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Latin for Beginners - One

CONTENTS

LATIN FOR BEGINNERS

TO THE STUDENT—BY WAY OF INTRODUCTION

What is Latin? If you will look at the map of Italy on the opposite page, you will find near the middle of the peninsula and facing the west coast a district called Latium,1 and Rome its capital. The Latin language, meaning the language of Latium, was spoken by the ancient Romans and other inhabitants of Latium, and Latin was the name applied to it after the armies of Rome had carried the knowledge of her language far beyond its original boundaries. As the English of to-day is not quite the same as that spoken two or three hundred years ago, so Latin was not always the same at all times, but changed more or less in the course of centuries. The sort of Latin you are going to learn was in use about two thousand years ago. And that period has been selected because the language was then at its best and the greatest works of Roman literature were being produced. This period, because of its supreme excellence, is called the Golden Age of Roman letters.

The Spread of Latin. For some centuries after Rome was founded, the Romans were a feeble and insignificant people, their territory was limited to Latium, and their existence constantly threatened by warlike neighbors. But after the third century before Christ, Rome’s power grew rapidly. She conquered all Italy, then reached out for the lands across the sea and beyond the Alps, and finally ruled over the whole ancient world. The empire thus established lasted for more than four 2 hundred years. The importance of Latin increased with the growth of Roman power, and what had been a dialect spoken by a single tribe became the universal language. Gradually the language changed somewhat, developing differently in different countries. In Italy it has become Italian, in Spain Spanish, and in France French. All these nations, therefore, are speaking a modernized form of Latin.

The Romans and the Greeks. In their career of conquest the Romans came into conflict with the Greeks. The Greeks were inferior to the Romans in military power, but far superior to them in culture. They excelled in art, literature, music, science, and philosophy. Of all these pursuits the Romans were ignorant until contact with Greece revealed to them the value of education and filled them with the thirst for knowledge. And so it came about that while Rome conquered Greece by force of arms, Greece conquered Rome by force of her intellectual superiority and became her schoolmaster. It was soon the established custom for young Romans to go to Athens and to other centers of Greek learning to finish their training, and the knowledge of the Greek language among the educated classes became universal. At the same time many cultured Greeks—poets, artists, orators, and philosophers—flocked to Rome, opened schools, and taught their arts. Indeed, the preëminence of Greek culture became so great that Rome almost lost her ambition to be original, and her writers vied with each other in their efforts to reproduce in Latin what was choicest in Greek literature. As a consequence of all this, the civilization and national life of Rome became largely Grecian, and to Greece she owed her literature and her art.

Rome and the Modern World. After conquering the world, Rome impressed her language, laws, customs of living, and modes of thinking upon the subject nations, and they became Roman; and the world has remained largely Roman ever since. Latin continued to live, and the knowledge of Latin was the only light of learning that burned steadily through the dark ages that followed the downfall of the Roman Empire. Latin was the common language of scholars and remained so even down to the days of Shakespeare. Even yet it is 3 more nearly than any other tongue the universal language of the learned. The life of to-day is much nearer the life of ancient Rome than the lapse of centuries would lead one to suppose. You and I are Romans still in many ways, and if Cæsar and Cicero should appear among us, we should not find them, except for dress and language, much unlike men of to-day.

Latin and English. Do you know that more than half of the words in the English dictionary are Latin, and that you are speaking more or less Latin every day? How has this come about? In the year 1066 William the Conqueror invaded England with an army of Normans. The Normans spoke French—which, you remember, is descended from Latin—and spread their language to a considerable extent over England, and so Norman-French played an important part in the formation of English and forms a large proportion of our vocabulary. Furthermore, great numbers of almost pure Latin words have been brought into English through the writings of scholars, and every new scientific discovery is marked by the addition of new terms of Latin derivation. Hence, while the simpler and commoner words of our mother tongue are Anglo-Saxon, and Anglo-Saxon forms the staple of our colloquial language, yet in the realms of literature, and especially in poetry, words of Latin derivation are very abundant. Also in the learned professions, as in law, medicine, and engineering, a knowledge of Latin is necessary for the successful interpretation of technical and scientific terms.

Why study Latin? The foregoing paragraphs make it clear why Latin forms so important a part of modern education. We have seen that our civilization rests upon that of Greece and Rome, and that we must look to the past if we would understand the present. It is obvious, too, that the knowledge of Latin not only leads to a more exact and effective use of our own language, but that it is of vital importance and of great practical value to any one preparing for a literary or professional career. To this it may be added that the study of Latin throws a flood of light upon the structure of language in general and lays an excellent foundation for all grammatical study. 4 Finally, it has been abundantly proved that there is no more effective means of strengthening the mind than by the earnest pursuit of this branch of learning.

Review Questions. Whence does Latin get its name? Where is Latium? Where is Rome? Was Latin always the same? What sort of Latin are we to study? Describe the growth of Rome’s power and the spread of Latin. What can you say of the origin of Italian, French, and Spanish? How did the ancient Greeks and Romans compare? How did Greece influence Rome? How did Rome influence the world? In what sense are we Romans still? What did Latin have to do with the formation of English? What proportion of English words are of Latin origin, and what kind of words are they? Why should we study Latin?

PART I

THE PRONUNCIATION OF LATIN

THE ALPHABET

1. The Latin alphabet contains the same letters as the English except that it has no w and no j.

2. The vowels, as in English, are a, e, i, o, u, y. The other letters are consonants.

3. I is used both as a vowel and as a consonant. Before a vowel in the same syllable it has the value of a consonant and is called I consonant.

Thus in Iū-li-us the first i is a consonant, the second a vowel.

SOUNDS OF THE LETTERS1

4. Latin was not pronounced like English. The Romans at the beginning of the Christian era pronounced their language substantially as described below.

5. The vowels have the following sounds:

Note. It is to be observed that there is a decided difference in sound, except in the case of a, between the long and the short vowels. It is not merely a matter of quantity but also of quality.

6. In diphthongs (two-vowel sounds) both vowels are heard in a single syllable.

Note. Give all the vowels and diphthongs their proper sounds and do not slur over them in unaccented syllables, as is done in English.

7. Consonants are pronounced as in English, except that

a. In combinations of consonants give each its distinct sound. Doubled consonants should be pronounced with a slight pause between the two sounds. Thus pronounce tt as in rat-trap, not as in rattle; pp as in hop-pole, not as in upper. Examples, mĭt´-tō, Ăp´pĭ-ŭs, bĕl´-lŭm.

SYLLABLES

8. A Latin word has as many syllables as it has vowels and diphthongs. Thus aes-tā´-tĕ has three syllables, au-dĭ-ĕn´-dŭs has four.

a. Two vowels with a consonant between them never make one syllable, as is so often the case in English. Compare English inside with Latin īn-sī´-dĕ.

9. Words are divided into syllables as follows:

1. A single consonant between two vowels goes with the second. Thus ă-mā´-bĭ-lĭs, mĕ-mŏ´-rĭ-ă, ĭn-tĕ´-rĕ-ā, ă´-bĕst, pĕ-rē´-gĭt.3

2. Combinations of two or more consonants:

a. A consonant followed by l or r goes with the l or r. Thus pū´-blĭ-cŭs, ă´-grī.

Exception. Prepositional compounds of this nature, as also ll and rr, follow rule b. Thus ăb´-lŭ-ō, ăb-rŭm´-pō, ĭl´-lĕ, fĕr´-rŭm.

b. In all other combinations of consonants the first consonant goes with the preceding vowel.4 Thus măg´-nŭs, ĕ-gĕs´-tās, vĭc-tō´-rĭ-ă, hŏs´-pĕs, ăn´-nŭs, sŭ-bāc´-tŭs.

3. The last syllable of a word is called the ul´-ti-ma; the one next to the last, the pe-nult´; the one before the penult, the an´-te-pe-nult´.

8 10. EXERCISE

Divide the words in the following passage into syllables and pronounce them, placing the accent as indicated:

Vā́dĕ ăd fŏrmī́căm, Ō pĭ́gĕr, ĕt cōnsī́dĕrā vĭ́ās ĕ́iŭs ĕt dĭ́scĕ săpĭĕ́ntĭăm: quae cŭm nōn hắbĕăt dŭ́cĕm nĕc praecĕptṓrĕm nĕc prī́ncĭpĕm, pắrăt ĭn aestā́tĕ cĭ́bŭm sĭ́bĭ ĕt cŏ́ngrĕgăt ĭn mĕ́ssĕ quŏd cŏ́mĕdăt.

[Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: which, having no guide, overseer, or ruler, provideth her meat in the summer and gathereth her food in the harvest.]

QUANTITY

11. The quantity of a vowel or a syllable is the time it takes to pronounce it. Correct pronunciation and accent depend upon the proper observance of quantity.

12. Quantity of Vowels. Vowels are either long (¯) or short (˘). In this book the long vowels are marked. Unmarked vowels are to be considered short.

1. A vowel is short before another vowel or h; as pŏ-ē´-ta, tră´-hō.

2. A vowel is short before nt and nd, before final m or t, and, except in words of one syllable, before final l or r. Thus a´-mănt, a-măn´-dus, a-mā´-băm, a-mā´-băt, a´-ni-măl, a´-mŏr.

3. A vowel is long before nf, ns, nx, and nct. Thus īn´-fe-rō, re´-gēns, sān´-xī, sānc´-tus.

4. Diphthongs are always long, and are not marked.

13. Quantity of Syllables. Syllables are either long or short, and their quantity must be carefully distinguished from that of vowels.

1. A syllable is short,

a. If it ends in a short vowel; as ă´-mō, pĭ´-grĭ.

Note. In final syllables the short vowel may be followed by a final consonant. Thus the word mĕ-mŏ´-rĭ-ăm contains four short syllables. In the first three a short vowel ends the syllable, in the last the short vowel is followed by a final consonant.

9 2. A syllable is long,

a. If it contains a long vowel or a diphthong, as cū´-rō, poe´-nae, aes-tā´-te.

b. If it ends in a consonant which is followed by another consonant, as cor´-pus, mag´-nus.

Note. The vowel in a long syllable may be either long or short, and should be pronounced accordingly. Thus in ter´-ra, in´-ter, the first syllable is long, but the vowel in each case is short and should be given the short sound. In words like saxum the first syllable is long because x has the value of two consonants (cs or gs).

3. In determining quantity h is not counted a consonant.

Note. Give about twice as much time to the long syllables as to the short ones. It takes about as long to pronounce a short vowel plus a consonant as it does to pronounce a long vowel or a diphthong, and so these quantities are considered equally long. For example, it takes about as long to say cŭr´-rō as it does cū´-rō, and so each of these first syllables is long. Compare mŏl´-lis and mō´-lis, ā-mĭs´-sī and ā-mi´-sī.

ACCENT

14. Words of two syllables are accented on the first, as mēn´-sa, Cae´-sar.

15. Words of more than two syllables are accented on the penult if the penult is long. If the penult is short, accent the antepenult. Thus mo-nē´-mus, re´-gi-tur, a-gri´-co-la, a-man´-dus.

Note. Observe that the position of the accent is determined by the length of the syllable and not by the length of the vowel in the syllable. (Cf. § 13. 2, Note.)

16. Certain little words called enclit´ics5 which have no separate existence, are added to and pronounced with a preceding word. The most common are -que, and; -ve, or; and -ne, the question sign. The syllable before an enclitic takes the accent, regardless of its quantity. Thus populus´que, dea´que, rēgna´ve, audit´ne.

HOW TO READ LATIN

17. To read Latin well is not so difficult, if you begin right. Correct habits of reading should be formed now. Notice the quantities carefully, especially the quantity of the penult, to insure your getting the accent on the right syllable. (Cf. § 15.) Give every vowel its proper sound and every syllable its proper length. Then bear in mind that we should read Latin as we read English, in phrases rather than in separate words. Group together words that are closely connected in thought. No good reader halts at the end of each word.

18. Read the stanzas of the following poem by Longfellow, one at a time, first the English and then the Latin version. The syllables inclosed in parentheses are to be slurred or omitted to secure smoothness of meter.

EXCELSIOR [HIGHER]! 6

PART II

WORDS AND FORMS

LESSON I

FIRST PRINCIPLES

19. Subject and Predicate. 1. Latin, like English, expresses thoughts by means of sentences. A sentence is a combination of words that expresses a thought, and in its simplest form is the statement of a single fact. Thus,

In each of these sentences there are two parts:

2. The subject is that person, place, or thing about which something is said, and is therefore a noun or some word which can serve the same purpose.

a. Pronouns, as their name implies (pro, “instead of,” and noun), often take the place of nouns, usually to save repeating the same noun, as, Galba is a farmer; he is a sturdy fellow.

3. The predicate is that which is said about the subject, and consists of a verb with or without modifiers.

a. A verb is a word which asserts something (usually an act) concerning a person, place, or thing.

13 20. The Object. In the two sentences, The boy hit the ball and The ball hit the boy, the same words are used, but the meaning is different, and depends upon the order of the words. The doer of the act, that about which something is said, is, as we have seen above, the subject. That to which something is done is the direct object of the verb. The boy hit the ball is therefore analyzed as follows:

a. A verb whose action passes over to the object directly, as in the sentence above, is called a transitive verb. A verb which does not admit of a direct object is called intransitive, as, I walk, he comes.

21. The Copula. The verb to be in its different forms—are, is, was, etc.—does not tell us anything about the subject; neither does it govern an object. It simply connects the subject with the word or words in the predicate that possess a distinct meaning. Hence it is called the copula, that is, the joiner or link.

22. In the following sentences pronounce the Latin and name the nouns, verbs, subjects, objects, predicates, copulas:

a. The sentences above show that Latin does not express some words which are necessary in English. First of all, Latin has no article the or a; thus agricola may mean the farmer, a farmer, or simply farmer. Then, too, the personal pronouns, I, you, he, she, etc., and the possessive pronouns, my, your, his, her, etc., are not expressed if the meaning of the sentence is clear without them.

LESSON II

FIRST PRINCIPLES (Continued)

23. Inflection. Words may change their forms to indicate some change in sense or use, as, is, are; was, were; who, whose, whom; farmer, farmer’s; woman, women. This is called inflection. The inflection of a noun, adjective, or pronoun is called its declension, that of a verb its conjugation.

24. Number. Latin, like English, has two numbers, singular and plural. In English we usually form the plural by adding -s or -es to the singular. So Latin changes the singular to the plural by changing the ending of the word. Compare

25. Rule. Nouns that end in -a in the singular end in -ae in the plural.

26. Learn the following nouns so that you can give the English for the Latin or the Latin for the English. Write the plural of each.

27. Compare again the sentences

In the first sentence the verb pugna-t is in the third person singular, in the second sentence pugna-nt is in the third person plural.

15 28. Rule. Agreement of Verb. A finite verb must always be in the same person and number as its subject.

29. Rule. In the conjugation of the Latin verb the third person singular active ends in -t, the third person plural in -nt. The endings which show the person and number of the verb are called personal endings.

30. Learn the following verbs and write the plural of each. The personal pronouns he, she, it, etc., which are necessary in the inflection of the English verb, are not needed in the Latin, because the personal endings take their place. Of course, if the verb’s subject is expressed we do not translate the personal ending by a pronoun; thus nauta pugnat is translated the sailor fights, not the sailor he fights.

31. EXERCISES

I. 1. The daughter loves, the daughters love. 2. The sailor is carrying, the sailors carry. 3. The farmer does labor, the farmers labor. 4. The girl is announcing, the girls do announce. 5. The ladies are carrying, the lady carries.

II. 1. Nauta pugnat, nautae pugnant. 2. Puella amat, puellae amant. 3. Agricola portat, agricolae portant. 4. Fīlia labōrat, fīliae labōrant. 5. Nauta nūntiat, nautae nūntiant. 6. Dominae amant, domina amat.

DOMINA

LESSON III

FIRST PRINCIPLES (Continued)

32. Declension of Nouns. We learned above (§§ 19, 20) the difference between the subject and object, and that in English they may be distinguished by the order of the words. Sometimes, however, the order is such that we are left in doubt. For example, the sentence The lady her daughter loves might mean either that the lady loves her daughter, or that the daughter loves the lady.

1. If the sentence were in Latin, no doubt could arise, because the subject and the object are distinguished, not by the order of the words, but by the endings of the words themselves. Compare the following sentences:

a. Observe that in each case the subject of the sentence ends in -a and the object in -am. The form of the noun shows how it is used in the sentence, and the order of the words has no effect on the essential meaning.

2. As stated above (§ 23), this change of ending is called declension, and each different ending produces what is called a case. When we decline a noun, we give all its different cases, or changes of endings. In English we have three cases,—nominative, possessive, and objective; but, in nouns, the nominative and objective have the same form, and only the possessive case shows a change of ending, by adding ’s or the apostrophe. The interrogative pronoun, however, has the fuller declension, who? whose? whom?

17 33. The following table shows a comparison between English and Latin declension forms, and should be thoroughly memorized:

When the nominative singular of a noun ends in -a, observe that

a. The nominative plural ends in -ae.

b. The genitive singular ends in -ae and the genitive plural in -ārum.

c. The accusative singular ends in -am and the accusative plural in -ās.

d. The genitive singular and the nominative plural have the same ending.

34. EXERCISE

Pronounce the following words and give their general meaning. Then give the number and case, and the use of each form. Where the same form stands for more than one case, give all the possible cases and uses.

1. Silva, silvās, silvam. 2. Fugam, fugae, fuga. 3. Terrārum, terrae, terrās. 4. Aquās, causam, lūnās. 5. Fīliae, fortūnae, lūnae. 6. Iniūriās, agricolārum, aquārum. 7. Iniūriārum, agricolae, puellās. 8. Nautam, agricolās, nautās. 9. Agricolam, puellam, silvārum.

LESSON IV

FIRST PRINCIPLES (Continued)

35. We learned from the table (§ 33) that the Latin nominative, genitive, and accusative correspond, in general, to the nominative, possessive, and objective in English, and that they are used in the same way. This will be made even clearer by the following sentence:

Fīlia agricolae nautam amat,
the farmer’s daughter (or the daughter of the farmer) loves the sailor

What is the subject? the direct object? What case is used for the subject? for the direct object? What word denotes the possessor? In what case is it?

36. Rule. Nominative Subject. The subject of a finite verb is in the Nominative and answers the question Who? or What?

37. Rule. Accusative Object. The direct object of a transitive verb is in the Accusative and answers the question Whom? or What?

38. Rule. Genitive of the Possessor. The word denoting the owner or possessor of something is in the Genitive and answers the question Whose?

DIANA SAGITTAS PORTAT ET FERAS NECAT

19 39. EXERCISES

First learn the special vocabulary, p. 283.

I. 1. Diāna est dea. 2. Lātōna est dea. 3. Diāna et Lātōna sunt deae. 4. Diāna est dea lūnae. 5. Diāna est fīlia Lātōnae. 6. Lātōna Diānam amat. 7. Diāna est dea silvārum. 8. Diāna silvam amat. 9. Diāna sagittās portat. 10. Diāna ferās silvae necat. 11. Ferae terrārum pugnant.

For the order of words imitate the Latin above.

II. 1. The daughter of Latona does love the forests. 2. Latona’s daughter carries arrows. 3. The farmers’ daughters do labor. 4. The farmer’s daughter loves the waters of the forest. 5. The sailor is announcing the girls’ flight. 6. The girls announce the sailors’ wrongs. 7. The farmer’s daughter labors. 8. Diana’s arrows are killing the wild beasts of the land.

40. CONVERSATION

Translate the questions and answer them in Latin. The answers may be found in the exercises preceding.

1. Quis est Diāna?
2. Cuius fīlia est Diāna?
3. Quis Diānam amat?
4. Quis silvam amat?
5. Quis sagittās portat?
6. Cuius fīliae labōrant?

LESSON V

FIRST PRINCIPLES (Continued)

41. The Dative Case. In addition to the relationships between words expressed by the nominative, genitive (possessive), and accusative (objective) cases, there are other relationships, to express which in English we use such words as from, with, by, to, for, in, at.1

Latin, too, makes frequent use of such prepositions; but often it expresses these relations without them by means of case forms which 20 English does not possess. One of the cases found in the Latin declension and lacking in English is called the dative.

42. When the nominative singular ends in -a, the dative singular ends in -ae and the dative plural in -īs.

Note. Observe that the genitive singular, the dative singular, and the nominative plural all have the same ending, -ae; but the uses of the three cases are entirely different. The general meaning of the sentence usually makes clear which case is intended.

a. Form the dative singular and plural of the following nouns: fuga, causa, fortūna, terra, aqua, puella, agricola, nauta, domina.

43. The Dative Relation. The dative case is used to express the relations conveyed in English by the prepositions to, towards, for.

These prepositions are often used in English in expressions of motion, such as She went to town, He ran towards the horse, Columbus sailed for America. In such cases the dative is not used in Latin, as motion through space is foreign to the dative relation. But the dative is used to denote that to or towards which a benefit, injury, purpose, feeling, or quality is directed, or that for which something serves or exists.

a. What dative relations do you discover in the following?

The teacher gave a prize to John because he replied so promptly to all her questions—a good example for the rest of us. It is a pleasure to us to hear him recite. Latin is easy for him, but it is very hard for me. Some are fitted for one thing and others for another.

44. The Indirect Object. Examine the sentence

Nauta fugam nūntiat, the sailor announces the flight

Here the verb, nūntiat, governs the direct object, fugam, in the accusative case. If, however, we wish to mention the persons to whom the sailor announces the flight, as, The sailor announces the flight to the farmers, the verb will have two objects:

According to the preceding section, to the farmers is a relation covered by the dative case, and we are prepared for the following rule:

21 45. Rule. Dative Indirect Object. The indirect object of a verb is in the Dative.

a. The indirect object usually stands before the direct object.

46. We may now complete the translation of the sentence The sailor announces the flight to the farmers, and we have

Nauta agricolīs fugam nūntiat

47. EXERCISES

First learn the special vocabulary, p. 283.

Point out the direct and indirect objects and the genitive of the possessor.

I. 1. Quis nautīs pecūniam dat? 2. Fīliae agricolae nautīs pecūniam dant. 3. Quis fortūnam pugnae nūntiat? 4. Galba agricolīs fortunam pugnae nūntiat. 5. Cui domina fābulam nārrat? 6. Fīliae agricolae domina fābulam nārrat. 7. Quis Diānae corōnam dat? 8. Puella Diānae corōnam dat quia Diānam amat. 9. Dea lūnae sagittās portat et ferās silvārum necat. 10. Cuius victōriam Galba nūntiat? 11. Nautae victōriam Galba nūntiat.

Imitate the word order of the preceding exercise.

II. 1. To whom do the girls give a wreath? 2. The girls give a wreath to Julia, because Julia loves wreaths. 3. The sailors tell the ladies2 a story, because the ladies love stories. 4. The farmer gives his (§ 22. a) daughter water. 5. Galba announces the cause of the battle to the sailor. 6. The goddess of the moon loves the waters of the forest. 7. Whose wreath is Latona carrying? Diana’s.

LESSON VI

FIRST PRINCIPLES (Continued)

48. The Ablative Case. Another case, lacking in English but found in the fuller Latin declension, is the ab´la-tive.

49. When the nominative singular ends in -a, the ablative singular ends in -ā and the ablative plural in -īs.

a. Observe that the final -ă of the nominative is short, while the final -ā of the ablative is long, as,

b. Observe that the ablative plural is like the dative plural.

c. Form the ablative singular and plural of the following nouns: fuga, causa, fortūna, terra, aqua, puella, agricola, nauta, domina.

50. The Ablative Relation. The ablative case is used to express the relations conveyed in English by the prepositions from, with, by, at, in. It denotes

1. That from which something is separated, from which it starts, or of which it is deprived—generally translated by from.

2. That with which something is associated or by means of which it is done—translated by with or by.

3. The place where or the time when something happens—translated by in or at.

a. What ablative relations do you discover in the following?

In our class there are twenty boys and girls. Daily at eight o’clock they come from home with their books, and while they are at school they study Latin with great zeal. In a short time they will be able to read with ease the books written by the Romans. By patience and perseverance all things in this world can be overcome.

51. Prepositions. While, as stated above (§ 41), many relations expressed in English by prepositions are in Latin expressed by case forms, still prepositions are of frequent occurrence, but only with the accusative or ablative.

23 52. Rule. Object of a Preposition. A noun governed by a preposition must be in the Accusative or Ablative case.

53. Prepositions denoting the ablative relations from, with, in, on, are naturally followed by the ablative case. Among these are

1. Translate into Latin, using prepositions. In the water, on the land, down from the forest, with the fortune, out of the forests, from the victory, out of the waters, with the sailors, down from the moon.

54. Adjectives. Examine the sentence

Puella parva bonam deam amat, the little girl loves the good goddess

In this sentence parva (little) and bonam (good) are not nouns, but are descriptive words expressing quality. Such words are called adjectives,2 and they are said to belong to the noun which they describe.

You can tell by its ending to which noun an adjective belongs. The ending of parva shows that it belongs to puella, and the ending of bonam that it belongs to deam. Words that belong together are said to agree, and the belonging-together is called agreement. Observe that the adjective and its noun agree in number and case.

55. Examine the sentences

In the first sentence the adjective parva is separated from its noun by the verb and stands in the predicate. It is therefore called a predicate adjective. In the second sentence the adjectives parva and 24 bonam are closely attached to the nouns puella and deam respectively, and are called attributive adjectives.

a. Pick out the attributive and the predicate adjectives in the following:

Do you think Latin is hard? Hard studies make strong brains. Lazy students dislike hard studies. We are not lazy.

56. DIALOGUE

Julia and Galba

First learn the special vocabulary, p. 283.

I. Quis, Galba, est Diāna?
G. Diāna, Iūlia, est pulchra dea lūnae et silvārum.
I. Cuius fīlia, Galba, est Diāna?
G. Lātōnae fīlia, Iūlia, est Diāna.
I. Quid Diāna portat?
G. Sagittās Diāna portat.
I. Cūr Diāna sagittās portat?
G. Diāna sagittās portat, Iūlia, quod malās ferās silvae magnae necat.
I. Amatne Lātōna fīliam?
G. Amat, et fīlia Lātōnam amat.
I. Quid fīlia tua parva portat?
G. Corōnās pulchrās fīlia mea parva portat.
I. Cui fīlia tua corōnās pulchrās dat?
G. Diānae corōnās dat.
I. Quis est cum fīliā tuā? Estne sōla?
G. Sōla nōn est; fīlia mea parva est cum ancillā meā.

a. When a person is called or addressed, the case used is called the voc´ative (Latin vocāre, “to call”). In form the vocative is regularly like the nominative. In English the name of the person addressed usually stands first in the sentence. The Latin vocative rarely stands first. Point out five examples of the vocative in this dialogue.

b. Observe that questions answered by yes or no in English are answered in Latin by repeating the verb. Thus, if you wished to answer in Latin the question Is the sailor fighting? Pugnatne nauta? you would say Pugnat, he is fighting, or Nōn pugnat, he is not fighting.

LESSON VII

THE FIRST OR Ā-DECLENSION

57. In the preceding lessons we have now gone over all the cases, singular and plural, of nouns whose nominative singular ends in -a. All Latin nouns whose nominative singular ends in -a belong to the First Declension. It is also called the Ā-Declension because of the prominent part which the vowel a plays in the formation of the cases. We have also learned what relations are expressed by each case. These results are summarized in the following table: