Latin grammar notes

Nouns

Nouns change their endings to match other words in the sentence. Cases are the different forms of a noun. There are six cases: nominative, vocative, accusative, dative, genitive, and ablative.

• A noun in the nominative case is the subject of a verb (and therefore the subject of the rest or part of the sentence)

• A noun in the vocative case is being addressed in direct speech

• A noun in the accusative case is the object of the verb (and therefore the object of the rest or part of the sentence)

  • It is also used in certain prepositions and to convey ideas about length of time and motion towards something

• The genitive case translates to ‘of’, so shows possession

• The dative case translates to ‘to’ or ‘for’

  • It is also used as the object of certain verbs

• The ablative case translates to ‘by’, ‘with’, ‘from’, ‘in’, ‘on’ or ‘at’

  • It is also used after certain prepositions to convey an idea about a point in time, in ablative absolutes and after certain verbs

Declensions

Declensions are used by nouns to display their endings since they aren’t always in a pattern. There are five declensions which usually have the same endings for words in the same declension, although there is some variation.

Latin word order

There is no set word order, but there are some conventions of sentences which are mostly followed:

• Subjects (nominatives) often appear at the beginning of the sentence or very early on in the sentence

• Direct and indirect objects (accusatives) usually appear between the subject and the verb

• Genitives usually appear immediately after the word they depend on

• Adjectives usually appear after the word they describe

• Prepositions often appear before the noun dependent on them - between the noun and the adjective

• Verbs usually appear at the end of the sentence or clause

Active Verbs

There are six tenses of verbs: present, imperfect, perfect, future, future perfect and pluperfect.

(NOTE: the principle parts are the first person present, infinitive, first person perfect singular and the perfect passive participle, e.g. paro, parare, paravi, paratum. These are given in a list in a Latin test of new words and are useful in translation of the new word, since all Latin verbs have unchanging stems and a changing ending)

Present: word endings of o, s, t, mus, tis, nt; and a translation of ‘I (verb)’ or ‘I am (verb)ing’ - e.g. I prepare or I am preparing

Imperfect: word endings of bam, bas, bat, bamus, batis, bant; and a translation of ‘I was (verb)ing’ or ‘I used to (verb)’ - e.g. I was preparing or I used to prepare

Perfect: word endings of i, isti, it, imus, istis, erunt; and a translation of ‘I (verb)ed’ or ‘I have (verb)ed’ - e.g. I prepared or I have prepared

Pluperfect: word endings of eram, eras, erat, eramus, eratis, erant; and a translation of ‘I had (verb)ed’ - e.g. I had prepared

Future 1: word endings of bo, bis, bit, bimus, bitis, bunt; and a translation of ‘I will (verb)’ or ‘I shall (verb)’ - e.g. I will prepare or I shall prepare

Future 2: word endings of am, es, et, emus, etis, ent; and a translation of ‘I will (verb)’ or ‘I shall (verb)’ - e.g. I will prepare or I shall prepare

Passive Verbs

Passive verbs have the action of a verb done to it (rather than doing the active, which is the active form of the verb). They also exist in the same six tenses: present, imperfect, perfect, pluperfect, future, and future perfect.

Present: word endings of r, ris, tur, mur, mini, ntur; and a translation of ‘I am being (verb)ed’ - e.g. I am being prepared

Imperfect: word endings of bar, baris, batur, bamur, bamini, bantur; and a translation of ‘I was being (verb)ed’ - e.g. I was being prepared

Perfect: word endings of PPP + sum, es, est, sumus, estis, sunt; and a translation of ‘I was (verb)ed’ or ‘I have been (verb)ed’ - e.g. I was prepared or I have been prepared

Pluperfect: word endings of PPP + eram, eras, erat, eramus, eratis, erant; and a translation of ‘I had been (verb)ed’ - e.g. I had been prepared

Future 1: word endings of bor, beris, bitur, bimur, bimini, buntur; and a translation of ‘I will be (verb)ed’ - e.g. I will be prepared

Future 2: word endings of ar, eris, etur, emur, emini, entur; and a translation of ‘I will be (verb)ed’ - e.g. I will be prepared

Deponent verbs

These verbs look passive, but are translated as their active counterparts. They can be recognised since they only have three principle parts rather than four and often do not make sense when they are translated as passive. At GCSE, there are 13 to learn, although others may be included and are glossed at the end of the passage. These are:

• To try = Conor, conari, conatus sum (I try, to try, I tried)

• To urge, to encourage = Hortor, hortari, hortatus sum (I urge, to urge, I urged)

• To speak = Loquor, loqui, locutus sum (I speak, to speak, I spoke)

• To die = Morior, mori, mortuus sum (I die, to die, I died)

• To set out = Proficiscor, proficisci, profectus sum (I set out, to set out, I set out)

• To return = Regredior, regredi, regressus sum (I return, to return, I returned)

• To seem = Videor, videri, visus sum (I seem, to seem, I seemed)

• To go out = Egredior, egredi, egressus sum (I go out, to go out, I went out)

• To enter = Ingredior, ingredi, ingressus sum (I enter, to enter, I entered)

• To admire = Miror, mirari, miratus sum (I admire, to admire, I admired)

• To suffer = Patior, pati, passus sum (I suffer, to suffer, I suffered)

• To advance = Progredior, progredi, progressus sum (I advance, to advance, I advanced)

• To follow = Sequor, sequi, secutus sum (I follow, to follow, I followed)

Adjectives

Adjectives always agree with the noun they describe in gender, case and number. There are two types of adjective: 2-1-2 (for first and second declension adjectives, in the forms of masculine, feminine and neuter) and 3rd type (for third declension adjectives, in the forms of masculine and feminine with the same endings and neuter as different endings)

There are other uses of adjectives: comparatives, superlatives, and forming adverbs (then with comparatives and superlatives in that form too)

• Comparatives: usually follow the pattern of the 3rd declension and are formed by adding -ior to the adjective stem - e.g. stultus = stupid; stultior = more stupid

• Superlatives: usually follow the pattern of ‘bonus’ and are formed by adding -issim to the adjective stem - e.g. Stultus = stupid; stultissimus = most supid, very stupid

• Adverbs: usually end in -e or -iter, and add -ly onto the adjective in English - e.g. laetus = happy; laete = happily or fortis = brave; fortiter = bravely

• Comparative adverbs: are formed by adding -ius to the adjective stem - e.g. Laetus = happy; laetius = more happily

• Superlative adverbs: are formed by adding -issime to the adjective stem - e.g. laetus = happy; laetissime = most happily, very happily

Quam

Quam can be used in two different forms with adjectives: as a comparison or as a superlative

• Comparative: comparative adverb + quam = (adverb) than - e.g. Filia ridebat laetius quam filius = the daughter was smiling more happily than the son.

• Superlative: quam + superlative adjective = as (adverb) as possible - e.g. servi quam diligentissime = the slaves were working as quickly as possible.

Participles

A participle is an adjective formed from a verb. There are four tenses of the participle in Latin: present participle, perfect passive participle, perfect active participle, and the future participle.

• Present participle: formed from the present stem of the verb, has adjective endings like ‘ingens’, and translates to ‘(verb)ing’

  • Parans, parantis - preparing (in both singular and plural forms)

• Perfect passive participle (PPP): the fourth principle part, behaves like ‘bonus’, and translates to ‘having been (verb)ed’ - it looks like a pluperfect verb

  • Paratus, parata, paratum - prepared or having been prepared

  • The PPP + the present of ‘to be’ - translates to ‘was/were (verb)ed’ - e.g. Portatae sumus = we were carried

    • Present of ‘to be’: sum, es, est, sumus, estis, sunt

  • The PPP + perfect of ‘to be’ - translates to ‘had been (verb)ed’ - e.g. portatus eram = I had been carried

    • Perfect of ‘to be’: eram, eras, erat, eramus, eratis, erant (these are the pluperfect verb endings)

• Perfect active participle (PAP): formed from the third principle part (perfect form of the verb) and can only be used in deponent verbs. Its endings follow the pattern of 2-1-2 adjectives (so has the same ending table as PPPs). It is translated as ‘having (verb)ed’ - e.g. locuto = having spoken

• Future participle: formed from a PPP or a PAP + ‘tur’, and translates to ‘about to’ or ‘going to’ - e.g. portaturus est = about to carry. Its endings match the noun it describes in gender, case and number so has the same endings as above

Ablative Absolute

The ablative absolute is a phrase typically made of a noun and a participle agreeing with each other in the ablative case. They are often removed from the rest of the sentence with a comma, although not always - if the ablative absolute was removed from the sentence, the sentence would still make sense. They can use any of the four participles. To spot them, look for a noun and a participle in the ablative case (with the endings of a, o, e, is, and ibus) and a comma separating the words from the rest of the sentence.

• Noun + PPP: the ablative absolute refers to something happening before the action of the main verb/the rest of the sentence happens after the ablative absolute

  • His verbis auditis, puellae laetissime erant - with these words having been said, the girls were very happy.

• Noun + PAP: the ablative absolute refers to something happening before the action of the main verb/the rest of the sentence happens after the ablative absolute

  • Domino locuto, servi et ancillae laeti erant - the master having spoken, the slaves and the slave-girls were happy.

• Noun + present participle: the ablative absolute refers to something happening at the same time as the action of the main verb/the rest of the sentence happens during the ablative absolute

  • Omnibus civibus spectantibus, naves profectae sunt - with all the citizens watching, the ships set out.

• Noun + future participle: the ablative absolute refers to something about to happen in relation to the action of the main verb/the rest of the sentence happens before the ablative absolute

  • Rege locturo omnes tacuerunt - with the king about to speak, everyone was silent

The Indirect Statement

Indirect statements report someone else’s words, thoughts or perceptions, and are introduced by verbs of saying, thinking, knowing, or perceiving. In English, the verb introducing the reported statement is followed by the word ‘that’ then is effectively followed by a separate sentence with its own subject and verb. We can spot indirect statements as they use a verb which uses the mind, ears, eyes or voice, then an accusative and an infinitive. Examples of these verbs include: knowing, speaking, telling, announcing, understanding, seeing and hearing.

• scimus mercatorem multam pecuniam habere - we know that the merchant has lots of money (literally translates as ‘we know the merchant to have lots of money’)

  • The original subject goes into the accusative case (mercatorem = merchant)

  • The original verb becomes an infinitive (habere = to have, becoming ‘has’)

  • English also adds the word ‘that’ to introduce the reported statement

• Note: the word ‘se’ is used if the speaker is being referred to within the indirect statement

  • Puella dicit se linguam Latinam amare - the girl says that she loves Latin.

Infinitives

The infinitive exists in three tenses: present, future and perfect in both active and passive forms (although there is no future perfect).

• Present active infinitive: the most common form of the infinitive, seen in both indirect statements and general translation of sentences. The infinitive always ends in ‘-re’. Translated as ‘to (verb)’ - e.g. audire = to hear, portare = to carry, docere = to teach, trahere = to drag

• Present perfect infinitive: always ends in ‘-ri’, and translated as ‘to be (verb)ed’ - e.g. audiri = to be heard, portari = to be carried, doceri = to be taught, trahi = to be dragged

• Perfect active infinitive: always uses the perfect stem and the -isse ending, and translated as ‘to have (verb)ed’ - e.g. portavisse = to have carried, docuisse = to have taught, traxisse = to have dragged, audivisse = to have heard

• Perfect passive infinitive: always uses the PPP + ‘esse’ (the infinitive of ‘to be’), and translated as ‘to have been (verb)ed’ - e.g. auditus esse = to have been heard, portatus esse = to have been carried, doctus esse = to have been taught, tractus esse = to have been dragged

• Future active infinitive: always uses the future participle (PPP/PAP + tur) + ‘esse’ (the infinitive of ‘to be’), and is translated as ‘to be about to (verb)’ - e.g. portaturus esse = to be about to carry, doctaturus esse = to be about to teach, tracturus esse = to be about to drag, auditurus esse = to be about to hear

Translating an indirect statement

• Present main verb and present infinitive: puella dicit se linguam Latinam amare - the girl says that she loves Latin

• Perfect main verb and present infinitive: puella dixit se linguam Latinam amare - the girl said that she loved Latin

• Present main verb and perfect infinitive: puella dicit se linguam Latinam amavisse - the girl says that she loved Latin

• Perfect main verb and perfect infinitive: puella dixit se linguam Latinam amavisse - the girl said that she had loved Latin

• Present main verb and future infinitive: puella dicit se linguam Latinam amatura esse - the girl says that she will love Latin

• Perfect main verb and future infinitive: puella dixit se linguam Latinam amatura esse - the girl said that she would love Latin

The Subjunctive

The subjunctive is a form of the verb with its own endings, existing alongside indicative verbs. There are four tenses of the subjunctive: present, imperfect, perfect, and pluperfect, and these exist in both the active and passive forms. We only know imperfect and pluperfect at GCSE. Subjunctives express possibility rather than fact and it is not very common in English. There are six types of sentences which use the subjunctive: purpose clauses, result clauses, fear clauses, cum clauses, indirect commands and indirect questions.

Imperfect subjunctives

Formed from the infinitive and the person ending in both the active and passive tenses. The active person endings are o, s, t, mus, tis, and nt. The passive person endings are r, ris, tur, mur, mini, ntur. Portarem, portares, portaret, portaremus, portaretis, portarent are examples of active imperfect subjunctives, while portarer, portareris, portaretur, portaremur, portaremini, portarentur are examples of passive imperfect subjunctives.

Pluperfect subjunctives

Formed from the perfect infinitive and the person ending in the active tense - a perfect infinitive is made from the perfect stem + isse, such as portavissem, portavisses, portavisset, portavissemus, portavissetis, and portavissent.

Formed from the PPP and the imperfect subjunctive of sum (essem, esses, esset, essemus, essetis, essent) in the passive tense, e.g. portatus essem, portatus esses, portatus esset, portatus essemus, portatus essetis, portatus essent.

• Purpose clauses: used to show the purpose of a sentence, and is made up of ‘ut’ + the imperfect subjunctive to translate to ‘in order to…’ in the positive, and ‘ne’ + imperfect subjunctive to translate to ‘in order not to…’ in the negative.

  • Villam intravisti ut pecuniam nostram caperes. You entered the house in order to take our money.

  • Ad + gerundives are another way to express purpose. A gerundive is a form of the verb ending in -nd as well as a 1st or 2nd declension adjective ending. The gerundive can sometimes be seen multiple words after the ‘ad’, making it difficult to spot. It translates to ‘to’ or ‘in order to’.

    • Misit nuntios ad regem necandum. He sent messengers to kill the king.

• Indirect commands: used to give an order or command, made up of a verb of ordering + ‘ut’ + the imperfect subjunctive to translate to ‘ordered… to’ in the positive, and a verb of ordering + ‘ne’ + imperfect subjunctive to translate to ‘ordered… not to’ in the negative.

  • Iuvenis amicis persuasit ut contenderent. The young man persuaded his friends to hurry.

  • Direct commands: these order something to happen directly and use an imperative to do so. Contendite! = Hurry! Tace! = Be quiet! These are separate from indirect commands as they do not use the subjunctive.

• Result clauses: used to give a result and reasoning. Result clauses involve words meaning ‘so’, and the sentence is made up of ‘so’ + ‘ut’ + the imperfect subjunctive to translate to ‘so… that’ in the positive form, and ‘so’ + ‘ut non’ + imperfect subjunctive to translate to ‘so… that not’ in the negative form.

  • Tanta erat multitudino ut totam aualm compleret. The crowd was so big that it filled the whole palace.

  • Words meaning ‘so’: tam = so, Adeo = so/to such an extent, ita = in such a way, Tantus = so great/so big, tot = so many, Talis = such/of such a sort

• Fear clauses: used to express fear, and made up of a verb of fearing (at GCSE, we only know one - Timeo = I fear) + ‘ne’ since the clause is negative, to give the translation of ‘I fear that…’ in the positive (fearing that something will happen) and timeo + ne non to translate to ‘I fear that… not’ in the negative (fearing that something will not happen)

  • Timebam ne custos clamores non audiret. I feared that the guards would not hear the shouts.

  • NOTE: other ways of expressing fear include the use of an accusative to fear a direct object. E.g. nautae periculum maris timebant. The sailors feared the danger of the sea. OR an infinitive could also show fear to do something. E.g. Templum intrare timeo. I am afraid to enter the temple.

• Cum clauses: these involve ‘cum’ to mean ‘when’ or ‘since’ (although cum usually translates to ‘with’ in the indicative). They are made up of ‘cum’ + either the imperfect or pluperfect subjunctive. In the imperfect, the sentence translates to ‘when I was (verb)ing’, but in the pluperfect, the sentence translates to ‘when I had (verb)ed’

  • Imperfect: cum rex exiisset, imperator milites vocavit. When the king was leaving, the general called the soldiers.

  • Pluperfect: cum rex exiret, imperator milites vocavit. When the king had left, the general called the soldiers.

• Indirect questions: this involves repeating a question that has already been asked or implied. The direct form uses a question mark (why are you late?) but the indirect form involves asking a statement (I asked why they were late). Indirect questions can use both the imperfect and pluperfect subjunctive, and are made from a verb of asking + a question word + the imperfect or pluperfect subjunctive to translate to ‘was (verb)ed’ in the imperfect, and ‘had been (verb)ed’ in the pluperfect.

  • Question words: num = whether, cur = why, quam = how, ubi = where, quo = where to, unde = where from, quis/quid = who/which, quantus = how big, quot = how many, qualis = what sort of, quo modo = how, utrum … an = whether… or

    • In a direct question, -ne, num and nonne can be used to show an expected answer to a question. In an indirect question, these can be simply replaced with num.

  • Direct vs indirect questions: direct = Nonne fratrem meum vidisti? Have you seen my brother? indirect = Senem rogavi num fratrem meum vidisset. I asked the old man whether he had seen my brother.