Grammar: Cases, Uses, Constructions, and Misc. - LATIN 111 and 112

What letters are “missing” from the Latin alphabet?

no j or w

What are the ways to represent long vowels?

• long vowels given a macron (what we use now)

• long vowels written larger than other letters

• long vowels written twice

• long vowels given an apex (looks like an acute accent)

long vs. short vowels is an important distinction in Latin!

What kind of letter is the letter y?

a vowel, imported from the Greek upsilon; makes a sound between u and i, as in the German ü

Latin diphthongs and sounds

ae/ai = ai (aisle)

au = ou (house)

ei = ei (reign)

eu = e + u (not an English sound)

oe = oi (oil)

ui = u + i (gooey)

What sounds does the letter b represent?

usually a b sound

when bs or bt, a p sound (ps or pt)

What sound does the letter c represent?

k sound (hard c)

(the letter k itself is rarely used)

What sound does the letter g represent?

always a hard g (not a j sound)

before n, a nasalized ng sound

What sound does the letter h represent?

a breathing sound/aspiration (basically the typical h sound)

What sound does the letter i represent?

a vowel

• when not a consonant, a vowel

a consonant

• before a vowel at the beginning of the word, a y sound (yes)

• between two vowels, forms a diphthong with the preceding vowel and acts as the consonant y for the second vowel

consonantal i becomes “j” later on

What sound does the letter q represent?

always followed by consonantal u; kw sound

What sound does the letter r represent?

always trilled

What sound does the letter s represent?

voiceless

What sound does the letter t represent?

always t as in tired, never sh or ch sounds

What sound does the letter v represent?

w sound (used to also represent the u sound, but u was later introduced as a letter and will be used for our purposes as a separate letter from v)

What sound does the letter x represent?

ks sound, not gz sound

What sound does the letter ch represent?

ckh sound (blockhead; comes from the Greek letter chi), not ch sound (church)

What sound does the letter ph represent?

ph sound (uphill; comes from the Greek letter phi), not f sound

What sound does the letter th represent?

th sound (hothouse; comes from Greek letter theta), not th sound (thin)

Syllabic Division

• # of syllables = # of vowels/diphthongs

• single consonant between two vowels goes with the 2ND vowel

• two or more consonants between two vowels, generally ONLY the LAST consonant goes with the 2ND vowel (the rest tag onto the 1st)

  • Exception: a stop (p, b, t, d, c, g) + a liquid (l, r) count as a single consonant and BOTH would go with the 2ND vowel

  • Exception: qu, ch, ph, and th are all considered single consonants and BOTH would go with the 2ND vowel

Syllable Length/Quantity

• Long by Nature: long vowel/diphthong

• Long by Position: short vowel followed by 2 or more consonants (pronounced separately) or x (a double consonant)

  • basically, when you break the word into syllables, if any consonants follow the vowel and are part of the syllable (not pushed into the beginning of the next syllable), that vowel is long by position

• Short: short vowel followed by no consonants, one consonant, or consonants pronounced together

Accent

• a stress accent

• 2 syllable word

  • accent always falls on PENULT (aka first syllable)

• 3 or more syllable word

  • Penult is LONG: accent falls on PENULT

  • Penult is NOT LONG: accent falls on ANTEPENULT

• different from Greek accent!

• very regular rules for accentuation, so accent marks (as opposed to macrons) are not ordinarily included when writing Latin

Word Order (a basic guide)

• subject and its modifiers

• indirect object and modifiers

• direct object and modifiers

• adverbial words or phrases

• verb

*adjectives and genitive nouns commonly FOLLOW the words they modify

*in general, though, due to the power of declining, word order is pretty flexible

Nominative Case

• most commonly indicates the SUBJECT of a finite verb

• also employed with forms of “to be” and other linking verbs, as a PREDICATE NOMINATIVE

Genitive Case

• a noun that modifies/limits another noun

• commonly conveys POSSESSION

• “of” or apostrophe (‘s or s’) are commonly supplied in translating a genitive

• usually FOLLOWS the noun it modifies

Genitive of the Whole

genitive = the whole of some thing or group

NO PREPOSITION

• used after a word designating a part of that whole

• also called “partitive genitive”

translate as “of”

• also used with mīlia (not mīlle)

• also used after the neuter nominative and accusative of certain pronouns such as:

  • aliquid, quid, multum, plūs, minus, satis, nihil, tantum, quantum

The genitive of the whole may itself be the neuter singular (genitive) of a SECOND declension adjective.

• acting as a substantive

• ex: multum bonī (much good)

translate without a preposition (understood “of”) in English

• ex: decem mīlia virōrum = 10,000 men

Dative Case

• commonly marks the thing or person indirectly affected by the action of the verb (INDIRECT OBJECTS)

• “to” or “for” are commonly supplied in translating a dative

Dative of Agent

• NO PREPOSITION

• used with the PASSIVE PERIPHRASTIC, instead of the ablative of agent

• Translation: generally best to transform such clauses into active constructions

Accusative Case

• indicates the DIRECT OBJECT of the verb (person or thing directly affected by the verb’s action)

• can be the OBJECT OF A PREPOSITION, with certain (not all) prepositions

Ablative Case

• sometimes called the “adverbial case”

• used to modify, or limit, the verb by such ideas as means, agent, accompaniment, manner, place, and time

• often employed as the object of a preposition

• when a preposition is not used, typically “by,” “with,” or “from” should be supplied in translating to English

Ablative of Means or Instrument

noun or pronoun that answers the question “by means of what (instrument)?/by what?/with what?” the action of the verb performed

• NO PREPOSITION

translate as “by (means of), with”

*can be used with passive verbs

Ablative of Accompaniment

noun/pronoun (usually a person), that answers the question “in whose company/with whom is the action performed”

• uses the preposition CUM

translate as “with”

Ablative of Manner

noun (regularly an abstract noun) that answers the question “how/in what manner” the action is performed

• uses the preposition CUM (whether or not an adjective is used)

• doesn’t use a preposition, sometimes, when an adjective is used

translate as “with/-fully/-ly”

preposition variability:

• when noun is modified by an adjective, CUM is frequently OMITTED

• if CUM is USED, usually preceded by the adjective

  • Ex: Magnā cum cūrā id scrīpsit.

Ablative with Cardinal Numerals

expresses the idea of the whole

• with cardinal numerals (other than mīlia)

• with quīdam (a certain one)

• sometimes with paucī

construction: EX/Ē or DĒ + ablative

translate as “of”

Ablative of Time When or Within Which

time when or within which an action occurred

• always involves some noun indicating a unit of time

• NO PREPOSITION

translate as “at,” “on,” “in,” or “within”

Ablative of Personal Agent

the personal agent by whom the action of a passive verb is performed

construction: Ā/AB + ablative

translate as “by”

*used with passive verbs

Passive Verbs - Ablative of Personal Agent vs. Ablative of Means

What was the subject of an active sentence becomes in Latin an ablative of AGENT, if a PERSON, or an ablative of MEANS, if a THING in the passive sentence.

Ablative of Place From Which

regularly involves a verb of active motion from one place to another

construction: AB, DĒ, or EX + ablative

• usually

translate as “away from,” “down from,” or “out of”

Ablative of Separation

implies only that some person or thing is separate from another

*no movement from one place to another

• sometimes NO PREPOSITION

  • PARTICULARLY with certain verbs meaning “to free,” “to lack,” and “to deprive,” which commonly take an ablative of separation

no “added” words needed in translation (typically)

• when with a preposition, uses AB, DĒ, EX

Ablative of Place Where

describes where someone or something is located or an action is occurring

• construction: IN or SUB + ablative

translate as “in/on” or “under”

Ablative Absolute - Participles

• participial phrase generally consisting of a noun (or pronoun) and a modifying participle both in the ablative case

• describes some general circumstance under which the action of the sentence occurs

• always self-contained

  • the participle and the noun it modifies are in the same phrase and the noun of the ablative absolute phrase is not referred to at all in the attached clause

• usually translated with “when,” “since,” or “although”

• the ablative noun/pronoun regularly comes first, the participle last; when the phrase contains additional words, like the participle’s direct object, they are usually enclosed within the noun/participle frame

• even two nouns, or a noun and an adjective, can function as an ablative absolute, with the present participle of sum (lacking in classical Latin) to be understood

Ablative of Comparison

• NO PREPOSITION

• in a comparison (comparative adjectives) when the first element being compared was nominative or accusative, quam was often omitted and the second element followed in the ABLATIVE CASE

• like the Greek genitive of comparison… but ablative

• two options:

  • use quam and match case

  • omit the quam and use the ABLATIVE CASE

Vocative Case

• addresses or calls on a person or thing directly

• used with the interjection Ō

• typically separated from the rest of the sentence by commas

• with one major exception, the vocative has the same form as that of the nominative

Suppletion

the use of one word as part of the form set of another, though the two are not cognate

Defective Verb

a verb many or most of whose conjugational forms were rarely employed

• ex: coepī

Collective Noun

a plural noun that has a singular meaning denoting a singular group of plural things (a collective)

• Example: the enemy (plural) vs. the individual enemy

Agreement with Relative Pronouns

- agrees with antecedent for GENDER and NUMBER

- CASE determined by function of relative pronoun in the relative clause

Relative Clauses

• introduced by a relative pronoun

• adjectival function, providing descriptive information about the antecedent

• referring back to an antecedent (noun/pronoun)

  • which typically appears before the relative pronoun

• antecedent may be omitted and implied by the relative pronoun

Transforming the Active Sentence into a Passive Sentence

• direct object becomes the subject

• subject becomes ablative of agent (if a person) or ablative of means (if a thing)

• active verb form becomes passive verb form (with appropriate person, number, and tense)

Distinguishing Between the Interrogatives and Relative Pronoun

*other than quis and quid. the interrogative pronoun, interrogative adjective, and relative pronoun can only be distinguished by their FUNCTION and CONTEXT, NOT by their FORMS

Interrogative Pronoun

• asks a question about the identity of a person or thing

• NO ANTECEDENT

• often introduces a sentence with a question mark at the end

Interrogative Adjective

• asks for more specific identification of a person or thing

• both PRECEDES and AGREES IN GENDER, NUMBER, and CASE with the NOUN it is ASKING ABOUT

Relative Pronoun

• usually introduces a subordinate clause

• HAS AN ANTECEDENT

• does NOT ask a question

  • rather, it ANSWERS a question, in the sense that relative clauses are adjectival and provide further information about their antecedents

Passive Periphrastic

• passive verb form consisting of the gerundive, a common term for the future passive participle, along with a form of sum

  • Construction: GERUNDIVE + form of SUM

• gerundive, as essentially a predicate adjective, agrees with the subject of sum in gender, number, and case

• concerned with necessary, obligatory, or appropriate action, rather than simple futurity

• Just as Latin uses the auxiliary SUM in its various tenses in this construction, English uses:

  • Translation: “HAS TO BE,” “HAD TO BE,” or “WILL HAVE TO BE”

  • Translation alternatives: “SHOULD,” “OUGHT,” “MUST”

• Uses the DATIVE OF AGENT!

Inseparable Prefix

A prefix that does not stand alone as a separate word

• Examples

  • re-, again, back

  • sē-, apart, aside

  • the negative in- (im-, il-, ir-), not, un-

  • and dis- (dif-, dī-), apart, away, not

Assimilation

A phonetic change where the final consonant of a prefix is, for the ease of pronunciation, altered to match the initial consonant of the base word

Participial Phrases - “Construction”

• Garbage Cans!

• Noun… Garbage… Participle

• Keep the garbage in the garbage can (usually)

Indirect Statement - General

• An indirect statement simply reports indirectly (i.e., not in direct quotation) what someone has said, thought, felt, etc.

• In English, we regularly put such indirect statements into a subordinate clause introduced by “that”

• Latin, on the other hand, uses no introductory word for “that” and employs an infinitive phrase with an accusative subject, instead of a clause

• This construction is regularly employed in Latin after verbs of SPEECH, MENTAL ACTIVITY, or SENSE PERCEPTION—sometimes called “HEAD VERBS”—i.e., verbs of saying, thinking, knowing, perceiving, feeling, seeing, hearing, etc.

• English uses a similar objective case + infinitive construction after a few verbs of this type, but in classical Latin this pattern is always followed and the accusative subject is always expressed, even when it is the same as the subject of the verb of saving, etc., in which case the subject is ordinarily a reflexive pronoun

• with the passive periphrastic infinitive (gerundive + esse), indicates obligation

Indirect Statement - Translation

• after supplying “that” and translating the accusative subject as if it were a nominative, you must then transform the infinitive into a regular finite verb in the correct tense, noting that tenses of the infinitive, like those of the participle, are relative not absolute

Indirect Statement - Construction

• finite verb to introduce: verb of saying, thinking, knowing, perceiving, feeling, seeing, hearing, etc.

• NO WORD FOR “THAT”

• accusative subject of the indirect statement

  • ACCUSATIVE SUBJECT IS ALWAYS EXPRESSED, EVEN WHEN IT IS THE SAME AS THE SUBJECT OF THE VERB OF SAYING, ETC.

    • in which case the subject is ordinarily a REFLEXIVE PRONOUN

• infinitive

*garbage can method: accusative subject + all the garbage + infinitive lid

Verbs That May Introduce Indirect Statements

1. saying: dīcō, negō, āit, nūntiō, prōnūntiō, narrō, scrībō, doceō, ostendō, dēmōnstrō, moneō, petō

2. knowing: sciō, nesciō, intellegō, memoriā teneō, discō

3. thinking: cernō, cōgitō, crēdō, habeō, putō, spērō

4. perceiving and feeling: audiō, videō, sentiō, gaudeō

• others to be introduced later: respondeō (answer), cognōscō (learn, know), arbitror (think), opīnor (think, suppose), prōmittō (promise) dēcernō (decide), doleō (grieve)

Participles - Formation

Present Active

• present stem + -ns (gen. -ntis)

Future Active

• participial stem + -ūrus, -ūra, -ūrum

Perfect Passive

• participial stem + -us, -a, -um

Future Passive

• present stem + -ndus, -nda, -ndum

Note:

PreseNT is marked by -NT-

FutURe is marked by -ŪR-

Future Passive (often called the “geruNDive”) is marked by -ND-

*AND… there is no present passive participle nor a perfect active participle

Comparative and Superlative Adjectives - Formation

• Positive degree: basic characteristic

  • from vocabulary

• Comparative degree: comparing a person/thing with just one other

  • base of positive + -ior (m./f.), -ius (n.); -iōris (gen.)

  • third-declension adjectives

  • NOT I-STEMS!!!

• Superlative degree: comparing a person/thing with two or more others

  • base of positive + -issimus, -issima, -issimum

  • first and second declension adjectives

Common Irregular Adjective Comparisons - Overview

-LIS SUPERATIVES

• six adjectives ending in -lis form the superlative:

  • add -limus, -lima, -limum to the base

  • Ex: facillimus, a, um

• normal comparative!

• facilis, difficilis, similis, dissimilis, gracilis, humilis

• ALL OTHER -LIS ADJECTIVES HAVE REGULAR SUPERLATIVES

-ER SUPERLATIVES

• ALL adjectives with a masculine in -er, regardless of declension, form the superlative:

  • add -rimus, NOT to the BASE, but DIRECTLY TO this masculine -ER

  • Ex: līberrimus, a, um

  • the E in the -ER is ALWAYS RETAINED

• normal comparative!

  • base sometimes retains the -e-, sometimes drops it

Quam with Comparatives and Superlatives

• FOLLOWING a COMPARATIVE

  • functions as a coordinating conjunction

  • meaning: “than”

  • linking two items that are being compared

  • the same case or construction follows quam as precedes

• PRECEDING a SUPERLATIVE

  • functions as an adverb

  • indicates that the person/thing modified has the greatest possible degree of a particular quality

  • meaning: “as… as possible”

Jussive Subjunctive

• subjunctive in the independent (main) clause

• Definition:

  • expresses a command or exhortation, especially in the FIRST or THIRD person (the imperative is generally used for the second person)

• Recognition:

  • MAIN VERB of the sentence (often its only verb) is SUBJUNCTIVE

  • Negative commands: introduced by NĒ

• Translation:

  • “LET” is most often used, followed by the subject noun/pronoun in the objective case

  • “MAY” and “SHOULD” are sometimes employed, particularly in second person

Purpose Clauses

• Definition:

  • subordinate clause indicating the objective of the action in the main clause

  • answers the question “WHY is/was it being done?”

• Recognition:

  • Positive Purpose Clause: introduced by UT

  • Negative Purpose Clause: introduced by NĒ

  • States the purpose of the action in the main clause

  • SUBJUNCTIVE VERB

• Translation:

  • generally more idiomatic to translate with an INFINITIVE (“TO” or “IN ORDER TO”), so long as the purpose clause and the main clause have the same subject

  • the auxiliary “MAY” is often used in translating the present tense in a purpose clause
    

Result Clauses

• Definition

  • a subordinate clause that shows the result of the action in the main clause

  • answers the question “what is/was the OUTCOME?”

  • English introduces such clauses with “that” and uses the indicative mood, generally with no auxiliary

• Recognition

  • begins with UT and contains (usually at the end) a SUBJUNCTIVE verb

  • distinguished from a purpose clause by sense and context

  • MAIN CLAUSE usually contains a “SIGNAL WORD”: adverb (ita, tam, sīc: so) or adjective (tantus, so much, so great) INDICATING DEGREE and signaling that a result clause is to follow

  • NEGATIVE RESULT: introduced by UT AND a NEGATIVE word such as nōn, nihil, nēmō, numquam, or nūllus

• Translation

  • subjunctive verb is regularly translated as an indicative, without an auxiliary

  • “may” or “might” are used only in those instances where a potential or ideal result, rather than an actual result, is being described

  • typically, English adds a “that” to introduce the clause

Indirect Questions

• Definition

  • subordinate clause which reports a question indirectly, not via a direct quotation

  • comparable in concept to an indirect statement, which reports indirectly, not a question, but a statement

• Recognition

  • SUBJUNCTIVE VERB (not infinitive, like an indirect statement)

  • introduced by an INTERROGATIVE WORD such as quis/quid, quī/quae/quod (interrogative adjective), quam, quandō, cūr, ubi, unde, uter, utrum… an (whether… or), -ne, etc.

  • MAIN VERB is ordinarily a verb of SPEECH, MENTAL ACTIVITY, or SENSE PERCEPTION

• Translation

  • subjunctive verb in an indirect question is usually translated as an indicative in the same tense (without any auxiliary such as “may” or “might”)

Future Active Periphrastic

• in the absence of an actual future subjunctive, this combination of a form of SUM (in the SUBJUNCTIVE) + the FUTURE ACTIVE PARTICIPLE was occasionally employed to indicate future time unambiguously in certain types of clauses, including the indirect question

Sequence of Tenses

• Rule

  • a primary tense of the indicative must be followed by a primary tense of the subjunctive

  • an indicative historical (or secondary) tense must be followed by a historical subjunctive tense

• Flowchart

  • Primary → Main Verb: Present, Future, Future Perfect → Subjunctive: Present (Incomplete Action) or Perfect (Complete Action)

  • Secondary → Main Verb: Imperfect, Perfect, Pluperfect → Subjunctive: Imperfect (Incomplete Action) or Pluperfect (Complete Action)

• Incomplete Action = at the same time or after

• Complete Action = before

• The rules for the sequence of tenses operate in purpose clauses, result clauses, indirect questions, and similar constructions to be introduced in subsequent chapters

• EXCEPTIONS

  • HISTORICAL PRESENT Main Verb (present tense used for the vivid narration of past events)

    • often takes a HISTORICAL/ SECONDARY sequence subjunctive

  • PERFECT TENSE Main Verb focusing on the PRESENT CONSEQUENCES of past action

    • may be followed by a PRIMARY sequence subjunctive

  • since purpose and result clauses logically describe actions that FOLLOW the actions of the main verb, they do not ordinarily contain perfect or pluperfect tense verbs, which indicate prior action

Words with Result Clauses - Guide

tam → adj or adv

sīc → verbs

• sīc (seek) and you shall find

ita → anything

• ita (it) can go with everything

Cum Clauses - General

• Cum can act as a conjunction, introducing a subordinate cum clause that describes an action connected in one way or another with the main clause

• Cum Temporal Clauses

  • the verb is INDICATIVE

  • describes the precise time of an action

  • CUM = “WHEN” or “WHILE”

  • TUM is occasionally found in the main clause

  • CUM… TUM together may be translated “not only… but also”

• Cum Circumstantial Clause

  • the verb is SUBJUNCTIVE

  • describes the general circumstances (rather than the exact time) when the main action occurred

• Cum Causal Clause

  • the verb is SUBJUNCTIVE

  • explains the cause of the main action

• Cum Adversative or Concessive Clause

  • the verb is SUBJUNCTIVE

  • describes a circumstance that might have obstructed the main action or is in some other way opposed to it

  • TAMEN often appears in the main clause

Cum Clauses - Recognition and Translation

Recognition

• temporal has INDICATIVE verb

• the THREE SUBJUNCTIVE types can generally be recognized by analyzing the relationship between the actions in the main and subordinate clauses

• for adversative clauses, the adverb tamen often appears in the main clause

Translation

• Cum followed immediately by a noun or pronoun in the ablative case = “with”

• Cum introducing a subordinate clause = “when, since, although, etc.”

• The verb in a cum clause, whatever its type, is regularly translated AS AN INDICATIVE (without an auxiliary such as may or might)

Infinitives - Endings Overview

Active

• Present: -āre, -ēre, -ere, -īre

• Perfect: perfect stem + -isse

• Future: future active participle + esse

Passive

• Present: -ārī, -ērī, -ī, -īrī

• Perfect: perfect passive participle + esse

• Future: supine in um + īrī

*passive periphrastic infinitive (gerundive + esse)

*note on the future passive infinitive: rare and does not occur in this book; the supine in -um has the same spelling as the perfect passive participle in the nominative neuter singular