Latin Grammar Trivia

What forms of the imperfect tense endings have macarons on their “a”s?

2nd person sing. and plural, 1st person plural (all forms with “s”s)

How can you tell if a neuter 3rd declension noun is an i-stem noun?

If it has a nominative sing. ending in -al, -ar, or -e (example: mare, maris)

What does it mean when a noun’s gender is listed as “C”?

C stands for common, which means that the noun can take masculine or feminine forms based on the context of its use (most prevalent in 3rd declension)

How can you tell if a masculine or feminine 3rd declension noun is an i-stem noun?

• If the nominative sing. form ends in -x or -s and the stem ends in two consonants (urbs, urbis)

• If the nominative sing. form ends in -ēs or -is and the nominative and genitive forms have the same # of syllables

What part of a verb do the imperfect, future, and present tenses conjugate from?

The infinitive (condō, condere, condidī, conditum)

What part of a verb do the future perfect, perfect, and pluperfect tenses conjugate from?

The perfect stem (comparō, comparāre, comparāvī, comparātum)

What is the neuter rule?

• The nominative and accusative forms must be identical

• The nominative and accusative plural forms must end in a short -a

What are all the ways that the imperfect tense can be translated?

(person) was __ing, (person) used to __, (person) kept__ing

How is a verb with a re- prefix translated?

It’s translated with “back” because the re- prefix redirects the action.

Example: reportō- I carry back

What does a -te ending mean?

It means that the verb it is attached to should be translated as a plural imperative with an implied second person plural subject.

Example: tacēte- you all be quiet

What does a -ne ending mean?

It means that the verb it is attached to should be translated as an interrogative (yes or no question).

Example: Invenīne virī canem?- Did the man find the dog?