh), attack iuvo (yoo-woh), iuvare (yoo-wah-reh),
help, aid”

Adverbs

1. cur, why
Conjunctions

1. quod, because

New Reading Grammar – Noun Cases

A. The nominative case shows the:

1. The subject of the verb

The subject is the person or thing that the sentence is primarily about. If the verb is in the active voice, the
subject initiates the action of the verb. If the verb is in the passive voice, the subject receives the action of
the verb. These are active voice examples.

Nauta pugnat. The sailor fights.

Nautae pugnant. The sailors fight.
Nauta is the singular subject of pugnat; nautae is the plural subject of pugnant. Both are in the nominative
case.”

2. The predicate noun

This is also known as the predicate nominative.
Britannia insula est.           Britain is an island.
Insula is a noun in the predicate and tells something about the subject, Britannia. The predicate is usually
used with the verb esse, to be.

You will notice that there is no action in this sentence. Instead, a state of being is described. Consider the
following sentences:

I call the doctor. I am a doctor.

The first sentence describes an action. Thus, doctor is the direct object. However, in the second sentence,
there is no action. The verb, to be, functions somewhat like an equals sign (=) in math. The subject on one
side of the verb is equal to the predicate on the other side:

I am a doctor. I = a doctor Britain is an island. Britain = an island.

If you can replace the verb with an equals sign, you are dealing with the predicate noun. You cannot do this
with the sentence I call the doctor.

This is true of Latin as well. However, you will recall that word order is not as important to the meaning of a
sentence in Latin as it is in English. Thus, you could say Britannia insula est or Britannia est insula. Both mean
Britain is an island. In both sentences, Britannia is the subject and insula is the predicate nominative.
3. The predicate adjective

This is another kind of predicate nominative; however, the predicate is an adjective in this case.

Britannia est pulchra.

Britain is pretty.

Pulchra is an adjective in the predicate and describes the subject, Britannia. Predicate adjectives, like
predicate nouns, can precede or follow the verb. Thus, Britannia pulchra est also means Britain is pretty.
Note, however, that you would be unlikely to find the sentence Pulchra Britannia est, and that the sentence
Insula Britannia est means something slightly different from Britannia est insula. The first sentence means
The island is Britain. The second sentence means Britain is an island. In the first sentence, Insula is the
subject and Britannia is the predicate. In the second sentence, this is reversed. Thus, while word order is less
important in Latin than in English, it is not by any means unimportant. Later lessons will cover the rules for
traditional word order in Latin in greater detail.”

The first declension (or a-declension) nouns and adjectives end in -a (ah) in the nominative singular and -ae
(ai) in the nominative plural.

B. Genitive Case Shows:

terra agricolae, the land of the farmer—the farmer’s land

terra agricolarum, the land of the farmers—the farmers’ land
Agricolae (of the farmer) and agricolarum (of the farmers) tell something about terra. Compare this to the
use of an adjective:
terra pulchra, the pretty land

Pulchra, pretty, tells something about terra. However, an adjective must have the same case, number, and
gender as the noun it modifies. This is not true of the genitive; agricolarum is a masculine genitive plural,
whereas terra is a feminine nominative singular. As we learned earlier, the a-declension nouns and
adjectives end in -ae (ai) in the genitive singular and -arum (ah-ruhm) in the genitive plural.

1. casa puellae the girls cottage’

2. copia acquae a supply of water
3. terra agricolarum the farmers’ land
4. casae feminarum the women’s cottage
5. patria nautae the sailors’ country
6. insula nauatae the sailor’s island
7. filia agricolae the farmers’ daughter
8. casae nautarum the houses of the sailors
9. copia stellarum abundance of the stars

1. Feminae laborant Women

2. Puella portat The girl
3. Agricolae amant The farmers
4. Nauta oppugnat The sailor
5. Agricola amat The farmer
6. Filiae laudant The daughters
7. Patria est The Country
8. Insulae sunt The islands
9. Filia laborat The daughter

1. Insula est magna Huge

2. Silvae sunt pulchrae pretty
3. FIliae sunt bonae good
4. Copiae sunt Romanae roman
5. Terra est mala bad
6. Paeninsula est tua yours
7. Casae sunt parvae small
8. Silva est pulchra pretty
9. Femina est bona good

1. Est agricola The farmer

2. Sunt nautae Sailors
3. Germania est patria mea. Germany
4. Sunt casae The houses
5. Sum nauta. Sailor
6. estis feminae women
7. Es puella girl
8. Sumus agricolae farmers
9. non est silva forest

Many quotations from Latin authors are in use today, either in Latin or in translation. If you become so
familiar with these quotations and their meanings that you know them by heart, you will have acquired
some of the real flavor of the Latin language and thought.
Roma aeterna, Eternal Rome. (Tibullus)
Errare humanum est, To err is human. (Seneca)
Dira necessitas, Dire necessity. (Horace)
Aurea mediocritas, The golden mean. (Horace)
Rara avis, A rare bird. (Horace)
Ars longa, vita brevis, Art is long, life is short. (Seneca)
Fortuna caeca est, Fortune is blind. (Cicero)
Laborare est orare, To labor is to pray. (Motto of the Benedictine Order)”
Nouns

fabula (fah-buh-lah), fabulae (fah-buh-lai), f., story (fable, fabulous)

via (wee-ah), viae (wee-ai), f., road, way, street (via, viaduct)
incola (ihn-koh-lah), incolae (ihn-koh-lai) m. or f., inhabitant
fama (fah-mah), famae (fah-mai) f., rumor, renown, report (fame)
Europa (yoo-roh-pah), Europae (yoo-roh-pai) f., Europe”

Adjectives

longa (lawn-gah), long (longitude)

lata (lah-tah), wide (latitude)”

Verbs

do (doh), dare (dah-reh), give (dative)

ambulo (ahm-buh-loh), ambulare (ahm-buh-lah-reh), walk (ambulance, perambulator)
narro (nah-roh), narrare (nah-rah-reh), tell, relate (narrate)
monstro (mawn-stroh), monstrare (mawn-strah-reh), point out, show (monstrance, demonstrate)
habito (hah-bih-toh), habitare (hah-bih-tah-reh), dwell, live (habitat)
navigo (nah-wih-goh), navigare (nah-wih-gah-reh), sail, cruise (navigate)

Preposition

ad (ahd), to, toward (administer)

cum (kuhm), with
a (ah) or ab (ahb), from, away from (abdicate)
in (ihn), in, on, into, onto (inhabit, induce)
e (ay) or ex (ehks), from, out from (emit, exceed)”

A. THE ACCUSATIVE CASE SHOWS THE DIRECT OBJECT OF THE VERB.

1. The direct object shows the person or thing that receives the action of the verb.
Fabulam narro. I tell a story.
Fabulas narro. I tell stories.
Fabulam, story, and fabulas, stories, are the direct objects of narro, I tell. Both are in the accusative case.
2. All first declension nouns and adjectives end in -am (ahm) in the accusative singular and -as (ahs) in the
accusative plural.

B. THE DATIVE CASE SHOWS THE INDIRECT OBJECT OF THE VERB.

1. The indirect object shows to whom or what something is given, said, or directed.
Puellae aquam do. I give the water to the girl.
Puellis aquam do. I give the water to the girls.
Puella, to the girl and puellis, to the girls, are the indirect objects of do, I give. Both are in the dative case.
Water, the direct object, is in the accusative case.
In English, if a word is being used as the direct object, it usually comes immediately after the verb, with no
words in between. The indirect object will often, although not always, have prepositions such as to or for
between it and the verb. Hence, in the sentence, I give the water to the girls, water is the direct object. You
would not say I give to the water in this case (although you could say I give the girls water. The girls would
still be the indirect object). In latin, the case endings of a word will make it immediately obvious whether you
are dealing with a direct or an indirect object.

2. The a-declension nouns and adjectives end in -ae (ai) in the dative singular and -is (ees) in the dative
plural.

C. THE ABLATIVE CASE IS USED WITH PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES.

In this chapter, you will begin to learn how to use this case.
(See E. below.)

The a-declension nouns and adjectives end in -a (ah) in the ablative singular and -is (ees) in the ablative
plural.

D. THE VOCATIVE CASE IS USED WHEN ADDRESSING SOMEONE, OR SOMETHING, DIRECTLY.

There may be no obvious relation between the word in the vocative case and the verb.
Navigo, femina. I am sailing, O woman.
Navigo, feminae. I am sailing, O women.
Femina, woman, and feminae, women, are being spoken to directly, although they have no obvious
connection with the verb, Navigo, I am sailing. Both are in the vocative case.

The a-declension nouns and adjectives end in -a (ah) in the vocative singular and -ae (ai) in the vocative
plural.

E. PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES IN LATIN GENERALLY ARE IN EITHER THE ACCUSATIVE OR ABLATIVE CASE.
A prepositional phrase is merely one in which a preposition is used. Some prepositions are used only with
one case; others may be used with either case. If a preposition can be used with both the accusative and the
ablative case, you will be able to tell which case is being used, or which case you should use, from the
context of the preposition.

1. Accusative prepositional phrases are used with these prepositions:

ad, to, toward
in, into, onto
Ad casam ambulo. I walk toward the cottage.
In casam ambulo. I walk into the cottage.
Ad casas ambulo. I walk toward the cottages.
In casas ambulo. I walk into the cottages.
2. Ablative prepositional phrases are used with these prepositions.
cum, with
Cum puella ambulo. I walk with the girl.
Cum puellis ambulo. I walk with the girls.
Cum is used only with nouns or pronouns indicating people
in, in, in, on
In casa sum. I am in the cottage. In terra sum. I am on land.
In casis sunt. They are in the cottages.
In viis sunt. They are on the streets.
e or ex, from, out from
ex via out of the street
ex viis out of the streets
a or ab, from, away from
a silva away from the forest
a silvis away from the forests
a or e are not used before a vowel or before h; ab or ex are substituted.

1. We are in the house with the daughters of the farmers.

In casa sumus cum filis agricolarum
2. They are dwelling in the island.
In habitant insula
3. He carries water to the house of the girls.
Portat aquam casae puellarum
4. Why are they fighting with the women?
Cur feminis pugnant
5. The girls give water to the farmers.
Puellae agricolae do
6. They help the woman to the house.
Oppugnant feminam casae
7. The troop walks into the forest.
Copias in silva ambulo
8. Are they attacking the houses of the sailors?
Oppugnantne casis nautarum
9. They are carrying water from the forest.
Portant aquam a silva
10. We are walking away from the house.
ambulamus ab casa
11. They are sailing towards the peninsula.
Ad paeninsulam navigant
12. Because of the huge forest, the small house is pretty.
Quod silvae magnae, casa parva pulchra
13. Gabriela Silang, Princess Urduja, and Teodora Alonso are famous women.
Gabriel Silang, Princess Urduja et Teodora Alonso feminae clarae sunt.
14. My country and yours is beautiful.
Patria mea et tua pulchra es
15. There is an abundance of water.
Copia aquarum est
16. He tells a short story to the little girls.
Narat fabula brevis puellis parvis
17. The inhabitants are showing the long way to the daughters of the sailors.
Incolae monstrant via longa filis nautarum.
18. We are sailing into the wide waters.
In aquis latis navigamus
19. Do we give many to the farmers?
Damusne multam agricolis
20. We are residing in an old house.
in casa antiqua habitamus

II) Conjugation:

1) to give

Do damus
Das datis
Dat dant

2) to be

Sum sumus
Es estis
Est sunt

3) to walk

Ambulo ambulamus
Ambulas ambulatis
Ambulat ambulant

4) to fight

Pugno pugnamus
Pagnas pugnatis
Pugnat pugnant

5) to help

Oppugno oppugnamus
Oppugnas oppugnatis
Oppugnat oppugant