Latin Grammar

1. Latin Grammar How to conjugate a Latin verb… …or just recognise it! Enlighten me.

2. Groups • Both verbs and nouns are divided into groups, which define their declension (which endings are assigned to them) • There are four groups of verbs and five groups of nouns, each with their own set of endings.

3. VERBS

4. Principal Parts Each verb has three or four principal parts: Amo Amare Amavi Amatus [um] First person singular present – I love – To love Present infinitive First person singular perfect indicative active – I loved Supine (adjective formed from a verb) – [easy ~; in order ~] to love OR perfect participle passive – having been loved

5. Person endings • All verbs, in addition to the tense endings, will include a person ending, which describes who is carrying out the action. • Common features within a person are highlighted • See how the endings in the perfect passive, as parts of the verb esse, match those in the present.

6. TENSES • I eat / I am eating • I am [being] eaten • (I should/Let me) eat • (I should/Let me) be eaten • I ate • I was eaten • I should have eaten • I should have been eaten • I was eating • I was being eaten • I would eat • I would be eaten • I had eaten • I had been eaten • I should have eaten* • I should have been eaten* • I will eat • I will be eaten • PresentIndicative Active • PresentIndicative Passive • Present Subjunctive Active • PresentSubjunctive Passive • PerfectIndicative Active • PerfectIndicative Passive • Perfect Subjunctive Active • PerfectSubjunctive Passive • ImperfectIndicative Active • ImperfectIndicative Passive • ImperfectSubjunctive Active • Imperfect Subjunctive Passive • PluperfectIndicative Active • PluperfectIndicative Passive • Pluperfect Subjunctive Active • PluperfectSubjunctive Passive • FutureIndicative Active • FutureIndicative Passive * With the implication of “already” – literally “I should have had eaten” or “I should have had been eaten”

7. Indicative Active • Straightforward verb

8. Indicative Passive • Still straightforward, only the subject is the victim here. *‘Murus’ is wall – drunken males tend to urinate (‘wee’ = ‘we’) against walls ** There are ‘mini’ (many) of you (i.e. you plural) *** Them over t’ur (accented “there” – like “their” - they) Some silly ways to remember these:

9. Subjunctive Active • “Wouldy, Couldy, Shouldy” kind of verb • In the present, it can be used to mean “let”

10. Subjunctive Passive

11. Infinitives • All infinitives in English are translated using “to”

12. Imperatives • The imperative is an instruction or command.

13. NOUNS

14. The Nominative and Vocative • Nominative = subject “Sextus is annoying” • Vocative = addressee “Go away, Sextus!”

15. The Accusative • Subject “Sextus climbed a tree” • Duration: “Sextus remained there for three days” • Motion to: “Flavia ran to the tree” • Space/distance: “The tree was seven feet tall” • Exclamations: “Oh, what a silly boy!”

16. The Genitive • Defines, describes or classifies a noun • “The father of Sextus” = “Sextus’ father”

17. The Dative • To/for whom: “Sextus handed over money to the shopkeeper” • From whom: “The thief stole the money from theshopkeeper” • Transfer of feelings, thoughts (persuade, trust, envy) • Possession (with esse)

18. The Ablative • By, with, from: “The thief conquered us by trickery” • Time - in, within, at, on: “He will be caught within a week, hopefully on Thursday” • Comparison: “Although he is more slippery than an eel”

19. Gerunds and Gerundives • Look out for: -end-, -and- or –und- • Gerund: noun with neuter singular group 2 endings. • Accusative (um) after ad: purpose (to swim, for studying) • Genitive (i) • With causa: purpose (to swim, for the sake of swimming) • With a noun or adjective which governs the genitive (the art of swimming, eager to learn, time for eating) • Ablative (o): method (by living, through eating)

20. Gerunds and Gerundives • Look out for: -end-, -and- or –und- • Gerundive: adjective with group 1 or 2 endings • Used instead of a gerund governing an accusative object • Accusative (am, os) • After ad: purpose (to capture a city, to buy horses) • After a verb governing the accusative (attended to the buying of horses) • Genitive (i, orum) • With causa: purpose (to read a book, for the sake of drinking wine) • With a noun or adjective which governs the genitive (the art of drinking undiluted wine, unpredictable in waging war) • Ablative (is): reference (about writing letters) • With esse: obligation (I ought to be loved, he had to be obeyed by you/ you had to obey him)

21. Impersonal verbs • Latin uses the third person singular of a verb to emphasise the action, rather than the person doing the action: • It was being fought for many hours • Emphasis on the fighting, not the soldiers • It will be reached to the city by the merchant • Emphasis on the reaching, not the merchant • Common verbs that are used impersonally include: • Mihi interest (it is of importance to me) • Mihi licet (it is allowed to me) • Mihi placet (it pleases to me) • Oportet (it behoves to me to; I ought to…) • Sequitur (it follows) • Fit (it happens) • Restat (it remains) • Ex quo factum est (from which it was; the result was) • Fieri [non] potest (it is [not] possible) • Me miseret (it pities me of; I pity) • Me paenitet (it regrets me of; I regret) • Me piget (it loathes me of; I loathe) • Me pudet (it shames me of; I am ashamed of) • Me taedet (it tires me of) • pluit (it rains) • ningit (it snows) • tonat (it thunders; there is thunder) • lucet (it lightens; it becomes light) • adversperascit (it darkens; it grows dark)

22. ADJECTIVESANDADVERBS

23. Adjectives • Adjectives’ endings are determined by the noun with which they agree: • Multos servos • Multas ancillas • Multa plaustra • Puellam pulchram • Puella pulchra

24. Comparatives and superlatives of Adjectives • For masculine and feminine comparatives, add –ior to the base. • For neuter comparatives, add -ius • Fortis becomes fortior or fortius • For the superlative, add –issimus, -a, -um • Fortis becomes fortissimus, fortissima, fortissimum • For -er adjectives, add –rimus, -rima, -rimum to the masculine form • Pulcher becomes pulcherrimus, pulcherrima, pulcherrimum • Some exceptions, such as facilis, will use –illimus (facillimus) for the superlative • Other exceptions, such as novus and maxime, have irregular comparatives (recentior, -us) or superlatives (maximus)

25. Adverbs • Adverbs are formed from adjectives • For groups 1 and 2, ad an –e to the stem • Infirmus, a, um becomes infirme (weakly) • Liber, libera, liberum becomes libere (freely) • For group 3, add –iter to words with multiple endings… • Pauper, pauperis, paupere becomes pauperiter (meagerly) • …or –er to words with only one ending • Prudens, entis becomes prudenter (prudently)

26. Comparatives and superlatives of Adverbs • The comparative form of an adverb is identical to the comparative form of its neuter adjective • Therefore, it will have an –ius ending • Clare becomes clarius • The superlative form is made by adding -issime • Prudenter becomes prudentissime • As always, there are exceptions. • Bene becones melius, then optime. • Male becomes peius, them pessime.

27. YAY, WIKIPEDIA! • Useful Wikipedia pages: • Latin Conjugation (verbs) • (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_conjugation) • Latin Declension (nouns, adjectives, adverbs) • (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_declension)

28. Just for fun! • A Latin tonguetwister: • "mala mali malo mala conulit omnia mundo“ • “man's jaw and an apple brought all evils into the world“ • Homonyms exist in Latin, too! • "malo malo malo malo malo malo malo, quam dente vento occurrere” • "I would rather meet with a bad apple, with a bad tooth, than a bad mast with a bad wind."