Grammatical Terminology

gerund

gerund

The gerund is a verbal noun, always active in force, which only appears in the genitive, dative, accusative, and ablative singular. It is formed by adding -nd- to the present stem of the verb (-iend- for i-stem and 4th conj.) plus the neuter singular endings of the second declension. The gerund expresses purpose when used with "ad" (+ ACC) or "causa" (+ GEN). e.g. "ad legendum" = "for the purpose of reading"

gerundive

The gerundive is a verbal adjective, always passive in force, which appears in all cases and both numbers. It is formed by adding -ndus, -a, -um (-iendus, -a, um for i-stem and 4th conj.) to the stem of a verb, and carries the notion of necessity, obligation, or propriety. Like the gerund, the gerundive can be used with "ad" + ACC or GEN + "causa" to express purpose.

passive periphrastic

The Future Passive Periphrastic is comprised of the gerundive and a form of "sum," with the gerundive agreeing with the subject of the sentence in number, case and gender. The construction is passive and always conveys a notion of obligation, necessity, or propriety. The agent of the action (if expressed) is in the dative case. ex: "Carthago delenda est" = "Carthage must be destroyed"

supine

The supine is a verbal noun of the fourth declension and appears only in the accusative and ablative singulars. The supine in -um may be used after verbs of motion to express purpose, or with the passive infinitive "iri" (from "eo") to form the rare future passive infinitive. The supine in -u is used with a few adjectives and nouns to express an ablative of respect or specification.

indirect statement

Indirect statement ("oratio obliqua") is introduced by verbs of thinking, perceiving, knowing, saying, etc. and takes an accusative subject + an infinitive. If the subject of indirect statement is identical to the subject of the main verb, the accusative reflexive pronoun is used as the subject. Indirect statements follow ordinary sequence of tenses - a present infinitive expresses the same time as the main verb, a perfect infinitive expresses time before, a future infinitive expresses time after.

indirect question

An indirect question is in a dependent clause introduced by a "question" word. The verb in an indirect question is always subjunctive, but the main verb of the sentence may be either indicative or subjunctive. Indirect questions follow sequence of tenses.

indirect command

An indirect command is an "ut" (or "ne") clause that expresses a command, wish, hope, etc. The verb in an indirect command is always subjunctive, though it is often translated like an infinitive.

ut clause

An ut-clause is a subordinate clause introduced by the conjunction "ut" with the verb of the subordinate clause in the subjunctive mood. The negative of "ut" is "ne".

fearing clause

Fearing clauses are ut-clauses signaled by a main verb of "fearing". Note that if the speaker fears something will happen, "ne" is used; if the speaker fears something will not happen, "ut" is used.

result clause

Result clauses are ut-clauses that express the result of an action ("ut" is translated "that"). They are often signaled by words that carry some adverbial meaning of "so," such as tam, ita, sic, adeo, tot, tantus -a - um, etc.

purpose clause

Purpose clauses are ut-clauses that express the purpose of an action ("ut" is translated "in order to" or "for the purpose of"). Note that "quo" is used instead of "ut" if the purpose clause contains a comparative adjective or adverb.

jussive/hortatory subjunctive

The subjunctive is often used to express a command or exhortation. This construction is called "jussive" when occurring in the third person, and "hortatory" when occurring in the first person.

potential subjunctive

The subjunctive can be used as a main verb to express a possibility. This is called the potential subjunctive and is translated "would (verb)" or "may (verb)".

deliberative subjunctive

The subjunctive can be used, generally with the first person singular, when a speaker is deliberating or expressing doubt/disbelief. The deliberative subjunctive often takes the form of a rhetorical question.

optative subjunctive

The optative subjunctive is used in wishes and usually translates with the English words "if only". The present subjunctive accompanied by "utinam" or "ut" expresses a future wish capable of fulfillment. Contrary-to-fact wishes use the imperfect subjunctive for present time and the pluperfect subjunctive for past time.

simple conditionals

If the author is making a plain statement of fact, conditionals appear with the indicative. These can take three forms: "simple present," "simple past," and "future more vivid".

future less vivid conditional

Future less vivid conditionals express a possible condition for the future, either with two present subjunctives or a present and a perfect subjunctive. The two verbs are often translated "should" and "would," respectively.

contrary to fact conditionals

Contrary to fact conditionals express something that either could not happen or did not happen. Present contrafactual statements use two imperfect subjunctives (translated "were to...would"), and past contrafactual statements use two pluperfect subjunctives (translated "had...would have")

conditionals in indirect statement

If a "si" clause is in indirect speech, the verbs are subjunctive but do not carry any contrafactual implications.

relative clause

A relative clause is introduced by a relative pronoun, which agrees with its antecedent in gender and number, but varies in case depending upon its use in its own clause.

relative clause of characteristic

A relative clause of characteristic uses the subjunctive to refer to the sort of person or kind of thing doing something. These clauses frequently follow indefinite or negative words.

relative clause of purpose

In a clause of purpose, "ut" can replaced by a relative pronoun when the antecedent of the relative pronoun is expressed.

partitive genitive

Also called "genitive of the whole," the partitive genitive expresses the whole to which a part belongs.

genitive with impersonal verbs

Some impersonal verbs, such as miseret ("to have pity on") take a complement in the genitive case.

genitive with certain adjectives

Certain adjectives appear with the genitive case, most notably: dignus ("worthy"), plenus ("full"), avidus ("desirous"), immemor ("forgetful"), peritus ("experienced").

genitive with verbs of remembering/forgetting

Verbs of remembering and forgetting, such as memini ("remember"), obliviscor ("forget"), and reminiscor ("recollect") all take direct objects in the genitive case.

dative of possession

The dative can be used with forms of "sum" to indicate possession. It is usually literally translated "there is to me.." or something similar.

dative of purpose

The dative of purpose is used to show what role something fulfills or what purpose it serves. It is often translated with "as" e.g. "Caesar auxilio venit" = "Caesar came as an aid"

dative of agent

The agent of the action in a passive periphrastic is expressed in the dative case.

dative of reference

The dative of reference shows to whom or for whose sake something is done.

dative direct object

Certain verbs take a direct object in the dative case. Dative direct objects are commonly found with compound verbs (esp. verbs compounded with ad, ante, circum, cum, inter, ob, post, prae, pro, sub, and super) and with certain intransitive verbs, such as persuado, placeo, impero, resisteo, parceo, credeo, noceo, etc.

double dative

The dative of reference and the dative of purpose often appear together in a construction called the double dative. One dative describes the people for whom the action described by the other dative is done. e.g. "Caesar auxilio militibus venit" = "Caesar came as an aid for the soldiers"

accusative of duration of time

"Duration of time and extent of space are expressed in Latin by the accusative case!"

accusative of respect

A Greek construction that expresses with respect to what the action of the verb is related.

ablative absolute

Ablative absolutes usually consist of a (pro)noun + a participle, both in the ablative case and state the circumstances under which the action of the main verb took place. They can be temporal, causal, or concessive in force.

ablative of separation

The ablative (with or without a preposition) is used to express from what someone or something will be separated or freed. Signal verbs are libero, separo, defendo, prohibeo, and divido.

ablative of comparison

The ablative without a preposition can be used for the second term of a comparison, instead of quam + noun in same case as first noun.

ablative of respect/specification

The ablative can specify with respect to what something is true.

ablative of cause

The ablative can show the cause of something, usually with verbs of emotion.

ablative of description

The ablative can be used to describe the qualities of someone or something. Note that the ablative of description is interchangeable with the genitive of description.

ablative of degree of difference

This ablative usually occurs with a comparative adjective and expresses the extent to which the first noun differs from the second .

ablative with special verbs

The ablative functions as the direct object of certain verbs. These verbs usually either show plenty or want, e.g. careo ("lack"), or are deponent, e.g. utor ("use"), vescor ("eat"), potior ("take possession of")

ablative of time

The ablative of time tells the time when or time within which something occurs.