A modernized, accessible edition of the grammatical appendix to Clyde Pharr’s Vergil’s Aeneid, Books I–VI (1930, now in the public domain), reset for advanced Latin students.
How to read this edition
Latin Latin words & examplesterm grammatical termsheadword paradigm labels & lemmasgloss English translations[none] marks a missing form(editor’s note) clarifications added in this edition
Section numbers match Pharr’s originals so that the index and all cross-references remain valid. Scansion marks use the long bar (—) for a long syllable and the metrical breve (⏑) for a short one. Obvious scanning errors in the source have been silently corrected, and dropped macrons restored.
Alphabet; Pronunciation; Quantity; Accent
1. With the exception that it has no w, the Latin alphabet is the same as the English, which has been borrowed from it.
2. The vowels, as in English, are a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes y. The other letters are consonants.
Sounds of the Letters
3.Vowels. All Latin vowels are either long or short. All long vowels are indicated in this text by the mark (¯) placed over them, as nōnnot. All unmarked vowels in this book are to be considered short.
4.Latin vowels have the following sounds:
Long
Short
ā as in father: āraaltar
a as in ask: animasoul
ē as in they: mēnsmind
e as in red: bellumwar
ī as in machine: dīvusdivine
i as in hit: mittōsend
ō as in bone: mōnsmountain
o as in obey: aequorsea
ū as in prune: lūxlight
u as in full: fugaflight
5.Diphthongs. A diphthong is the union of two vowels in a single syllable. The sounds of the Latin diphthongs are:
ae
as ai in aisle
caelumheaven
au
as ou in house
aurumgold
ei
as ei in freight
eialas!
oe
as oi in boil
poenapunishment
eu
as eh-oo (oo as in spoon, fused with the eh into one syllable)
heualas!
ui
somewhat as we, but with a more vocalic u
cuito whom
6.Consonants. In general the consonants have the same sounds as in English, with the following exceptions:
c
as k, always hard, as in come
faciōdo, make
g
always hard, as in get
fugiōflee
j (consonantal i)
as y in yet
jubeōorder
s
as in sit, never as in rise
cāsuschance
t
as in tie, never as in nation
tālissuch
v (consonantal u)
as w in will
videōsee
x
as in extra, always hard
rēxking
bs, bt
as ps, pt
urbscity; obtineōgain, obtain
ch
as k in kite
pulcherbeautiful
gu, qu, su (before a vowel)
as gw, kw, sw
sanguisblood; quīwho; suādeōpersuade
ph
as p-h (as in saphead, without the break)
philosophiaphilosophy
th
as t-h (as in fathead, without the break)
CorinthusCorinth
a. Modern printed texts often use one character (i) for both vocalic and consonantal i (i, j), and one for both vocalic and consonantal u (u, v). The Romans used no separate characters to distinguish the vocalic and consonantal uses of these letters.b. Between vowels within a word, j is regularly doubled in pronunciation though written once: majorgreater, pejorworse, ejusof him, hujusof this, cujusof whom, ajōsay — pronounced as if spelled majjor, pejjor, ejjus, hujjus, cujjus, ajjō. This does not apply to j that was originally initial but falls between vowels through compounding: praejūdicōprejudge, bijugīchariot.c. When followed by i, as in compounds of jaciōthrow, the j, though pronounced, is not usually written in the classical period: coniciōthrow together, dēiciōcast down, ēiciōthrow out, reiciōthrow back. These are pronounced as if spelled conjiciō, dējiciō, ējiciō, rejiciō, and are so written in this text.
7.Doubled Consonants. All doubled consonants are sounded separately, not as one consonant as in English. Thus puellagirl is pronounced pu‑el‑la, not pu-ell-a; so also er‑rōwander, stray, oc‑cu‑pōoccupy.
8.Double Consonants. The double consonants are x and z: x is equivalent to ks or cs; z, a Greek letter, originally zd, may be pronounced as z in lazy.
Syllables
9. A Latin word has as many syllables as it has vowels and diphthongs: so‑ci‑uscomrade, vo‑cā‑reto call, moe‑ni‑awalls, ac‑ci‑pi‑ōreceive.
10. In dividing a Latin word into syllables, a single consonant goes with the following vowel: ca‑puthead.
11. A consonant followed by l or r (except ll or rr) is usually pronounced with the l or r: pa‑trēsfathers, pū‑bli‑cuspublic.
12. In all other combinations of two or more consonants between vowels, the first consonant goes with the preceding vowel, the rest with the following vowel: her‑baherb, mōn‑strōshow, ar‑maarms.
13.Exceptions. Compound words are divided according to their original elements: ab‑esthe is absent, trāns‑eōI pass across.
Quantity
14. The quantity of a syllable is the relative amount of time taken to pronounce it. About twice as much time should be used for a long syllable as for a short one.
15. A syllable is long by nature when it contains a long vowel or a diphthong. It is long by position when its vowel is followed by two or more consonants pronounced separately (10–12), or by either double consonant x or z (8), or by j, which was regularly doubled in pronunciation (6 b). H never helps make a syllable long, and qu counts as a single consonant. Thus the first syllable of adhūcthus far and of aquawater is short.
16. Except under the metrical accent (394), a final syllable ending in a short vowel regularly stays short before a word beginning with two consonants or a double consonant.
17. If a consonant followed by l or r comes after a short vowel, the syllable with the short vowel is said to be common — it may be either long or short, at the speaker’s pleasure.
18.Note: This is because the l and r blend so easily with the preceding consonant that the combination takes scarcely more time than a single consonant. When the l or r is pronounced separately from the preceding consonant (as may always be done), more time is required and the preceding syllable is treated as long.
19. Observe that the vowel in a long syllable may be either long or short, and is pronounced accordingly. Thus in errōwander, captōseize, vertōturn, noxnight, the first vowel is short and must be so pronounced (per 4), but the syllable is long and must take more time (per 14, 15).
20. A vowel is regularly short before another vowel, or before h: aes‑tu‑ōboil, de‑usgod, tra‑hōdraw.
a. This does not apply to Greek words in Latin, such as ā‑ērair, Ī‑xī‑ōnIxion (a proper name).
21. A vowel is regularly short before nt or nd. Observe that the syllable in this case is long.
22. A vowel is regularly short before any final consonant except s.
a. Some monosyllables ending in l, r, n, and c have a long vowel: sōlsun, pārequal, nōnnot, sīcso.
23. A vowel is regularly long before ns, nf, nx, and nct.
24. Diphthongs and vowels derived from diphthongs or contracted from other vowels are regularly long.
Why this matters. Long and short syllables can look like dry bookkeeping here, but they are the raw material of Latin poetry: the rhythm of every line of Vergil is built from their contrast. You will put these rules to work later, in Versification (§391 ff.), where the opening of the Aeneid is scanned syllable by syllable.
Accent
25. Words of two syllables have the accent (stress) on the first: á‑mōlove.
a. The last syllable of a word is the ultima (ultimuslast); the next-to-last is the penult (paenealmost + ultimuslast); the one before that is the antepenult (antebefore + paene, ultimus).
26. Words of more than two syllables (polysyllabic words) accent the penult when it is long, the antepenult when the penult is short or common (17): aes‑tu‑á‑reboil, á‑ni‑musmind.
27.Enclitics. Certain words are not written separately but appended to the word they follow. The most common are ‑queand, ‑veor, and ‑ne (sign of a question). When appended to a word accented on the antepenult, they add an accent to the ultima: foríbus′queand from the doorway. When appended to a two-syllable word with a long ultima, the accent shifts to the ultima: amō′queand I love; but bél′laqueand wars, í′taqueand so.
Pronunciation of Latin Words in English
28. Latin words and phrases used in English are pronounced by the ordinary English system. For example, in alumnī the final ī is pronounced as i in five, and the u as u in bum; in the phrase via Chicago, v as in vine and i as in vine; in vōx populīthe voice of the people, v as in voice, ō as in ox, u as in due, ī as in die.
Number
29. Latin has two numbers: the singular, denoting one; the plural, denoting more than one. For the poetic plural, see 243.
Cases
30. Latin has seven cases:
The Seven Cases of Latinthe forms a noun, pronoun, or adjective takes to show its role in the sentence
Nominative
the case of the subject (the person or thing the sentence is about, usually the doer of the action).
Genitive
usually equivalent to the English possessive, or to the objective with the preposition of.
Dative
the case of the indirect object or of personal interest.
Accusative
usually the case of the direct object (the person or thing the verb’s action is done to or directed toward).
Vocative
the case of direct address.
Ablative
the case of adverbial relation.
Locative
the case of the place where.
Declensions
31. There are five declensions in Latin, characterized by the final letter of their stems (the unchanging cores of words, to which endings are attached) (the stem characteristic). In practice, and regularly in dictionaries, they are also distinguished by the ending of the genitive singular.
Declension
Stem Characteristic
Genitive Singular
I
ā (a)
‑ae
II
o
‑ī
III
a consonant or i
‑is
IV
u
‑ūs
V
ē
‑eī
a. The first, second, and fifth declensions are the vowel declensions; the third and fourth (which really form one) are the consonant declension, i and u being treated as semiconsonants the glide sounds y and w.
32. The case endings, combined with the stem characteristics, give the following systems of terminations for the five declensions:
Singular
I
II
III
IV
V
Nom.
‑a
‑us; [none]; ‑um
‑s; [none]
‑us; ‑ū
‑ēs
Gen.
‑ae
‑ī
‑is
‑ūs
‑eī, ‑ē
Dat.
‑ae
‑ō
‑ī
‑uī; ‑ū
‑eī, ‑ē
Acc.
‑am
‑um
‑em, ‑im
‑um, ‑ū
‑em
Voc.
‑a
‑e; [none]; ‑um
‑s; [none]
‑us, ‑ū
‑ēs
Abl.
‑ā
‑ō
‑e, ‑ī
‑ū
‑ē
Plural
I
II
III
IV
V
Nom. Voc.
‑ae
‑ī, ‑a
‑ēs; ‑a, ‑ia
‑ūs, ‑ua
‑ēs
Gen.
‑ārum
‑ōrum
‑um, ‑ium
‑uum
‑ērum
Dat. Abl.
‑īs
‑īs
‑ibus
‑ubus, ‑ibus
‑ēbus
Acc.
‑ās
‑ōs, ‑a
‑ēs, ‑īs; ‑a, ‑ia
‑ūs, ‑ua
‑ēs
33.General Rules of Declension.
a. The vocative is like the nominative, except in the singular of the second declension when the nominative ends in ‑us.b. In the third, fourth, and fifth declensions the nominative, accusative, and vocative are alike in the plural.c. Neuter (the third Latin gender) nouns have the nominative, accusative, and vocative alike; in the plural these always end in ‑a.d. The dative and ablative plural are alike in all declensions.
First Declension
34. The stem ends in ā. The nominative-vocative singular is the simple stem with shortened stem vowel and no case ending.
Singular
Plural
Nom.
terraf.
(a, the) land
terrae
(the) lands
Gen.
terrae
of (the) land, the land’s
terrārum
of (the) lands
Dat.
terrae
to, for (the) land
terrīs
to, for (the) lands
Acc.
terram
(the) land
terrās
(the) lands
Voc.
terra
O land!
terrae
O lands!
Abl.
terrā
from, with, by, in, on, at (the) land
terrīs
… (the) lands
a. The locative singular of the first declension is like the genitive: Rōmaeat Rome, mīlitiaeabroad (engaged in warfare).b. The genitive singular sometimes ends in ‑āī in poetry; the genitive plural sometimes takes ‑um instead of ‑ārum.c. The ending ‑ābus is found (beside the regular ending) in the dative and ablative plural of deagoddess and fīliadaughter.
35.Rule of Gender. Nouns of the first declension are feminine, except when they refer to males.
Second Declension
36. The stem ends in o, which in the classical period usually becomes u. Combined with the case endings it often disappears entirely. In the vocative singular (except in neuters) it becomes e.
a. The nominative ends in ‑s (m., f.) and ‑m (n.). But many masculine stems whose original final vowel o was preceded by r have dropped the ‑us of the nominative and the ‑e of the vocative, inserting e before the r if it followed a consonant: original pueros became puerboy, and libros became liberbook.b. The final o was often kept after u or v until the first century a.d.: servosslave.
37.Animusspirit, puerboy, virman, bellumwar, are declined as follows:
Sg.
Neut.
Nom.
animusm.
puer
vir
bellumn.
Gen.
animī
puerī
virī
bellī
Dat.
animō
puerō
virō
bellō
Acc.
animum
puerum
virum
bellum
Voc.
anime
puer
vir
bellum
Abl.
animō
puerō
virō
bellō
Pl.
Neut.
Nom.
animī
puerī
virī
bella
Gen.
animōrum
puerōrum
virōrum
bellōrum
Dat.
animīs
puerīs
virīs
bellīs
Acc.
animōs
puerōs
virōs
bella
Voc.
animī
puerī
virī
bella
Abl.
animīs
puerīs
virīs
bellīs
a. Words in ‑ius (‑ium) have the genitive singular mostly in ‑ī until the first century a.d., without change of accent: ingéniī (nom. ingenium) of genius, Vergíliīof Vergil.b. Proper names in ‑ius have the vocative in ‑ī, without change of accent: Antóni, Túlli, Gáī, Vergíli. Fīliusson and geniusgenius form their vocative likewise: fīlī, genī. In solemn discourse the nominative ‑us is also used for the vocative; so regularly deusO god!.c. The locative singular ends in ‑ī like the genitive: Rhodīat Rhodes, Tarentīat Tarentum.d. In the genitive plural ‑um instead of ‑ōrum is often found.e. The locative plural is identical with the ablative: Delphīsat Delphi.f. The declension of deusm.god is irregular:
Sg.
Pl.
Nom.
deus
dī, deī, diī
Gen.
deī
deōrum, deum
Dat.
deō
dīs, deīs, diīs
Acc.
deum
deōs
Voc.
deus
dī, deī, diī
Abl.
deō
dīs, deīs, diīs
38.Rule of Gender.
Nouns of the second declension ending in
‑us
or
r
are masculine; in
‑um, neuter.
a.Exceptions. Feminine are: (1) cities and islands, as Corinthus, Samus; (2) most trees, as fāgusbeech, piruspear tree; (3) alvusbelly, colusdistaff (spinning staff), humusground, vannuswinnowing basket; (4) many Greek nouns, as atomusatom. Neuter are: pelagussea, vīrusvenom, vulgusthe common crowd.
Third Declension
39. The stem ends in a consonant or in the close (high) vowels i and ū. The stems are divided by their last letter, the stem characteristic:
I. Consonant Stems
1.Liquid stems, ending in l, m, n, r.
2.Sibilant stems, ending in ‑s.
3.Mute stemsa. ending in b, p.b. ending in g, c.c. ending in d, t.
II. i-Stems
Consonant types.Mutes (or stops) are made by closing the breath completely and then releasing it: b, p (lips), d, t (tongue and teeth), g, c (throat). Liquids are l, m, n, r, flowing sounds that can be held and drawn out. Sibilants are hissing sounds; in Latin the only one is s.
40. 1. The nominative singular (m. & f.) case ending is ‑s, which is dropped after l, n, r, s, and combines with c or g to form x. In the other cases the endings are added to the unchanged stem. The vocative of the third declension is always like the nominative.
2. Neuters form the nominative without a case ending; the accusative and vocative in both numbers are like the nominative. The nominative plural ends in ‑a.
I. Consonant Stems
1. Liquid Stems in l
41. Liquid stems in l form the nominative without the case ending ‑s. These comprise:
a. Those whose stem characteristic is preceded by a vowel:
Sg.
Pl.
Nom.
cōnsulm.consul
cōnsulēs
Gen.
cōnsulis
cōnsulum
Dat.
cōnsulī
cōnsulibus
Acc.
cōnsulem
cōnsulēs
Voc.
cōnsul
cōnsulēs
Abl.
cōnsule
cōnsulibus
b. Two neuter nouns with stems in ll, one of which is lost in the nominative: mel, mellishoney; fel, fellisgall.
42.Rules of Gender. Third-declension nouns with stems in l are regularly masculine; those with stems in ll are neuter.
2. Liquid Stems in n
43. Most masculine and feminine stems form the nominative singular by dropping the stem characteristic and changing a preceding vowel to o. Some masculine and most neuter stems keep the stem characteristic in the nominative and change a preceding i to e.
Sg.
Masculine
Neuter
Nom.
sermōm.conversation
homōm.man
nōmenn.name
Gen.
sermōnis
hominis
nōminis
Dat.
sermōnī
hominī
nōminī
Acc.
sermōnem
hominem
nōmen
Voc.
sermō
homō
nōmen
Abl.
sermōne
homine
nōmine
Pl.
Nom.
sermōnēs
hominēs
nōmina
Gen.
sermōnum
hominum
nōminum
Dat.
sermōnibus
hominibus
nōminibus
Acc.
sermōnēs
hominēs
nōmina
Voc.
sermōnēs
hominēs
nōmina
Abl.
sermōnibus
hominibus
nōminibus
44.Rules of Gender. (1) Third-declension nouns ending in ‑ō are masculine, except those in ‑dō, ‑gō, and ‑iō, which are mostly feminine. (2) Third-declension nouns in ‑en (‑men) are regularly neuter.
3. Liquid Stems in r
45. Liquid stems in r form the nominative without ‑s.
Singular
Nom.
sororf.sister
paterm.father
Gen.
sorōris
patris
Dat.
sorōrī
patrī
Acc.
sorōrem
patrem
Voc.
soror
pater
Abl.
sorōre
patre
Plural
Nom. Pl.
sorōrēs
patrēs
Gen.
sorōrum
patrum
Dat.
sorōribus
patribus
Acc.
sorōrēs
patrēs
Abl.
sorōribus
patribus
a.Imbershower, linterskiff, uterbag, venterbelly have the genitive plural in ‑ium. Imber also sometimes has the ablative singular in ‑ī.
46.Rules of Gender. (1) Third-declension nouns in ‑er and ‑or are usually masculine. (2) Those in ‑ar and ‑ur are neuter.
4. Sibilant Stems
47. The nominative takes no additional ‑s; in masculines it changes e to i, and in neuters e or o to u before s. In the oblique cases (all cases except the nominative) the stem s usually passes, between two vowels, into r.
Singular
Nom. Acc. Voc.
genusn.kind
corpusn.body
Gen.
generis
corporis
Dat.
generī
corporī
Abl.
genere
corpore
Plural
Nom. Acc. Voc. Pl.
genera
corpora
Gen.
generum
corporum
Dat. Abl.
generibus
corporibus
48.Rules of Gender. (1) Masculine are third-declension nouns in ‑is (‑eris) and ‑ōs (‑ōris). (2) Neuter are those in ‑us (‑eris, ‑oris) and in ‑ūs (‑ūris).
5. Mute Stems
49. All masculines and feminines of mute stems have ‑s in the nominative. Before s a p or b is kept, a c or g combines with it to form x, and a t or d is dropped.
a. Most polysyllabic mute stems change their stem vowel i to e in the nominative.
a. Stems in p or b
Sg.
Pl.
Nom.
prīncepsm.leader
prīncipēs
Gen.
prīncipis
prīncipum
Dat.
prīncipī
prīncipibus
Acc.
prīncipem
prīncipēs
Voc.
prīnceps
prīncipēs
Abl.
prīncipe
prīncipibus
b. Stems in c or g
Sg.
Pl.
Nom.
duxm.leader
ducēs
Gen.
ducis
ducum
Dat.
ducī
ducibus
Acc.
ducem
ducēs
Voc.
dux
ducēs
Abl.
duce
ducibus
c. Stems in t or d
Sg.
Pl.
Sg.
Pl.
Sg.
Pl.
Nom.
comesm., f.companion
comitēs
pēsm.foot
pedēs
caputn.head
capita
Gen.
comitis
comitum
pedis
pedum
capitis
capitum
Dat.
comitī
comitibus
pedī
pedibus
capitī
capitibus
Acc.
comitem
comitēs
pedem
pedēs
caput
capita
Voc.
comes
comitēs
pēs
pedēs
caput
capita
Abl.
comite
comitibus
pede
pedibus
capite
capitibus
a. The following mute stems have certain irregular forms: cor (gen. cordis) heart; nox (gen. noctis) night; lac (gen. lactis) milk.
53. Monosyllabic mute stems, with the characteristic preceded by a consonant, have the genitive plural in ‑ium: urbiumof cities, arciumof citadels, montiumof mountains, noctiumof nights.
a. Monosyllabic mute stems with the characteristic preceded by a long vowel or diphthong vary: dōtiumof dowries, lītiumof lawsuits, fauciumof throats, fraudum (‑ium)of frauds, laudum (‑ium)of praises; but vōcumof voices.b. Most monosyllabic stems with the characteristic preceded by a short vowel have ‑um: opumof resources; but fac‑iumof torches, nuc‑um (‑ium)of nuts, niv‑ium (‑um)of snows.c. Polysyllabic stems in nt and rt more often have ‑ium: clientium (‑um)of clients, cohortium (‑um)of companies.d. Polysyllabic feminine stems in āt have either ‑um or ‑ium: aetātum or aetātiumof ages, cīvitātum or cīvitātiumof states; the rest usually have ‑um. Palūsmarsh usually has palūdium.
54.Rule of Gender. Mute stems with the nominative in ‑s are usually feminine.
II. i-Stems
55. Masculines and feminines form their nominative in ‑s.
a. Some feminines change the stem vowel i to ē in the nominative.b. Neuters change the stem vowel i to e in the nominative. This e is generally dropped after l and r in polysyllabic neuters.c. Stems in i have the genitive plural in ‑ium.d. Neuter stems in i have the ablative singular in ‑ī and nominative plural in ‑ia.
56.
Singular
Nom.
hostism., f.enemy
maren.sea
animaln.living being
Gen.
hostis
maris
animālis
Dat.
hostī
marī
animālī
Acc.
hostem
mare
animal
Voc.
hostis
mare
animal
Abl.
hoste
marī
animālī
Plural
Nom. Pl.
hostēs
maria
animālia
Gen.
hostium
marium
animālium
Dat.
hostibus
maribus
animālibus
Acc.
hostēs (‑īs)
maria
animālia
Voc.
hostēs
maria
animālia
Abl.
hostibus
maribus
animālibus
a. The accusative singular ending ‑im is always found in sitisthirst, tussiscough, vīsstrength, and in names of towns and rivers in is, as NeāpolisNaples, TiberisTiber; usually in febrisfever, puppisstern of ship, restiscable, secūrisax, turristower; occasionally in clāviskey, cratiswickerwork frame, cutisskin, messisharvest, nāvisship.b. The ablative in ‑ī is found in i-stem nouns that regularly have ‑im in the accusative (except perhaps restis); also not infrequently in amnisriver, avisbird, canāliscanal, cīviscitizen, classisfleet, fīnisend, fūstisclub, ignisfire, orbiscircle, unguisclaw; occasionally in anguissnake, bīlisbile, clāviskey, collishill, corbisbasket, messisharvest; regularly in neuters in e, al, and ar, except in rētenet, and in the proper nouns Caere, Praeneste.c. In the genitive plural, instead of ‑ium, ‑um is always found in canisdog, juvenisyoung man, pānisbread, senexold man, struēsheap, volucrisbird; usually in apisbee, sēdēsseat, vātēsbard; frequently in mēnsismonth.d. The accusative plural ending ‑īs is found frequently in the classical period beside ‑ēs.
57.Rule of Gender. (a) i-stems with nominative in ‑ēs are feminine, unless they refer to males; those with nominative in ‑is are partly masculine, partly feminine. (b) i-stems with nominative in ‑e, ‑al, ‑ar are neuter. (c) The rest are feminine.
Fourth Declension
58. The fourth declension embraces only disyllabic and polysyllabic stems in u.
a. The endings are the same as those of i-stems of the third declension.b. In the genitive and ablative singular, and in the nominative, accusative, and vocative plural (sometimes too in the dative singular), the u of the stem absorbs the vowel of the ending and becomes long.c. In the dative and ablative plural u generally becomes i before the ending bus.
59.
Masculine
Neuter
Singular
Nom.
cāsusm.chance
cornūn.horn
Gen.
cāsūs
cornūs
Dat.
cāsuī (cāsū)
cornū
Acc.
cāsum
cornū
Voc.
cāsus
cornū
Abl.
cāsū
cornū
Plural
Nom. Pl.
cāsūs
cornua
Gen.
cāsuum
cornuum
Dat.
cāsibus
cornibus
Acc.
cāsūs
cornua
Voc.
cāsūs
cornua
Abl.
cāsibus
cornibus
60.Domusf.house is declined: sg. gen. domūs; dat. domuī; acc. domum; voc. domus; abl. domō; loc. domī (domuī); pl. nom. domūs; gen. domōrum; dat.-abl. domibus; acc. domōs, domūs.
61.Rule of Gender.
Fourth-declension nouns in
us
are generally masculine; those in
ū
are neuter.
a. But feminine are acusneedle, domushouse, Īdūs (pl.) the Ides, manushand, penusvictuals, porticuscolonnade, covered walkway, tribustribe.
Fifth Declension
62. The stem ends in ē; the nominative in ‑ēs.
a. In the genitive and dative singular the stem vowel e is shortened after a consonant.b. The accusative singular always ends in ‑em (22).c. The genitive singular ending is that of the second declension, ‑ī; the other endings are those of the third declension.
63.
Masculine
Feminine
Singular
Nom.
diēsm., f.day
rēsf.thing
Gen.
diēī (diē)
reī
Dat.
diēī (diē)
reī
Acc.
diem
rem
Voc.
diēs
rēs
Abl.
diē
rē
Plural
Nom. Pl.
diēs
rēs
Gen.
diērum
rērum
Dat.
diēbus
rēbus
Acc.
diēs
rēs
Abl.
diēbus
rēbus
a. The genitive, dative, and ablative plural are rarely found except in diēs and rēs.b. Many fifth-declension words have a parallel first-declension form, as mollitiēs or mollitiasoftness. Where this is so, the fifth-declension forms are usually found only in the nominative, accusative, and ablative singular.
64.Rule of Gender. Fifth-declension nouns are feminine except diēs, which in the singular is either masculine or feminine and in the plural masculine, and merīdiēsmidday, which is always masculine.
Declension of Greek Nouns
65. Greek nouns, especially proper names, are commonly Latinized and declined regularly by their stem characteristic. Some, however, keep their Greek form exclusively or have Greek and Latin forms side by side. These variations occur chiefly in the singular.
a. In the plural the declension is usually regular, but the third declension often shows ‑es in the nominative and ‑as in the accusative. In the genitive plural the endings ‑ōn and ‑eōn are found in book titles: Geōrgicōnof the Georgics, Metamorphōseōnof the Metamorphoses.
66. First Declension
Sg.
Nom.
Pēnelopē
Aenēās
Anchīsēs
Gen.
Pēnelopēs
Aenēae
Anchīsae
Dat.
Pēnelopae
Aenēae
Anchīsae
Acc.
Pēnelopēn
Aenēam (‑ān)
Anchīsēn (‑am)
Voc.
Pēnelopē
Aenēā
Anchīsē (‑ā, ‑a)
Abl.
Pēnelopā
Aenēā
Anchīsā
67. Second Declension
Sg.
Nom.
Dēlos (‑us)
Īlion (‑um)
Panthūs
Androgeōs (‑us)
Gen.
Dēlī
Īliī
Panthī
Androgeī (‑eō)
Dat.
Dēlō
Īliō
Panthō
Androgeō
Acc.
Dēlon (‑um)
Īlion (‑um)
Panthūn
Androgeōn (‑ō, ‑ōna)
Voc.
Dēle
Īlion (‑um)
Panthū
Androgeōs
Abl.
Dēlō
Īliō
Panthō
Androgeō
68. Third Declension
Sg.
Nom.
Solōn (Solō)
āērair
Xenophōn
Atlās
Gen.
Solōnis
āeris
Xenophōntis
Atlantis
Dat.
Solōnī
āerī
Xenophōntī
Atlantī
Acc.
Solōna (‑em)
āera (‑em)
Xenophōnta (‑em)
Atlanta
Voc.
Solōn
āēr
Xenophōn
Atlā
Abl.
Solōne
āere
Xenophōnte
Atlante
Sg.
Nom.
Thalēs
Paris
hērōs
Gen.
Thal‑ētis (‑is)
Paridis (‑os)
hērōis
Dat.
Thal‑ētī (‑ī)
Paridī (‑ī)
hērōī
Acc.
Thal‑ēta (‑ēn, ‑em)
Par‑ida (‑im, ‑in)
hērōa (‑em)
Voc.
Thalē
Pari (Paris)
hērōs
Abl.
Thalē
Paride
hērōe
69. Mixed Declensions
Sg. (II & III)
Nom.
Orpheus
Athōs
Oedipūs
Gen.
Orpheī (‑eī)
Athō (‑ōnis)
Oedip‑odis (‑ī)
Dat.
Orpheō (‑eī)
Athō
Oedipodī
Acc.
Orpheum (‑ea)
Athō (‑ōn, ‑ōnem)
Oedip‑um (‑oda)
Voc.
Orpheu
Athōs
Oedipe
Abl.
Orpheō
Athōne
Oedip‑ide (‑ō)
Sg. (II & III)
Nom.
Achillēs (‑eus)
Sōcratēs
Dīdō
Gen.
Achillis ‑(e)ī, ‑eos
Sōcratis (‑ī)
Dīdūs (‑ōnis)
Dat.
Achillī
Sōcratī
Dīdō (‑ōnī)
Acc.
Achillem (‑ea, ‑ēn)
Sōcratēn (‑em)
Dīdō (‑ōnem)
Voc.
Achillēs (‑ē, ‑eu, ‑e)
Sōcratē (‑ēs)
Dīdō
Abl.
Achille, (‑ī)
Sōcrate
Dīdō (‑ōne)
Adjectives
70. The adjective adds a quality to its noun or pronoun. Adjectives have the same declension as nouns and, by their stem characteristic, belong either to the first-and-second or to the third declension.
Adjectives of the First and Second Declension
71. Stems end in o for masculine and neuter, ā for feminine; nominative in ‑us (‑er), ‑a, ‑um. The same variations occur as in nouns, except that adjectives in ‑ius form the genitive and vocative singular regularly. see 37, a.
bonusgood
Singular
Plural
M.
F.
N.
M.
F.
N.
bonusgood
Singular
M.
F.
N.
Nom.
bonus
bona
bonum
Nom.
bonī
bonae
bona
Gen.
bonī
bonae
bonī
Gen.
bonōrum
bonārum
bonōrum
Dat.
bonō
bonae
bonō
Dat.
bonīs
bonīs
bonīs
Acc.
bonum
bonam
bonum
Acc.
bonōs
bonās
bona
Voc.
bone
bona
bonum
Voc.
bonī
bonae
bona
Abl.
bonō
bonā
bonō
Abl.
bonīs
bonīs
bonīs
Plural
M.
F.
N.
miserwretched
Singular
Plural
M.
F.
N.
M.
F.
N.
miserwretched
Singular
M.
F.
N.
Nom.
miser
misera
miserum
Nom.
miserī
miserae
misera
Gen.
miserī
miserae
miserī
Gen.
miserōrum
miserārum
miserōrum
Dat.
miserō
miserae
miserō
Dat.
miserīs
miserīs
miserīs
Acc.
miserum
miseram
miserum
Acc.
miserōs
miserās
misera
Voc.
miser
misera
miserum
Voc.
miserī
miserae
misera
Abl.
miserō
miserā
miserō
Abl.
miserīs
miserīs
miserīs
Plural
M.
F.
N.
pulcherbeautiful
Singular
Plural
M.
F.
N.
M.
F.
N.
pulcherbeautiful
Singular
M.
F.
N.
Nom.
pulcher
pulchra
pulchrum
Nom.
pulchrī
pulchrae
pulchra
Gen.
pulchrī
pulchrae
pulchrī
Gen.
pulchrōrum
pulchrārum
pulchrōrum
Dat.
pulchrō
pulchrae
pulchrō
Dat.
pulchrīs
pulchrīs
pulchrīs
Acc.
pulchrum
pulchram
pulchrum
Acc.
pulchrōs
pulchrās
pulchra
Voc.
pulcher
pulchra
pulchrum
Voc.
pulchrī
pulchrae
pulchra
Abl.
pulchrō
pulchrā
pulchrō
Abl.
pulchrīs
pulchrīs
pulchrīs
Plural
M.
F.
N.
a. All participles ending in ‑us, ‑a, ‑um are inflected like bonus.
72. In poetry we find ‑um beside ‑ōrum and ‑ārum in the genitive plural.
a. In the dative and ablative plural, ‑iīs from adjectives in ‑ius is often contracted to ‑īs, especially in names of months and in adjectives formed from proper names.
73. The so-called Pronominal Adjectives(so called because they decline partly like a pronoun) show peculiarities in the genitive and dative singular. They are: alterone of the two; alteruter (a combination of alter and uter) either of the two; aliusother; neuterneither; nūllusnone; sōlussole; tōtuswhole; ūllusany; ūnusone; uterwhich of the two.
74. alterone of two
M.
F.
N.
Nom.
alter
altera
alterum
Gen.
alterīus
alterīus
alterīus
Dat.
alterī
alterī
alterī
Acc.
alterum
alteram
alterum
Abl.
alterō
alterā
alterō
aliusother
M.
F.
N.
Nom.
alius
alia
aliud
Gen.
alīus
alīus
alīus
Dat.
aliī
aliī
aliī
Acc.
alium
aliam
aliud
Abl.
aliō
aliā
aliō
ūllusany
M.
F.
N.
Nom.
ūllus
ūlla
ūllum
Gen.
ūllīus
ūllīus
ūllīus
Dat.
ūllī
ūllī
ūllī
Acc.
ūllum
ūllam
ūllum
Abl.
ūllō
ūllā
ūllō
uterwhich of two
M.
F.
N.
Nom.
uter
utra
utrum
Gen.
utrīus
utrīus
utrīus
Dat.
utrī
utrī
utrī
Acc.
utrum
utram
utrum
Abl.
utrō
utrā
utrō
Like uter is declined neuter; like ūllus are declined nūllus, sōlus, tōtus, ūnus. The plural is regular.
a. The genitive alīus is very rare; its place is usually taken by alterīus or aliēnus.b. The i of the ending ‑īus (except in alīus) is often shortened in poetry. This is usual with alter, and regular in the compounds of uter: utrīusque.c. In the compound alteruter we usually find both parts declined; sometimes only the second.d.Alius has its nominative and accusative singular neuter irregularly aliud.
Adjectives of the Third Declension
75. The declension of third-declension adjectives follows the rules given for nouns. Most are vowel stems in i, with two (rarely three) endings in the nominative. The rest are consonant stems with only one ending in the nominative.
Adjectives of Two or Three Endings
76. These have (except stems in rī) one nominative ending for masculine and feminine, one for neuter. Most stems in i form the masculine and feminine alike, with nominative in ‑s; but the neuter nominative weakens the characteristic i to e. Compare maresea.
a. Several stems in i, preceded by r (cr, tr, br), form the masculine nominative not by adding ‑s but by dropping the i and inserting short e before the r: stem ācrisharp; nom. ācer (m.), ācris (f.), ācre (n.).
77. omnisall
Singular
Plural
M., F.
N.
M., F.
N.
Nom.
omnis
omne
omnēs
omnia
Gen.
omnis
omnis
omnium
omnium
Dat.
omnī
omnī
omnibus
omnibus
Acc.
omnem
omne
omnēs (‑īs)
omnia
Voc.
omnis
omne
omnēs
omnia
Abl.
omnī
omnī
omnibus
omnibus
ācersharp
Singular
Plural
M.
F.
N.
M., F.
N.
ācersharp
Singular
M.
F.
N.
Nom.
ācer
ācris
ācre
Nom.
ācrēs
ācria
Gen.
ācris
ācris
ācris
Gen.
ācrium
ācrium
Dat.
ācrī
ācrī
ācrī
Dat.
ācribus
ācribus
Acc.
ācrem
ācrem
ācre
Acc.
ācrēs (‑īs)
ācria
Voc.
ācer
ācris
ācre
Voc.
ācrēs
ācria
Abl.
ācrī
ācrī
ācrī
Abl.
ācribus
ācribus
Plural
M., F.
N.
Adjectives of One Ending
78. Adjective stems of one ending (consonant stems) end with l, r, s; p, b; t, d; c, g.
79. Present active participles are also consonant stems and follow the same declension.
80. The consonant-stem adjectives have the same forms in all genders, except that in the accusative singular and in the nominative, accusative, and vocative plural the neuter is distinguished from the masculine and feminine.
81. Consonant-stem adjectives follow in part the declension of i-stem nouns (third-declension nouns whose stem ends in -i rather than a plain consonant); thus:
1. In the ablative singular they have ‑ī or ‑e; when used as nouns, commonly ‑e.a. Participles as such have ‑e; but used as nouns or adjectives, either ‑e or ‑ī, with a tendency to ‑ī.2. In the neuter plural they have ‑ia; except all comparatives (91), vetusold, and ūberfertile, which have vetera and ūbera. Many have no neuter.3. In the genitive plural they have ‑ium when the stem characteristic is preceded by a long vowel or a consonant; ‑um when preceded by a short vowel. The participles regularly have ‑ium.
82. fēlīxlucky
M., F.
N.
recēnsrecent
N.
fēlīxlucky
M., F.
N.
M., F.
N.
recēnsrecent
Singular
M., F.
N.
Plural
M., F.
N.
Singular
Nom.
fēlīx
fēlīx
Nom.
recēns
recēns
Gen.
fēlīcis
fēlīcis
Gen.
recentis
recentis
Dat.
fēlīcī
fēlīcī
Dat.
recentī
recentī
Acc.
fēlīcem
fēlīx
Acc.
recentem
recēns
Voc.
fēlīx
fēlīx
Voc.
recēns
recēns
Abl.
fēlīcī (‑e)
fēlīcī (‑e)
Abl.
recentī (‑e)
recentī (‑e)
Plural
Nom. pl.
fēlīcēs
fēlīcia
Nom. pl.
recentēs
recentia
Gen.
fēlīcium
fēlīcium
Gen.
recentium
recentium
Dat.
fēlīcibus
fēlīcibus
Dat.
recentibus
recentibus
Acc.
fēlīcēs (‑īs)
fēlīcia
Acc.
recentēs (‑īs)
recentia
Abl.
fēlīcibus
fēlīcibus
Abl.
recentibus
recentibus
vetusold
M., F.
N.
amānsloving
N.
vetusold
M., F.
N.
M., F.
N.
amānsloving
Singular
M., F.
N.
Plural
M., F.
N.
Singular
Nom.
vetus
vetus
Nom.
amāns
amāns
Gen.
veteris
veteris
Gen.
amantis
amantis
Dat.
veterī
veterī
Dat.
amantī
amantī
Acc.
veterem
vetus
Acc.
amantem
amāns
Voc.
vetus
vetus
Voc.
amāns
amāns
Abl.
vetere (‑ī)
vetere (‑ī)
Abl.
amante (‑ī)
amante (‑ī)
Plural
Nom. pl.
veterēs
vetera
Nom. pl.
amantēs
amantia
Gen.
veterum
veterum
Gen.
amantium
amantium
Dat.
veteribus
veteribus
Dat.
amantibus
amantibus
Acc.
veterēs
vetera
Acc.
amantēs (‑īs)
amantia
Abl.
veteribus
veteribus
Abl.
amantibus
amantibus
a. In the poets, ‑e is often found for ‑ī in the ablative singular. Also in classical prose we regularly find pauperepoor, vetereold, and frequently dīviterich, sapientewise.b. In the nominative and accusative plural, ‑īs for ‑ēs belongs to early Latin and the poets, but a few such accusatives occur in Cicero. In participles ‑īs is very common and is the rule in Vergil and Horace.c. In the genitive plural cicurtame, vetusold, dīvesrich have ‑um instead of ‑ium; so also many compound adjectives.d. In the poets and later writers, ‑um is not infrequently found where classical prose uses ium.
Comparison of Adjectives
83. The Degrees of Comparison are: positive, comparative, and superlative.
84. The Comparative(the degree of an adjective expressing a greater amount of a quality, English ‘-er’ or ‘more’, used in comparing two things) is formed by adding to the consonant stems the endings ‑ior (m. & f.) and ‑ius (n.).
85. The Superlative(the degree of an adjective expressing the greatest amount of a quality, English ‘-est’ or ‘most’) is formed by adding to the consonant stems the endings ‑issimus, ‑a, ‑um (earlier ‑issumus).
86. Vowel stems drop their characteristic vowel before forming the comparative and superlative.
87. Positive
Comparative
Superlative
altus, ‑a, ‑umhigh
altior, iushigher
altissimus, ‑a, ‑umhighest
fortis, ebrave
fortior, iusbraver
fortissimusbravest
fēlīxhappy
fēlīcior, iushappier
fēlīcissimushappiest
recēnsrecent
recentior, iusmore recent
recentissimusmost recent
88.Peculiarities of Comparison. Adjectives in ‑er add the superlative ending ‑rimus directly to the masculine nominative. The comparative is regular (see 84).
89. Positive
Comparative
Superlative
miser, era, erumwretched
miserior, miserius
miserrimus
celer, eris, ereswift
celerior, celerius
celerrimus
ācer, ācris, ācresharp
ācrior, ācrius
ācerrimus
a. Six adjectives in ‑ilis add ‑limus (earlier ‑lumus) to the stem, after dropping i, to form the superlative: faciliseasy, difficilishard, similislike, dissimilisunlike, gracilisslender, humilislow. — Pos. facilis; Comp. facilior, ius; Sup. facillimus, ‑a, ‑um.
90. Participles used as adjectives follow the same laws of comparison: amānsloving, amantiormore loving, amantissimusmost loving; apertusopen, apertior, apertissimus.
91. The superlative follows the declension of first-and-second-declension adjectives of three endings (71). The comparative is declined by the third declension:
altiorhigher
Singular
Plural
M., F.
N.
M., F.
N.
Nom.
altior
altius
altiōrēs
altiōra
Gen.
altiōris
altiōris
altiōrum
altiōrum
Dat.
altiōrī
altiōrī
altiōribus
altiōribus
Acc.
altiōrem
altius
altiōrēs (‑īs)
altiōra
Voc.
altior
altius
altiōrēs
altiōra
Abl.
altiōre (‑ī)
altiōre (‑ī)
altiōribus
altiōribus
92.Irregular Comparison. Certain adjectives are irregular:
Positive
Comparative
Superlative
bonusgood
melior, melius
optimus
malusbad
pejor, pejus
pessimus
magnusgreat
major, majus
maximus
parvussmall
minor, minus
minimus
multusmuch
sg. plūs (no dat. or abl.); pl. plūrēs, plūra
plūrimus
—
complūrēs, complūra (‑ia)
—
nēquamworthless
nēquior, nēquius
nēquissimus
frūgī (indecl.) frugal
frūgālior
frūgālissimus
a. For the pronunciation of major and pejor = majjor, pejjor, see 6, b.b. The older form of the superlative ended in umus.
Adverbs
93. Most adverbs are either oblique cases (cases other than the nominative) or shortened forms of oblique cases of adjectival, nominal, or pronominal stems.
94. The cases from which they are derived are principally the accusative and the ablative.
Adverbs Formed from Adjectives
95. Many adverbs are formed from the ablative of adjectives in ‑us: tūtōsafely, prīmōat first.
a. Many adverbs are formed from an old ablative form (‑ē) of adjectives in ‑us and ‑er: altēloftily, pulchrēbeautifully.b. Many adverbs are formed from the accusative singular neuter of adjectival and pronominal stems: multummuch, facileeasily. This is true of all comparatives: faciliusmore easily. To the comparatives belong also magismore, nimistoo.c. Adverbs are regularly formed from third-declension adjectives and participles by adding ‑ter (‑iter) to the stem; stems in nt drop the t, and stems in c or g insert the connecting vowel i: fortiterbravely, ferōciterwildly, prūdenterprudently.
Comparison of Adverbs
96. The comparative of the adverb is the accusative neuter of the comparative adjective (95, b). The superlative ends in ‑issimē, ‑errimē, ‑illimē (earlier ‑issumē, ‑errumē, ‑illumē), or is irregular, by the superlative of the adjective (87, 88, 89, 92).
97. Positive
Comparative
Superlative
altēloftily
altius
altissimē
pulchrēbeautifully
pulchrius
pulcherrimē
miserēpoorly
miserius
miserrimē
fortiterbravely
fortius
fortissimē
audācterboldly
audācius
audācissimē
tūtōsafely
tūtius
tūtissimē
facileeasily
facilius
facillimē
benewell
melius
optimē
maleill
pejus
pessimē
[parvus]small
minusless
minimēleast
[magnus]great
magismore
maximēmost
multummuch
plūsmore
plūrimum
citōquickly
citius
citissimē
diūlong
diūtius
diūtissimē
saepeoften
saepius
saepissimē
nūperrecently
—
nūperrimē
satisenough
satiusbetter
—
Numerals
Numeral Adjectives
98. The Cardinal Numerals, as ūnusone, duotwo, decemten, answer the question quothow many? and are the numbers used in counting.
a. The Ordinal Numerals, as prīmusfirst, secundus (alter)second, decimustenth, answer the question quotuswhich one in the series?
99. The cardinal numerals are indeclinable, except: ūnusone; duotwo; trēsthree; the hundreds beginning with ducentītwo hundred; and the plural mīliathousands, which forms mīlium and mīlibus.
100. The Distributive Numerals, as singulīone each, bīnītwo each, dēnīten each, answer the question quotēnīhow many each?
101.Numeral Adverbs, as semelonce, bistwice, terthrice, answer the question quotiēnshow often?
Pronouns
102. A Pronoun is a word that may be substituted for a noun. Latin pronouns fall into six classes: personal (including reflexive), demonstrative, intensive, relative, interrogative, and indefinite.
a. All but the personal pronouns may be used as pronominal adjectives.b. The possessive adjectives (adjectives showing ownership and agreeing with the thing owned, not the owner — ‘my’, ‘your’, ‘his/her/their own’) are often classified as possessive pronouns.
A. Personal Pronouns
103. The Personal Pronoun of the First Person. (A personal pronoun stands for a particular person — ‘I’, ‘you’, ‘we’; in Latin the nominative forms are used mainly for emphasis.)
Singular
Plural
Sg.
Pl.
Nom.
egoI
nōswe
Gen.
meīof me
nostrī, nostrumof us
Dat.
mihī (‑mī)to, for me
nōbīsto, for us
Acc.
mēme
nōsus
Abl.
mēfrom, with, by me
nōbīs… us
a. Compare the possessive adjectives: sg. meus, ‑a, ‑um (voc. m. mī) mine, my own; pl. noster, nostra, nostrumour(s), our own.b. The oblique cases of ego may also be used reflexively: meīof myself, etc.
104. The Personal Pronoun of the Second Person.
Singular
Plural
Sg.
Pl.
Nom. Voc.
tūyou
vōsyou
Gen.
tuīof you
vestrī, vestrumof you
Dat.
tibīto, for you
vōbīsto, for you
Acc.
tēyou
vōsyou
Abl.
tēfrom, with, by you
vōbīs… you
a. Compare the possessive adjectives: sg. tuus, ‑a, ‑umyour(s), your own; pl. vester, vestra, vestrumyour(s), your own.b. The oblique cases of tū may also be used reflexively: tuīof yourself, etc.
105. The Personal Pronouns of the Third Person.
a.Is, ea, idhe, she, it (107), also used as a demonstrative, this, that, is the ordinary third-person pronoun. It lacks a possessive adjective.b. The original third-person pronoun, together with its possessive, is used only as a reflexive in Latin, and therefore lacks a nominative. see 106.
106. The Personal (Reflexive) Pronoun of the Third Person. (A reflexive pronoun refers back to the subject of its own clause — ‘himself’, ‘herself’, ‘themselves’.)
(no nom.)
Singular
Plural
Sg.
Pl.
Gen.
suīof him(self), her(self), it(self)
suīof them(selves)
Dat.
sibīto, for him(self)…
sibīto, for them(selves)
Acc.
sē, sēsēhim(self)…
sē, sēsēthem(selves)
Abl.
sē, sēsēfrom, with, by him(self)…
sē, sēsē… them(selves)
a. Compare the possessive adjective suus, ‑a, ‑umhis (own), her (own), its (own); their (own), theirs.b. The enclitic ‑met is sometimes added to certain forms of the personal pronouns: egometI myself.c. The enclitic ‑pte is sometimes added to the ablative singular of the possessive adjective: suōpte ingeniōby his own genius.
B. Demonstrative Pronouns
A demonstrative pronoun points something out — ‘this’, ‘that’, ‘these’, ‘those’.
1. is, ea, id — this, that; he, she, it
isthat, he
Singular
Plural
M.
F.
N.
M.
F.
N.
isthat, he
Singular
M.
F.
N.
Nom.
is
ea
id
Nom.
iī, eī, ī
eae
ea
Gen.
ejus
ejus
ejus
Gen.
eōrum
eārum
eōrum
Dat.
eī
eī
eī
Dat.
iīs, eīs, īs
iīs, eīs, īs
iīs, eīs, īs
Acc.
eum
eam
id
Acc.
eōs
eās
ea
Abl.
eō
eā
eō
Abl.
iīs, eīs, īs
iīs, eīs, īs
iīs, eīs, īs
Plural
M.
F.
N.
a. For the pronunciation of ejus (= ejjus), see 6, b.b. This pronoun is often used as a third-person pronoun, he, she, it (105, a).
2. īdem — the same (is + dem)
Singular
Plural
M.
F.
N.
M.
F.
N.
Singular
M.
F.
N.
Nom.
īdem
eadem
idem
Nom.
īdem, eīdem, iīdem
eaedem
eadem
Gen.
ejusdem
ejusdem
ejusdem
Gen.
eōrundem
eārundem
eōrundem
Dat.
eīdem
eīdem
eīdem
Dat.
īsdem, eīsdem, iīsdem
īsdem…
īsdem…
Acc.
eundem
eandem
idem
Acc.
eōsdem
eāsdem
eadem
Abl.
eōdem
eādem
eōdem
Abl.
īsdem, eīsdem, iīsdem
īsdem…
īsdem…
Plural
M.
F.
N.
a. For the pronunciation of ejusdem = ejjusdem, see 6, b.
3. hic — this
Singular
Plural
M.
F.
N.
M.
F.
N.
Singular
M.
F.
N.
Nom.
hic
haec
hoc
Nom.
hī
hae
haec
Gen.
hujus
hujus
hujus
Gen.
hōrum
hārum
hōrum
Dat.
huic
huic
huic
Dat.
hīs
hīs
hīs
Acc.
hunc
hanc
hoc
Acc.
hōs
hās
haec
Abl.
hōc
hāc
hōc
Abl.
hīs
hīs
hīs
Plural
M.
F.
N.
a. For the pronunciation of hujus = hujjus, see 6, b.b. The full forms with ‑ce are rare in classical Latin, except in the phrase hujusce modīof this kind.c. Before a word beginning with a vowel or h, the masculine nominative singular hic and the neuter nominative/accusative singular hoc are usually pronounced as if spelled hicc, hocc, making these syllables long by position (15).
4. iste — that (of yours)
Singular
Plural
M.
F.
N.
M.
F.
N.
Singular
M.
F.
N.
Nom.
iste
ista
istud
Nom.
istī
istae
ista
Gen.
istīus
istīus
istīus
Gen.
istōrum
istārum
istōrum
Dat.
istī
istī
istī
Dat.
istīs
istīs
istīs
Acc.
istum
istam
istud
Acc.
istōs
istās
ista
Abl.
istō
istā
istō
Abl.
istīs
istīs
istīs
Plural
M.
F.
N.
a.Iste combines with ‑ce, but in classical Latin the only common forms are istuc (for istud) and istaec (for ista).
5. ille — that
Singular
Plural
M.
F.
N.
M.
F.
N.
Singular
M.
F.
N.
Nom.
ille
illa
illud
Nom.
illī
illae
illa
Gen.
illīus
illīus
illīus
Gen.
illōrum
illārum
illōrum
Dat.
illī
illī
illī
Dat.
illīs
illīs
illīs
Acc.
illum
illam
illud
Acc.
illōs
illās
illa
Abl.
illō
illā
illō
Abl.
illīs
illīs
illīs
Plural
M.
F.
N.
C. The Intensive Pronoun
An intensive pronoun emphasizes a noun or pronoun, singling it out as the very one meant — ‘himself’, ‘the very’; this is emphasis, not the reflexive’s reference back to the subject.
108. ipse — self
Singular
Plural
M.
F.
N.
M.
F.
N.
Singular
M.
F.
N.
Nom.
ipse
ipsa
ipsum
Nom.
ipsī
ipsae
ipsa
Gen.
ipsīus
ipsīus
ipsīus
Gen.
ipsōrum
ipsārum
ipsōrum
Dat.
ipsī
ipsī
ipsī
Dat.
ipsīs
ipsīs
ipsīs
Acc.
ipsum
ipsam
ipsum
Acc.
ipsōs
ipsās
ipsa
Abl.
ipsō
ipsā
ipsō
Abl.
ipsīs
ipsīs
ipsīs
Plural
M.
F.
N.
D. The Relative Pronoun
A relative pronoun introduces a clause that describes an earlier noun (its antecedent) — ‘who’, ‘which’, ‘that’.
109. quī — who
Singular
Plural
M.
F.
N.
M.
F.
N.
Singular
M.
F.
N.
Nom.
quī
quae
quod
Nom.
quī
quae
quae
Gen.
cujus
cujus
cujus
Gen.
quōrum
quārum
quōrum
Dat.
cui
cui
cui
Dat.
quibus
quibus
quibus
Acc.
quem
quam
quod
Acc.
quōs
quās
quae
Abl.
quō
quā
quō
Abl.
quibus
quibus
quibus
Plural
M.
F.
N.
a. For the pronunciation of cujus = cujjus, see 6, b.b.Quī may also be used as a relative adjective.c. The dative-ablative plural quīs is common in the poets at all periods and occurs occasionally in prose.d. The ablative singular quī for all genders is the prevailing early form; combined with cum, as quīcumwith whom, it is preferred to quō, quā by Cicero.
110.General Relatives are:
Pronoun
quisquiswhoever
quidquid, quicquidwhatever
Adjective
quīquī, quaequae, quodquodwhatsoever
quīcumque, quaecumque, quodcumquewhichever
E. The Interrogative Pronoun
An interrogative pronoun asks a question about a person or thing — ‘who?’, ‘what?’, ‘which?’.
Pronoun
quis?who?
quid?what?
Adjective
quī? quae? quod?
which?
Pron. & Adj.
uter? utra? utrum?
who? which of two?
111. Sg.
M., F.
N.
Nom.
quis?
quid?
Gen.
cujus?
cujus?
Dat.
cui?
cui?
Acc.
quem?
quid?
Abl.
quō?
quō?
a. The plural of the interrogative pronoun, and both numbers of the interrogative adjective, coincide with the relative quī, quae, quod.
112.F. Strengthened Interrogatives
Pronoun
quisnam?who, pray?
quidnam?what, pray?
ecquis?(is there) anyone?
ecquid?(is there) anything?
Adjective
quīnam? quaenam? quodnam?which, pray?
ecquī? ecqua? (ecquae?) ecquod?is there any?
113.G. The Indefinite Pronoun
An indefinite pronoun points at a person or thing without saying which — ‘someone’, ‘anyone’, ‘something’.
aliquis
aliqua (rare)
aliquidsomebody, someone or other, anybody
quis
qua
quidsomeone, anyone
a. The adjective forms are aliquī, aliqua, aliquodsome, any; quī, quae (qua), quodsome, any.
114. The declension of the pronominal adjectives has been given (73–74). They are: ūllus, ‑a, ‑umany; nūllus, ‑a, ‑umno one, not one; alius, a, udanother; alter, era, erumthe other, one (of two); neuter, tra, trumneither of two; ambō, ae, ōboth. The corresponding substantives (nouns) for nūllus and nūllum are nēmō and nihil, the latter forming only nihilī (gen.) and nihilō (abl.), and those only in certain combinations.
a.
Some important compounds of these adjectives:
nōnnūllus, ‑a, ‑umsome, many a (declined like nūllus).alteruter, alterutra, alterutrumthe one or the other of the two.uterque, utraque, utrumqueeach of two, either.utervīs, utravīs, utrumvīswhichever you please of the two.uterlibet, utralibet, utrumlibetwhichever you please of the two.
The Verb
115. The inflection given to the verbal stem is called conjugation and expresses:
1. Person: First, Second, Third.2. Voice: Active, Passive, Middle.a. The active voice denotes that the action proceeds from the subject: parōI prepare. The passive voice denotes that the subject receives the action: parorI am prepared. The middle voice has passive form and denotes the subject as acting for or upon itself (reflexive): parorI prepare (for) myself. This is chiefly a poetic usage.3. Tense: Present, Imperfect, Future, Perfect, Pluperfect, Future Perfect.4. Mood: Indicative, Subjunctive, Imperative.a. The indicative is the mood of fact: parōI prepare. The subjunctive is the mood of wish, command, or qualified statement: paremmay I prepare, I may prepare; paretmay he prepare, let him prepare; sī paretif he should prepare. The imperative is the mood of command: parāprepare!
Finite and Infinite Forms of the Verb
A Latin verb has two broad kinds of forms. Finite forms are limited (“finite”) by a personal ending: they fix the action to a person and number (I, you, he; we, you, they) and carry a tense, mood, and voice. Vocat, he calls, is finite — it has a built-in subject. These are the forms set out in the conjugation tables that follow.
The infinite forms (Pharr’s “infinite parts of the verb,” 117) are not limited in that way — “infinite” here means unbounded by person. Having no personal ending, they name no subject of their own. Instead each turns the verb into a noun or an adjective, while keeping the verb’s sense of action, tense, and voice. There are five:
A verb can become a noun in three ways. The infinitive names the action as a thing — English “to” plus a verb (amāre, to love). The gerund is the action treated as a declinable noun, like the English “-ing” noun in “the art of loving” (amandī, of loving). The supine is a rare noun surviving in just two forms, used to express purpose (‑um) or respect (‑ū).
A verb can become an adjective in two ways. The participle describes a noun while keeping the verb’s action and time — a verbal adjective (amāns, loving; amātus, having been loved). The gerundive is a verbal adjective of obligation — what ought to be done (amandus, to be loved).
Each of these is built on one of the three stems given in 116, and each agrees or is used according to its kind: the noun-forms take cases, the adjective-forms agree with a noun in gender, number, and case.
Conjugation
116. The stem of a verb is variously modified, by change of vowel or addition of suffixes, and appears in these forms:
1. The Present Stem: stem of the present, imperfect, and future tenses — the present system.2. The Perfect Stem: stem of the perfect, pluperfect, and future perfect active — the perfect system.3. The Perfect Passive Participial Stem: used to form the perfect, pluperfect, and future perfect passive, and also the future active and perfect passive participles, infinitives, and the supine — the participial system.
117. 1. The perfect, pluperfect, and future perfect passive are formed by combining the perfect passive participle with forms of sumbe, exist.
2. The future passive infinitive is formed by combining the supine with the present passive infinitive of eōgo.3. The infinite parts of the verb are formed by adding the following endings to the present, perfect, or participial stem:
Pres. prōdesse; Fut. prōfutūrum esse (prōfore); Perf. prōfuisse
125.Possumbe able, can. Possum is compounded of pot (potis, pote) and sum; t becomes s before s. The perfect forms and present participle are from an old form poteō, potēre.
126. 1. There are two systems of conjugation, the vowel and the consonant. The consonant system is confined to a small class. The vowel system comprises four conjugations, distinguished by the vowel characteristics of the present stem — ā, ē, e, ī — found by dropping re from the present infinitive active. The consonant before the short vowel stem characteristic is the consonant stem characteristic.
2. From the present stem (present indicative and infinitive active), the perfect stem (perfect indicative active), and the perfect passive participial stem, all forms of the verb can be derived. These are the principal parts, appearing in the four conjugations thus:
Pres. Ind.
Pres. Inf.
Perf. Ind.
Perf. Part.
I
parō
parāre
parāvī
parātusprepare
II
habeō
habēre
habuī
habitushave
III
dīcō
dīcere
dīxī
dictussay
III (-iō)
capiō
capere
cēpī
captustake
IV
audiō
audīre
audīvī
audītushear
Formation of the Tenses
127. The tenses are formed by adding the personal endings to the various stems, either directly or by means of certain tense signs, as shown in the paradigms.
128. While no fully practical rules can be given, observe that:
1. The second person singular imperative active is the same as the present stem.2. The imperfect subjunctive may be formed from the present infinitive active by adding ‑m, etc. (active) and ‑r, etc. (passive).3. The second person singular imperative passive, and the second person singular present passive in ‑re, are the same as the present infinitive active. Hence ‑ris is preferred in the present indicative passive, to avoid confusion.4. The present subjunctive active and future indicative active in the third and fourth conjugations are alike in the first person singular.5. The future perfect indicative active and the perfect subjunctive active differ only in the first person singular, except for the quantity of the i.6. Euphonic changes sometimes occur in the consonant stem characteristic in the perfect and participial stem. b before s and t becomes p; g and qu before t become c; c, g, qu with s become x; t and d before s are assimilated, then sometimes dropped: scrībō, scrīpsī, scrīptus; legō, lēctus; coquō, coctus; dīcō, dīxī; jungō, jūnxī; coquō, coxī; edō, ēsus; cēdō, cessī; mittō, mīsī, missus.
First Conjugation
Conjugation of parōprepare. Principal Parts: parō, parāre, parāvī, parātus. Active.
Gen. dīcendī; Supine dictum, dictū; Gerundive dīcendus, ‑a, ‑um
Verbs in -iō of the Third Conjugation
161. Many third-conjugation verbs with present indicative in iō change i to e before r, and drop it when it would come before e or i, in all tenses of the present system except the future, participle, and gerund. Otherwise they follow dīcere.
162. These verbs are capiōtake, cupiōdesire, faciōdo, make, fodiōdig, fugiōflee, jaciōthrow, pariōproduce, bear, quatiōshake, rapiōsnatch, sapiōbe wise, and their compounds; also compounds of ‑liciō, ‑spiciō; and the deponents gradiorgo, moriordie, patiorendure, suffer, and their compounds.
Synopsis of the present system of capiōtake (Principal Parts: capiō, capere, cēpī, captus):
Gen. audiendī; Supine audītum, audītū; Gerundive audiendus, ‑a, ‑um
Deponent Verbs
182.Deponent verbs have passive form but active meaning. They also have the present and future active participles and the future active infinitive. Thus a deponent verb alone can have a present, future, and perfect participle, all with active meaning. The gerundive, however, is passive in meaning as well as form. The conjugation differs in no way from the regular conjugation. It looks passive but means something active. Read moror as “I delay,” not “I am delayed.”
I. First Conjugation — moror, delay (moror, morārī, morātus)
183.Indicative
184.Subjunctive
Present
183.Indicative
Pres. ind.
sg.
pl.
1
moror
morāmur
2
morāris, ‑re
morāminī
3
morātur
morantur
184.Subjunctive
Pres. subj.
sg.
pl.
1
morer
morēmur
2
morēris, ‑re
morēminī
3
morētur
morentur
Imperfect
183.Indicative
Imperf. ind.
sg.
pl.
1
morābar
morābāmur
2
morābāris, ‑re
morābāminī
3
morābātur
morābantur
184.Subjunctive
Imperf. subj.
sg.
pl.
1
morārer
morārēmur
2
morārēris, ‑re
morārēminī
3
morārētur
morārentur
Future
183.Indicative
Fut.
sg.
pl.
1
morābor
morābimur
2
morāberis, ‑re
morābiminī
3
morābitur
morābuntur
Perfect system (participle + sum) — active in meaning
Perf.
I have delayed
Ind. morātus, ‑a, ‑um sum, es, est (pl. morātī, ‑ae, ‑a sumus…); Subj. morātus sim…
199. The periphrastic conjugation arises from combining the future active participle and the passive (the gerundive) with forms of sum.
a. The active periphrastic denotes something about to take place.b. The passive periphrastic denotes necessity or duty.
200. Active
Indicative
Subjunctive
Pres.
parātūrus (‑a, ‑um) sumam about to prepare
parātūrus sim
Imperf.
parātūrus eramwas about to prepare
parātūrus essem
Fut.
parātūrus erōshall be about to prepare
Perf.
parātūrus fuīhave been, was, about to prepare
parātūrus fuerim
Pluperf.
parātūrus fueramhad been about to prepare
parātūrus fuissem
Fut. perf.
parātūrus fuerōshall have been about to prepare
Inf.
Pres. parātūrus (‑a, ‑um) esse; Perf. parātūrus (‑a, ‑um) fuisse
201. Passive
Indicative
Subjunctive
Pres.
parandus (‑a, ‑um) sumhave to be / must be prepared
parandus sim
Imperf.
parandus eramhad to be prepared
parandus essem, forem
Fut.
parandus erōshall have to be prepared
Perf.
parandus fuīhave had to be prepared
parandus fuerim
Pluperf.
parandus fueramhad had to be prepared
parandus fuissem
Fut. perf.
parandus fuerōshall have had to be prepared
Inf.
Pres. parandus (‑a, ‑um) esse; Perf. parandus fuisse
202.Irregular Imperatives. Four verbs — dīcōsay, dūcōlead, faciōdo, make, ferōbear — form the present imperative active dīc, dūc, fac, fer. In early Latin dīce, dūce, face are common. Compounds follow the simple verbs, except prepositional compounds of faciō. Sciōknow lacks the present imperative scī.
203.Gerunds and Gerundives. The older ending of the gerund and gerundive in the third and fourth conjugations was ‑undus; ‑endus was found only after u. In classical times ‑undus is frequent, especially in third- and fourth-conjugation verbs; later, ‑endus is the regular form.
204.Syncopated and Shorter Forms. 1. The perfects in ‑āvī, ‑ēvī, ‑īvī often drop the v before s or r and contract the vowels throughout (those in ‑īvī admit the contraction only before s). These are called syncopated forms; they occur in all periods, and the poets use them to suit the meter.
I conj.
IV conj.
Perf. ind.
parāvistī, parāstī
audīvistī, audīstī
parāvistis, parāstis
audīvistis, audīstis
parāvērunt, parārunt
audīvērunt, audiērunt
Subj.
parāverim, parārim
audīverim, audierim
Pluperf.
parāveram, parāram
audīveram, audieram
Subj.
parāvissem, parāssem
audīvissem, audīssem
Fut. perf.
parāverō, parārō
audīverō, audierō
Inf. perf.
parāvisse, parāsse
audīvisse, audīsse
2. In the first and third persons singular and the first person plural of the perfect, syncope occurs regularly only in perfects in ‑īvī, with no contraction. It is most common in the perfects of eōgo and petōseek.3. nōvīI know and mōvīI have moved are also contracted, especially in compounds: nōstī, nōstis, nōrunt; subj. nōrim; pluperf. nōram; subj. nōssem; inf. nōsse. The future perfect nōrō is found only in compounds.4. The shorter perfect endings ‑ēre for ‑ērunt (3 pl.) and ‑re for ‑ris (2 sg.) are often found: amāvēre = amāvēruntthey have loved; amābāre = amābārisyou were loved.
Semideponents
205. A few verbs form the perfect forms only as deponents:
audeō, audēre, ausus sum
dare
fīdō, fīdere, fīsus sum
trust
gaudeō, gaudēre, gāvīsus sum
rejoice
soleō, solēre, solitus sum
be accustomed
205a. Defective Verbs
A defective verb is one that lacks a part of its conjugation, being used only in certain forms. The principal parts that each verb has are given below; a dash marks a part wholly wanting.
Present
Infinitive
Perfect
Participle
coepībegin
—
—
coepī
coeptus
meminīremember
—
meminisse
meminī
—
ōdīhate
—
—
ōdī
ōsus
inquamsay
inquam
—
inquiī(rare)
—
aiōsay, affirm
aiō
—
—
—
forspeak
for
fārī
fātus sum
fātus
1.Meminī and ōdī are perfect in form but present in meaning; their pluperfect serves as imperfect, their future perfect as future. Coepī is supplied in the present system by incipiō.2.Inquam is used chiefly in quoting direct speech; its commonest forms are inquam, inquit, inquiunt. Aiō lacks the perfect system and most of the passive, the forms in use being chiefly aiō, ais, ait, aiunt.3.For, fārī, fātus sum is poetic, occurring only in scattered forms, as fātur, fābor, fandī, fātus.4. A few imperatives stand almost alone: salvēhail, avē (havē) hail, farewell, cedogive here, tell, apageaway with you; and quaesōI beg survives mainly in quaesō, quaesumus.
Irregular Verbs
206. Irregular in the conjugation of the present stem are:
1. orior, orīrī, ortus — arise
The present indicative is usually formed by the third conjugation; the imperfect subjunctive is always orerer; but the future participle is oritūrus. The compounds follow the same usage except adorīrīrise up at, attack, which follows the fourth conjugation.
2. eō, īre, īvī (iī), itus — go
The stem is ī, which before a, o, u becomes e.
Synopsis (1st sg.)
Tense
207.Indicative
208.Subjunctive
Pres.
eōI go (īs, it, īmus, ītis, eunt)
eam (eās, eat…)
Imperf.
ībamI went
īrem
Fut.
ībōI shall go
—
Perf.
īvī (‑iī)I have gone
īverim (ierim)
Pluperf.
īveram (ieram)I had gone
īvissem (īssem)
Infinite forms
Forms
209.Imv.
Pres. īgo, īte; Fut. ītō, ītō, ītōte, euntō
210.Inf.
Pres. īre; Fut. itūrus esse; Perf. īvisse (īsse)
211.Part.
Pres. iēns (gen. euntis); Fut. itūrus
212.Gerund
eundī; 213.Supine itumto go
a. Like the simple verb are inflected most compounds, except in the perfect system, where iī is regular. Vēneōbe for sale and pereōperish serve as passives to vēndōsell and perdōdestroy. Ambiōsolicit follows the fourth conjugation throughout.b. The passive of the simple verb eō is found only in impersonal forms ītur, ībātur, itum est, īrī (with the supine). But compounds with transitive force are conjugated regularly: praetereō forms praetereor, īris, ītur…
3. ferō, ferre, tulī, lātus — bear
The endings beginning with t, s, and r are added directly to the root fer. Some forms are lacking and are supplied by tul and (t)lā.
227.Fīō is conjugated in the present, imperfect, and future by the fourth conjugation, but in the imperfect subjunctive and the infinitive the stem is increased by e: fierem, fierīto become. In these forms i is short; elsewhere it is long, except before final t. The infinitive ends in ‑rī, and the whole verb in the present system is treated as the passive of faciō (161–171). The rest is formed as a regular passive of faciō.
228.
Forms
Pres. ind.
fīō, fīs, fit, fīmus, fītis, fīunt
Subj. fīam, fīās, fīat…
Imperf.
fīēbamI was made, became
Subj. fierem, fierēs…
Fut.
fīam
Perf.
factus sum
Subj. factus sim
Pluperf.
factus eram
Subj. factus essem
Fut. perf.
factus erō
Imv.
(fī) (fītō) (fītō)
Inf.
Pres. fierīto become; Perf. factus esse; Fut. factum īrī
229. When compounded with prepositions, faciō changes the a of the stem to i and forms the passive regularly from the same stem: perficiōachieve, passive perficior; interficiōdestroy, passive interficior. When compounded with non-prepositions, faciō keeps its a and uses fīō as its passive: patefaciōlay open, passive patefīō; calefaciōwarm, passive calefīō.
230. volō, nōlō, mālō — wish, be unwilling, prefer
236. A verb agrees with its subject in number and person: ego vocō, I call; tū vocās, you call.
a. A collective noun may take its predicate (everything the sentence says about the subject, here the verb) in the plural: pars veniunt, part come.b. The nearer subject is preferred to the more remote: mīlitēs et dux vēnit, the leader and his troops came.c. The copula (the linking verb, e.g. est) may agree in number with the predicate noun (a noun joined to the subject by a linking verb such as est, standing in the same case): amantium īrae amōris integrātiō est, lovers’ quarrels are love’s renewal. Compare “the wages of sin is death.”
237. The adjective agrees with its noun in gender, number, and case: tālis vir, such a man; tālēs virī, such men; tālia dōna, such gifts.
238. The common attribute of two or more nouns generally agrees with the nearest, rather than the most important: cūncta maria terraeque patēbant, all seas and lands lay open.
239. The common predicate attribute of two or more subjects is usually plural: pater et māter mortuī sunt, father and mother are dead; but may agree with the nearest or most important: Caesar mortuus est et Jūlia, Caesar is dead, and Julia also.
a. When the subjects differ in person, the predicate takes the first in preference to the second, the second in preference to the third.b. When the subjects differ in gender, the predicate attribute takes the nearest gender or the strongest (masculine being strongest of things with life, neuter of those without): pater et māter mortuī sunt, father and mother are dead; mūrus et porta dē caelō tācta erant, wall and gate had been struck by lightning.
240. The predicate substantive (noun) agrees with its subject in case: ille vir erat dux, that man was leader.
a. The pronoun used as subject is commonly attracted into the gender of the predicate: negat Epicūrus; hoc enim vestrum lūmen est, Epicurus says No; for he is your great light!
241. The appositive (a noun set beside another that names the same thing, standing in the same case) agrees with its subject in case; if possible, also in number and person: Aenēās, pius dux, Aeneas, the devoted leader; Aenēās et Dīdō, superbī ducēs, Aeneas and Dido, proud leaders.
242. The relative pronoun agrees with its antecedent in gender, number, and person: vir quī adest, the man who is present; dōna quae adsunt, the gifts which are here; ego quī hoc dīcō, I who say this.
a. Occasionally the antecedent is attracted into the case of the relative: urbem quam statuō vestra est, the city which I am founding is yours.
243.Poetic Plural. The plural is often used for the singular, especially in poetry, to generalize, for metrical reasons, or for rhetorical effect: īrae, wrath, wrathful passions; fortitūdinēs, gallant actions; ōra, face, features; scēptra, scepter; silentia, silence.
a.Plural of Modesty. The plural of the first person is sometimes used for the singular: dīximus multa, we (I) have spoken much. Similarly nōs in all its cases for ego, and noster in all its forms for meus. In English this is sometimes called the “editorial we.”
244.Disproportion is indicated by the comparative with quam prōthan for, quam utthan that, quam quīthan who: minor caedēs quam prō tantā victōriā fuit, the loss was (too) small for so great a victory; major sum quam cui fortūna nocēre possit, I am too great for fortune possibly to hurt me.
245. In comparing two qualities, use either magis quam with the positive — disertus magis est quam sapiēns, he is eloquent rather than wise — or a double comparative: acūtiōrem sē quam ōrnātiōrem vult, he wishes to be acute rather than ornate.
246. Superlatives denoting order and sequence are often used partitively, usually preceding their nouns: summa aqua, the surface of the water; summus mōns, the top of the mountain; prīmō vēre, in the beginning of spring. Similarly in mediā urbe, in the midst of the city; reliqua, cētera Graecia, the rest of Greece.
Pronouns
247. Since the verb form indicates its person, the nominative of the personal pronouns is used only for emphasis or contrast: ego rēgēs ējēcī, vōs tyrannōs intrōdūxistī, I drove out kings; you bring in tyrants.
a. The forms meī, tuī, nostrī, vestrī are used as objective genitives; nostrum and vestrum as partitive genitives (284, 286).
248. The reflexive is used regularly when reference is made to the grammatical subject: ipse sē quisque dīligit, quod sibi quisque cārus est, every one loves himself, because every one is dear to himself.
a. The reflexive is sometimes used of the logical subject: ferunt sua flāmina classem, their own (favorable) breezes waft the fleet.b. The reflexive is used of the principal subject when reference is made to its thought or will, especially in indirect discourse or substantive volitive clauses (clauses of desire): sentit animus sē vī suā movērī, the mind feels that it moves by its own force; ā mē petīvit ut sēcum essem, he asked me to be with him.
249. The possessive adjective is used instead of the genitive of the first- and second-person pronouns: socius meus, a comrade of mine; tēlum tuum, a weapon of yours; amor meus, my love (which I feel); spēs tua, your hope (which you have).
a. The appositive to a possessive adjective is in the genitive: urbs mea ūnīus operā fuit salva, the city was saved by my exertions alone.
Adjectives for Adverbs
250. With words of inclination and disinclination, knowledge and ignorance, order and position, time and season, the adjective is commonly used for the adverb: id faciō volēns, I do this willing(ly).
Special Use of Moods
The English subjunctive is still in there
Latin’s subjunctive mood handles wishes, hypotheticals, and “would/might” situations — the things not simply being stated as fact, which is the job of the indicative. English does the same, but its subjunctive has worn down to a few odd-looking verb forms. Compare:
Indicative (fact)
Subjunctive (not a fact)
He is here.
I wish he were here.
She is told first.
I insist that she be told first.
It was so.
Would that it were so.
I was you. (ungrammatical)
If I were you…
Each right-hand form veers off the ordinary one to mark something wished-for or hypothetical. Latin marks that same swerve far more often, and with its own endings — so as the sections below pile up may, might, should, would, read them as this swerve away from fact, not as random word choices.
The mood also gets pulled into many subordinate clauses, and that is where its name comes from: subjunctive is literally “joined-underneath” (sub‑ + iungō), the mood of the clause hanging under a main verb. So when a cum clause or an indirect question turns subjunctive, it isn’t always signaling unreality — sometimes it’s just marking “this clause is subordinate.”
251. The Indicative, not the subjunctive, is commonly used to express possibility, power, obligation, and necessity: possum persequī permulta oblectāmenta rērum rūsticārum, I might rehearse very many delights of country life; ad mortem tē dūcī oportēbat, you ought to have been led to execution.
252.The Potential Subjunctive. The present or perfect subjunctive may express possibility in present or future: tē superesse velim, I should like for you to survive; Platōnem nōn nimis valdē laudāverīs, you can’t praise Plato too much; the imperfect subjunctive expresses past possibility: crēderēs victōs, you would (might) have thought them beaten.
253.The Optative Subjunctive. The subjunctive, sometimes with utinamwould that, is often used to express a wish. The negative is nē: valeās, farewell!; nē veniant, may they not come!; utinam nē nātus essem, would that I had not been born!; utinam vīveret frāter, would that my brother were alive!
254.The Volitive Subjunctive. The subjunctive may express will, asseveration, command, or concession: stet haec urbs, may this city continue to stand; moriar sī magis gaudērem, may I die if I could be more glad; amēmus patriam, let us love our country; sit deus, granted that he is a god. This subjunctive is often called jussive, hortatory, or concessive, according as it expresses a command, an exhortation, or a concession.
255. The present imperative looks to immediate, the future imperative to contingent, fulfillment: haec dīcite vestrō rēgī, tell this to your king; cōnsulēs nēminī pārentō, the consuls shall obey no one.
256. The negative of the imperative is regularly nōlī with the infinitive: nōlī fugere, don’t flee!; sometimes nē or cavē (nē) with the present or perfect subjunctive: cavē (nē) faciās, don’t do it!; nē mortem timeās (or timuerītis), don’t fear death!
a. In poetry nē is often found with the imperative: nē timē, fear not!; nē fuge, don’t run!
Infinitives
257.The Historical Infinitive. The present infinitive, with subject in the nominative, is sometimes used for a rapid sequence of events: hinc Ulixēs terrēre, henceforth Ulysses began to frighten (me).
258.The Infinitive as Neuter Subject. The infinitive, with or without a subject, may be treated as a neuter subject, object, or predicate: dulce et decōrum est prō patriā morī, it is sweet and glorious to die for one’s fatherland; turpe est vincī, it is shameful to be conquered; scit vincere, he knows how to conquer; vīvere est cōgitāre, to live is to think.
259.The Complementary Infinitive. The infinitive is used with verbs of will, desire, power, duty, habit, inclination, resolve, continuance, purpose, etc.: cupit morī, he wishes to die; dēbet haec vulnera patī, he ought to suffer these wounds.
260.The Infinitive as Object. The accusative with infinitive is used as the object of verbs of emotion, will, and desire: tē vēnisse gaudeō, I rejoice that you have come; mē dīcere vult, he wishes me to speak.
261.The Infinitive of Purpose. In poetry the infinitive often expresses purpose: nōn populāre vēnimus, we have not come to pillage.
262.The Infinitive of Exclamation. The infinitive with accusative subject is used in exclamation or exclamatory questions: mē dēsistere, what! I desist?
263.The Infinitive of Indirect Statement (Indirect Discourse). The infinitive is used after verbs of saying, showing, believing, and perceiving to express an indirect statement. The present infinitive expresses action contemporary with the governing verb; the perfect, action prior to it; the future, action later: dīcit tē errāre, he says that you are wrong; dīcēbat tē errāre, he was saying that you were wrong; dīcēbat tē errāsse, he was saying that you had been wrong.
a. The future infinitive of sum followed by ut and the subjunctive is used in indirect statement of future action when the verb has no future participle: dīcit fore (futūrum esse) ut metuās, he says that you will fear.
264.The Infinitive with Nouns. The poets and later prose writers use the infinitive with nouns of attention or opportunity: amor cāsūs cognōscere nostrōs, desire to know our misfortunes; adfectāre potestās, opportunity to seize.
265.The Infinitive with Adjectives. The infinitive is used with many adjectives and with participles of adjectival force: nescia vincī pectora, hearts not knowing how to yield; certa morī, determined to die.
Gerunds and Gerundives
266. The genitive of the gerund or gerundive is used chiefly after nouns and adjectives that require a complement: sapientia ars vīvendī putanda est, philosophy is to be considered the art of living; nūlla spēs plācandī deī, no hope of appeasing god; cupidus maledīcendī, eager to abuse.
267. The dative of the gerund or gerundive is used mainly in post-classical Latin after words of fitness and function, capacity and adaptation, and to express purpose: tēla apta mittendō, weapons suitable for hurling; comitia cōnsulibus creandīs, elections for nominating consuls.
268. The accusative of the gerund or gerundive is used with ad to express purpose: ad bellandum vēnimus, we come to make war.
a. The accusative of the gerundive agrees with the direct object of verbs of giving, sending, and leaving, to indicate purpose: id mihi servandum dedit, he gave it to me to keep; Cōnōn mūrōs reficiendōs cūrat, Conon has the walls rebuilt; patriam dīripiendam relīquimus, we have left our country to be plundered.
269. The ablative of the gerund or gerundive denotes means and cause, rarely manner: ūnus homō nōbīs cūnctandō restituit rem, one man by delaying raised our cause again.
Supines
270. The supine in ‑um (accusative) is used chiefly after verbs of motion to express purpose: veniunt spectātum, they come to see.
271. The supine in ‑ū (ablative) is used chiefly with adjectives to indicate respect: mīrābile dictū, wonderful to relate; mīrābile vīsū, wonderful to see.
Participles
272.The Present Participle denotes continuance; the perfect participle denotes completion at the time of the principal verb.
273. The participle is used after verbs of perception and representation to express the object’s actual condition at the time: Catōnem vīdī in bibliothēcā sedentem multīs circumfūsum librīs, I saw Cato sitting in the library with an ocean of books about him; illam audīvī furtīvā vōce loquentem, I heard her talking in a stealthy tone.
274.The Future Participle is used in poetry and occasionally in prose to express desire or purpose: fabricāta est māchina īnspectūra domōs ventūraque dēsuper urbī, it has been built as an engine of war, to spy into our homes and come down upon the city from above.
275.The Perfect Participle passive is used after verbs of causation and desire, to denote that entire fulfillment is demanded or desired: sī quī voluptātibus dūcuntur, missōs faciant honōrēs, if any are led captive by sensual pleasures, let them give up honors (at once and forever).
Cases
Nominative
276. The subject of a finite verb is in the nominative: urbs stat, the city is standing.
277. The subject of a historical infinitive is in the nominative: Ulixēs terrēre, Ulysses began to terrorize (me).
278. The predicate of a finite form of sum, or of a verb of seeming or becoming, or of the passive of a verb of making, choosing, showing, thinking, or calling, is in the nominative: pater est rēx, his father is king; pater fit rēx, his father becomes king; pater vocātur rēx, his father is called king.
279. When an active verb of saying, showing, believing, or perceiving is made passive, the accusative subject of the infinitive may become the nominative subject of the leading verb: urbs dīcitur magna fuisse, the city is said to have been great. Compare dīcunt urbem fuisse magnam, they say that the city was great.
Genitive
280.Genitive of Material. The genitive may denote the material of which a thing consists: flūmina lactis, rivers of milk. see 324 for the ablative of material.
281.The Appositional Genitive is used with vōx, nōmen, verbum, rēs, urbs, etc.: nōmen amīcitiae, the name of friendship; urbem Patavī, the city of Patavium.
282.The Epexegetical Genitive (genitive of explanation) is used after genus, vitium, culpa, etc.: virtūtēs continentiae, gravitātis, jūstitiae, fideī, the virtues of self-control, earnestness, justice, honor.
283.The Possessive Genitive denotes possession: domus rēgis, the palace of the king, the king’s palace.
284.The Subjective Genitive denotes the subject of the action; the Objective Genitive denotes its object: metus hostium, the fear of the enemy — either (1) the fear the enemy feel (subjective), or (2) the fear felt toward the enemy (objective). Examples: cupīdō glōriae, desire for glory; tempestātum potentem, ruling the storms; memorem vestrī, oblītum suī, mindful of you, forgetful of himself.
285.Genitive of Quality. The genitive with an adjective may describe a person or thing: homō maximī corporis, a man of gigantic size. Compare the ablative of quality (330).
a. The genitive of quality or the possessive genitive may be used as a predicate: id virtūtis est, that is a mark of virtue; hujus erō vīvus, mortuus hujus erō, hers I shall be living; dead, hers shall I be; haec domus est patris meī, this house is my father’s.
286.The Partitive Genitive stands for the whole to which a part belongs: pars hominum, part of the men; maximus omnium, greatest of all.
287.Genitive with Special Adjectives and Verbs. Adjectives and verbs of fullness and want, knowledge and ignorance, desire and disgust, participation and power may take the genitive: plēnus labōris, full of toil; egēnus omnium, in need of everything; cōnscius rēctī, conscious of right; ignārus malī, ignorant of misfortune; cupidus aurī, desirous of gold; dīligēns vērī, careful (a lover) of the truth; capāx imperī, capable of empire; implentur veteris Bacchī, they fill themselves with old wine.
288.Genitive with Verbs. Verbs of reminding, remembering, and forgetting usually take the genitive: meminit malōrum, oblītus est bonōrum, he remembers the evil, forgets the good.
a. Sometimes these verbs take the accusative, especially of things: haec ōlim meminisse juvābit, to remember these things will one day be a pleasure.
289.Verbs of Emotion take the genitive: miserēre animī nōn digna ferentis, pity a soul enduring what it does not deserve.
290. Impersonal verbs (verbs used only in the third-person singular with no real subject, like English ‘it rains’ or ‘it is allowed’) of emotion take the accusative of the person who feels and the genitive of the exciting cause: tuī mē miseret, meī piget, I pity you, I loathe myself.
291. Verbs of accusing, convicting, condemning, and acquitting take the genitive of the charge: accūsātus est prōditiōnis, he was accused of treason; damnātus est caedis, he was convicted of murder; absolūtus est crīminis, he was acquitted of the charge.
292.Genitive of Value. Verbs of rating and buying take the genitive of general value: parvī existimāre, to consider of small account; ēmit equōs tantī quantī Caesar voluit, he bought the horses at the price Caesar wanted.
293.Interest and rēfert take the genitive of the person, rarely of the thing, concerned: interest omnium rēctē facere, it is to the interest of all to do right; rēfert omnium, it concerns everybody.
a. Sometimes the ablative singular feminine of the possessive adjective is used: meā interest, meā rēfert, I am concerned.
294.Genitive of Respect. The genitive is used with various adjectives to denote the respect in which a thing is true: aeger animī, sick at heart.
Dative
295.The Indirect Object is put in the dative: aurum hominī dat, he gives gold to the man.
296. Some verbs of giving take either the dative and accusative, or the accusative and ablative: hominī aurum dōnat, he presents the gold to the man; hominem aurō dōnat, he presents the man with gold.
297.Dative with Special Verbs. Many verbs meaning favor, help, trust, bid and forbid, believe, persuade, obey, serve, threaten, pardon, spare, join, and contend take the dative: invideō nēminī, I envy no one; cēdit fortūnae, he yields to fortune; id mihi placet, that pleases me; pārēmus ducī, we obey our leader; crēdit hominī, he trusts the man.
298.Dative with Compounds. Many intransitive verbs compounded with ad, ante, con, in, inter, ob, post, prae, sub, and super may take a dative: accēdō equō, I approach the horse; antecellit omnibus, he excels all; nox incubat marī, night broods over the sea; piger ipse sibi obstat, the lazy man stands in his own way.
a. Transitive verbs so compounded also take an accusative: mē vestrīs ōrīs deus appulit, god drove me to your shores.
299.Dative of Possession. The dative is used with esse to denote possession: est ager nōbīs, we have a field.
300.The Ethical Dative is used only of the personal pronouns: ecce tibi homō, here’s your man!; tibi bellum geret, he shall wage war (for you, let me tell you).
301.The Dative of Reference is used of the person interested or concerned, or to whom a statement is referred: deō altāria fūmant, the altars smoke in honor of the god; pulchra est multīs, she is beautiful to many (in the eyes of many); est urbe ēgressīs tumulus, as you go out of town there is a mound. Also called the dative of interest, advantage, and disadvantage.
302.The Dative of Agent is used with a passive verb, especially the gerundive: id faciendum mihi, this must be done by me, I must do this; vetor fātīs, I am forbidden by the fates; urbs capta est mihi, the city was captured by me.
303.Dative of Purpose. The dative may denote the object for which (purpose): pars optāre locum tēctō, part were choosing a site for a home.
a. The dative of purpose is often combined with the dative of reference (301): auxiliō iīs fuit, he was a help to them; id erit cūrae mihi, that shall be my care.
304.Dative with Adjectives. Adjectives of friendliness, fullness, likeness, nearness, and their opposites take the dative: similis est hominī, he is like a man; homō amīcus est mihi, the man is friendly to me; id erit ūtile omnibus, this will be useful to all; proximus sum egomet mihi, myself am nearest to me.
305.Dative of Separation. Many verbs of warding off, robbing, ridding, depriving, and separation take a dative, especially in poetry: ēripiēs mihi hunc errōrem, you will rid me of this mistake; silicī scintillam excūdit, he strikes a spark from the flint.
306.Dative of Direction. In poetry the place to which, or limit of motion, is often expressed by the dative: it clāmor caelō, a shout goes to heaven; multōs dēmittimus Orcō, we send many to Hades.
Accusative
307.The Direct Object of active transitive verbs is in the accusative and may denote the object effected or affected: bellum gerunt, they wage war; condidit urbem, he founds the city; capit urbem, he captures the city; rēx dūcit hominēs, the king leads the men.
308.Accusative with Compounds. Many intransitive verbs, mostly of motion, compounded with ad, ante, circum, con, in, inter, ob, per, praeter, sub, subter, super, and trāns take the accusative: adit urbem, he approaches the city; poenam subit, he submits to punishment.
a. Transitive verbs thus compounded may have two accusatives: exercitum flūmen trājēcit, he threw his army across the river.
309. In poetry the passive is often used in a reflexive or middle sense: fertur in hostīs, he charges upon the enemy.
a. So used, the verb may take an accusative as direct object: ferrum cingitur, he girds on the steel; sinūs collēcta, having gathered her robes; tūnsae pectora, beating their breasts; īnsternor umerōs, I spread over my shoulders.
310. The accusative and ablative of certain adjectives are used adverbially: multum jactātus, much tossed; prīmō, at first. see 93–94.
311.Accusative of Respect. In poetry the accusative often denotes the part concerned: nūda genū, with knee bare; ōs umerōsque deō similis, like a god in face and shoulders.
312.Accusative with Prepositions. The accusative is used with many prepositions (little words placed before a noun to show a relation such as place or direction, like English ‘to’ or ‘with’), the most important being:
ante, apud, ad, adversum circum, cis, ob, trāns, secundum penes, pōne, prope, per post, and all in ‑ā and ‑ter.footnote
313.Cognate Accusative. Intransitive verbs may take an accusative of similar form or meaning: dum vītam vīvās, as long as you live; somnium somniāvī, I dreamed a dream.
314.Accusative of Extent. The accusative may express extent in space, time, or degree: tumulum centum pedēs altum, a mound one hundred feet high; fuit rēx decem annōs, he was king ten years; sī mē amās tantum quantum tē amō, if you love me as I love you.
315.Place Whither (place to which) is regularly denoted by the accusative with ad or in: vēnit ad Ītaliam, he came to Italy.
a. The names of towns, small islands, domus, and rūs do not ordinarily take the preposition: vēnit Rōmam, he came to Rome; pater, venī domum, father, come home!; fugiunt rūs, they flee to the country.b. In poetry the preposition is often omitted: Ītaliam Lāvīnaque vēnit lītora, he came to Italy and the Lavinian shores.
316.Two Accusatives. Verbs meaning to inquire, require, teach, and conceal take two accusatives, one of the person, one of the thing: quis tē illud docuit, who taught you that?; Mīlēsiōs nāvem poposcit, he demanded a ship of the Milesians; quid mē istud rogās, why do you ask me that?
a. Verbs of naming, making, taking, choosing, and showing take two accusatives of the same person or thing: vocant urbem Rōmam, they call the city Rome; illum rēgem faciunt, they make him king.
317.The Subject of the Infinitive is regularly in the accusative: vult mē dīcere, he wishes me to speak.
a. A predicate noun in such an infinitive phrase agrees with the subject: volunt eum rēgem esse, they wish him to be king.
318.Accusative of Exclamation. The accusative may be used in exclamations: mē miserum, poor me!; prō deum fidem, for heaven’s sake!
Ablative
319.Place Where is denoted by the ablative, usually with in: in altō et in terrīs, on sea and on land.
a. With names of towns and small islands the locative expresses place where: Rōmae, at Rome. see 345.b. In poetry the preposition is often omitted: terrā marīque, on land and sea; Ītaliā, in Italy; lītore, on the shore; pectore, in his heart.
320.Place Whence is denoted by the ablative, usually with ex, dē, or ab: ex marī, out of the sea.
a. With names of towns, small islands, domōfrom home, and rūrefrom the country, the preposition is regularly omitted: Karthāgine, from Carthage.b. In poetry the preposition is often omitted: venit (ex) Ītaliā, he comes from Italy.
321.Ablative of Accompaniment. Accompaniment is denoted by the ablative with cum: venit cum sociīs, he comes with his comrades.
a. With mē, tē, sē, nōbīs, vōbīs, quō, quā, quibus the preposition cum is regularly appended: mēcum, with me; tēcum, with you; sēcum, with him(self), with them(selves).
322.Time When or Within Which is denoted by the ablative: urbem cēpit nocte, he captured the city at night; nocte pluit tōtā, it rains all night.
323.Origin (source or descent) is denoted by the ablative with or without ex or dē: nātus deā, born of a goddess; ex mē atque ex hōc nātus es, you are his son and mine.
324.Ablative of Material. Material is denoted by the ablative, usually with ex: domus facta ex saxō, ex ferrō, a house made of stone, of iron; aere clipeus, a shield of bronze. see 280 for the genitive of material.
325.Ablative of Respect. The respect in which a verb, adjective, or noun is to be taken is denoted by the ablative: sunt quīdam hominēs nōn rē sed nōmine, some people are human beings not in fact but in name only.
326.Ablative of Accordance. The ablative, usually with dē or ex, expresses that in accordance with which a thing is done or judged: ex senātūs cōnsultō, in accordance with the decree of the senate.
a. With certain words, accordance is usually expressed by the ablative without a preposition: cōnsuētūdine suā, according to his custom; tuō cōnsiliō, in accordance with your plan; meā sententiā, in my opinion.
327.Ablative with Comparatives. Comparatives without quam are followed by the ablative: exēgī monumentum aere perennius, I have erected a monument more enduring than bronze; Ō mātre pulchrā fīlia pulchrior, O daughter fairer than a mother fair!
328.Ablative of Manner. Manner is denoted by the ablative, regularly with an adjective or with cum: cum virtūte vīvere, to live virtuously; id fēcit magnā cum cūrā, he did it very carefully.
a. The simple ablative of certain nouns may denote manner: cāsū, by chance; vī, by force.
329.Ablative of Attendant Circumstance. Attendant circumstance, situation, or result may be expressed by the ablative, usually with a modifier and without a preposition, but sometimes with cum: magnō intervallō, at a great distance; frequentissimō senātū, at a crowded meeting of the senate; imperiō suō, under his full power; clāmōre, with shouting; cum tuā perniciē, to your destruction; magnō (cum) dolōre omnium, to the great grief of all.
330.Ablative of Quality. Quality or description is denoted by the ablative, regularly with an adjective: statūrā fuit humilī, he was of low stature. see 285 for the genitive of quality.
331.Ablative of Means. Means or instrument is denoted by the ablative, without a preposition: clārē videō oculīs, I see clearly with my eyes; pugnābant armīs, they fought with arms.
332.Ablative of Cause. Cause may be expressed by the ablative without a preposition: ōdērunt peccāre bonī virtūtis amōre, the good hate to sin from love of virtue.
333.Ablative of Agent. The agent is denoted by the ablative with ā (ab): urbs capta est ab illō duce, the city was captured by that leader.
334.The Standard of Measurement is denoted by the ablative: magnōs hominēs virtūte mētimur, nōn fortūnā, we measure great men by worth, not by fortune.
335.Measure of Difference is put in the ablative: sōl multīs partibus est major quam terra ūniversa, the sun is many parts (a great deal) larger than the whole earth.
336.Ablative of Price. Definite price is put in the ablative: ēmit morte immortālitātem, he purchased deathlessness with death.
a. General value is expressed by the genitive. see 292.
337.Ablative with Adjectives. The ablative is used with dignus, indignus, frētus, contentus, and laetus, and with adjectives of fullness and abundance: contentus hōc equō, content with this horse; dignus poenā, worthy of punishment; indignus poenā, unworthy of punishment.
a. Also the verb dignordeem worthy takes the ablative in poetry and later prose: haud tālī mē dignor honōre, I do not deem myself worthy of such honor.
338.The Ablative of Route denotes the way by which: prōvehimur pelagō, we sail forth over the sea.
339.Ablative with Prepositions. The ablative is used with many prepositions, the most important being:
340.Ablative of Separation. Separation is expressed by the ablative, with or without a preposition, especially with verbs of depriving, freedom, and want: sē prīvāvit oculīs, he deprived himself of his eyes; omnibus egēre rēbus, to be in need of everything; tē ab eō līberō, I free you from him.
a. The ablative of separation is also used with aliēnus and adjectives of freedom and want: aliēnum mājestāte deōrum, inconsistent with the dignity of the gods; līber cūrā, free from care.
341. The ablative is used with opus and ūsus: opus est mihi aurō, I need gold; ūsus est dictīs bonīs, there is need of kind words.
342.Ablative with Special Verbs.Ūtor, fruor, fungor, potior, vescor, and their compounds take the ablative: hīs vōcibus ūsa est, she spoke (used) these words; abūsus est nostrā patientiā, he used up our patience; fruimur lūce vītae, we enjoy the light of life; fungor officiō, I am performing my duty; potītur victōriā, he gains the victory; lacte vescuntur, they live on milk.
343.Ablative Absolute. The ablative, combined with a participle, adjective, or noun, may express the circumstances of an act: duce victō, abeunt, the leader having been conquered, they depart; urbe captā, hominēs redeunt, the city having been captured, the men return.
a. The ablative absolute may have an accessory idea of time, cause, or condition: Caesare cōnsule haec lēx lāta est, this law was passed in Caesar’s consulship.
Vocative
344. The vocative, with or without ō, O, is used in addressing a person or thing: Mūsa, O Muse!; Aeole, O Aeolus!; ō rēgīna, O queen!
Locative
345. Names of towns and small islands of the first and second declensions, humus, domus, and rūs, are put in the locative of the place where: Rōmae, at Rome; Crētae, in Crete; humī, on the ground; domī, at home.
a. In poetry the names of countries and large islands are sometimes found in the locative: Libyae, in Libya.
Adverbs
346. Adverbs qualify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs: male vīvit, he lives badly; bene labōrat, he works well; ferē omnēs, almost all; nimis saepe, too often.
Questions
347.
a. A question for information is generally introduced by ‑ne: videtne patrem, does he see his father?b. A question expecting the answer yes is generally introduced by nōnne: nōnne vidēs, don’t you see?c. A question expecting the answer no is generally introduced by num: num vidēs patrem, you don’t see your father (do you)?
Moods in Interrogative Sentences
348.The Deliberative Question has its verb in the subjunctive: dīcam an taceam, shall I speak or hold my tongue?; quid facerem, what was I to do?
a. Occasionally the present indicative is used in deliberative questions: quem sequimur, whom are we to follow?
349.The Indirect Question has its verb in the subjunctive: quaerēmus (1) quid fēcerit, (2) quid faciat, (3) quid factūrus sit, we shall ask what he has done, what he is doing, what he is going to do.
350. The direct form of these three questions would be: (1) quid fēcit? (2) quid facit? (3) quid faciet (or factūrus est)?
Tenses
351. There are six tenses in Latin: present, imperfect, future, perfect, pluperfect, and future perfect.
1.The Present denotes continuance in the present: (1) of what is going on now: auribus teneō lupum, I am holding a wolf by the ears; (2) of statements true for all time: probitās laudātur et alget, honesty is praised and freezes.a.The Historical Present. Used far more than in English for lively representation of the past: cohortīs incēdere jubet, he orders the cohorts to advance.b. Used of actions continuing into the present, especially with jam, jam diū, jam prīdem: Mithridātēs annum jam tertium et vīcēsimum rēgnat, Mithridates has been reigning now going on twenty-three years.c. Sometimes used for the future, or for attempted action (conative present): quam prendimus arcem, what citadel are we to seize?; uxōrem dūcis, are you to be married?; quid mē terrēs, why do you try to frighten me?2.The Imperfect denotes continued or repeated action in the past: pugnābam, I was fighting, I kept fighting, I used to fight.a.The Imperfect of Endeavor. Used of attempted, interrupted, intended, or expected actions: urbem relinquēbat, he was trying to leave the city; lēx abrogābātur, the law was to be abrogated.b. The imperfect dwells on the process; the historical perfect states the result. The two supplement each other.3.The Future denotes continuance in the future (scrībam, I shall be writing), and also indefinite future action (scrībam, I shall write).a. The future is sometimes used in an imperative sense, as in English: cum volet, accēdēs; cum tē vītābit, abībis, when she wants you, approach; when she avoids you, be off with you. Compare “Thou shalt not kill.”b. A similar use is the future in asseverations: ita mē amābit Juppiter, so help me, Jove!4.The Perfect has two distinct uses: the pure perfect and the historical perfect.a.The Pure Perfect (present perfect) expresses completion in the present, of an action now over: vīximus, we have lived; Trōja fuit, Troy has been (but is no longer). More often it denotes the present result of a remoter action: āctum est, perīstī, it is all over, you are ruined; equum et mūlum Brundisiī tibi relīquī, I have left a horse and mule for you at Brundisium.b.The Historical (Indefinite) Perfect states a past action simply as a thing attained: vēnī, vīdī, vīcī, I came, I saw, I conquered; Milō domum vēnit, calceōs et vestīmenta mūtāvit, paulisper commorātus est, Milo came home, changed shoes and clothes, tarried a little while.5.The Pluperfect denotes completion in the past, of an action completed before another began: fuerat inimīcus, he had been my enemy.6.The Future Perfect denotes both completion and attainment: fēcerō, I shall have done it, or I shall do it (once and for all).
352. The Latin tenses are divided into primary (principal) and secondary (historical).
a.Primary Tenses have to do with present and future: present, pure perfect, future, and future perfect.b.Secondary Tenses have to do with the past: historical present, imperfect, historical perfect, and pluperfect.
Moods in Subordinate Sentences
Sequence of Tenses
Reading the sequence rule. “Sequence of tenses” just means the tense of the main verb steers the tense of the subjunctive in the clause depending on it — the same instinct that makes English say he says he is tired but he said he was tired. The grid below sorts Latin’s main verbs into two groups (primary and secondary) and matches each to two subjunctive tenses, according to whether the dependent action is still going on or already finished.
353. Primary tenses are ordinarily followed by primary tenses, secondary by secondary, as follows:
Primary (present & future)
are followed by
the present subjunctive (continued action); the perfect subjunctive (completed action).
Secondary (past)
are followed by
the imperfect subjunctive (continued action); the pluperfect subjunctive (completed action).
a. An action completed with regard to the leading verb may itself be continued. Latin cannot make this distinction, so the imperfect indicative is represented in the dependent form by the perfect or pluperfect: nesciō quid fēcerit, nescīvī quid fēcisset.b. The rule is subject to several modifications: (1) tense refers to time, not merely tense form; (2) the effect of a past action may continue into the present or future; (3) a dependent clause may follow a varying sequence; (4) an original imperfect or pluperfect subjunctive does not change its tense even when depending on a primary verb (382, a).
354. The future relation of a verb in a dependent subjunctive clause may be made clearer by an active periphrastic: cognōscam, quid factūrus sīs, I shall try to find out what you are going to do; cognōvī quid factūrus essēs, I have found out what you were going to do.
355. In Indirect Discourse all verbs in subordinate clauses are in the subjunctive and follow the general rule of sequence of tenses. see 390.
Quod Clauses
356.Quodthe fact that, in that is used with the indicative to introduce explanatory clauses after verbs of adding and dropping, doing and happening, and after demonstrative expressions: adde quod vīcimus, add the fact that we have won; praetereō quod nōn mānsit, I pass over the fact that he did not remain; bene facis quod tacēs, you do well in that you keep silent.
Contrast the use of quod in the Causal Clauses below, where it means ‘because’.
Causal Clauses
A causal clause gives the reason or cause for the main clause — the ‘because’ clause.
357.Quod, quia, quoniam, and quandō take the indicative in direct discourse, the subjunctive in implied indirect discourse, to express cause: fūgit quod timēbat, he fled because he was afraid; fūgit quod timēret, he fled because (as he said) he was afraid.
358.Quod is used after verbs of emotion with the indicative (direct) or subjunctive (implied indirect) to give the reason: gaudet quod vēnērunt, he rejoices that they have come; gaudet quod vēnerint, he rejoices that (as he says) they have come.
Purpose Clauses
359. Purpose is expressed by the present or imperfect subjunctive with ut or nē: vēnit ut dūceret hominēs, he came to lead the men; fugit nē capiātur, he flees lest he be captured. For relative clauses of purpose, see 388.
360.Substantive Volitive Clauses. The present or imperfect subjunctive with ut or nē is used in a substantive clause after verbs of will and desire: ōrō ut veniās, I beg that you come; volō ut veniat, I wish him to come; voluī nē venīret, I wished him not to come.
a. The infinitive may also be used with such verbs, especially in poetry.b.Jubeō regularly takes the accusative and infinitive.
Verbs of Hindering
These are verbs meaning to prevent, hinder, refuse, or stand in the way.
361. A verb of preventing, refusing, and the like may take nē or quōminus with the subjunctive: obstat nē veniat, he hinders him from coming.
362. A negatived verb of preventing may take quīn or quōminus with the subjunctive: nihil obstat quīn (or quōminus) sīs beātus, nothing hinders you from being happy.
Verbs of Fearing
These are verbs meaning to fear, dread, or be afraid.
363. A verb of fear may be followed by nē or ut (= nē + nōn) with any tense of the subjunctive: timeō nē hostis veniat, I fear lest the enemy come; timeō nē hostis vēnerit, I fear lest the enemy have come; timeō ut amīcus veniat, I fear lest my friend come not. The polarity makes sense from the origins: a purpose clause grows from a command — ut = “let it happen!” (the thing you want) — but a fear clause grows from “let it NOT happen, I’m afraid!” So with fearing verbs nē marks the thing feared (that it WILL come) and ut marks that it won’t.
Result Clauses
364. The subjunctive with ut or ut nōn denotes result: tanta vīs deōrum est ut eīs nōn possīmus obstāre, so great is the power of the gods that we cannot oppose them; nēmō est tam fortis ut nōn possit cadere, no one is so strong but he can fall.
a. A relative pronoun is sometimes used instead of ut: nēmō est tam fortis quī nōn possit cadere, no one is so strong but he can fall.
365. A verb of effecting has the subjunctive with ut, nē, or ut nōn: faciam ut veniat, I shall make him come; faciam nē veniat, I shall bring it about that he does not come.
366. Negatived or questioned verbs of doubt and uncertainty may be followed by the subjunctive with quīn: nōn dubium est quīn urbs capiātur, there is no doubt that the city is being captured.
367.Substantive Clauses of Result. The subjunctive with ut is often used in a substantive clause to give the contents or character of a preceding substantive, adjective, or pronoun: tōtum in eō est, ut tibi imperēs, all depends on this, your self-command; id est proprium cīvitātis, ut sit lībera, this is the peculiar privilege of a state, to be free.
Temporal Clauses
A temporal clause tells when the main action happens.
368.Ut, ut prīmum, cum, cum prīmum, ubi, ubi prīmum, simul ac, simul atque, in the sense as soon as, and postquam take the perfect indicative: postquam vēnit dux, urbs capta est, after the leader came, the city was captured; ut vīdit urbem captam, fūgit, as soon as he saw the city captured, he fled.
a. The imperfect indicative is used of overlapping action, the pluperfect when a definite interval is given: ut vidēbat hostēs vincentēs, rediit domum, as he saw the enemy were conquering, he returned home; postquam cēperat urbem, mīlitēs dūcit domum, after he had captured the city, he led his soldiers home.
369. When two repeated actions are contemporaneous, both are in the indicative in tenses of continuance: rēx bellum gerēbat cum volēbat, the king waged war whenever he wished.
370. When one repeated action comes before another, the antecedent action is in the perfect, pluperfect, or future perfect indicative, the subsequent in the present, imperfect, or future: quotiēns cecidit, surgit, as often as he falls (has fallen), he rises; quotiēns ceciderat, surgēbat, as often as he fell, he rose; quotiēns ceciderit, surget, as often as he falls, he will rise.
371.Dum, dōnec, quoad, and quamdiūso long as, while take the indicative of all tenses: vīta dum superest, bene est, while there is life, it is well; dōnec grātus eram tibi, fēlīx fuī, while I was pleasing to you, I was fortunate; quoad potuit restitit, he resisted as long as he could.
372.Dumwhile, while yet usually takes the present indicative when the main verb is in a past tense: dum haec rēs aguntur, urbs ārdēbat, while these things were going on, the city was burning.
373.Dum, dōnec, and quoaduntil take the present, historical present, historical perfect, or future perfect indicative when suspense or anticipation are not involved: manēbō dum venit, I shall remain until he comes; mānsī dum (quoad, dōnec) vēnit, I remained until he came. see 374.
374.Dum, dōnec, and quoaduntil take the subjunctive when suspense, anticipation, or design is involved: mānsī dum venīret, I remained until he could come; exspectō dum veniat, I am waiting for him to come. see 373.
375.Dum, modo, and dummodoif only, provided only take the present or imperfect subjunctive in a proviso clause: ōderint dum metuant, let them hate so long as they fear; veniat, dum maneat, let him come, provided that he remains.
376.Antequam and priusquam take the indicative (present, perfect, or future perfect) when the time limit is stated as fact: antequam abeō, dīcam pauca, before I go, I shall say a few words; antequam abiit, dīxerat pauca, before he went, he had said a few words.
a.Antequam and priusquam take the subjunctive when the action is anticipated, contingent, or designed: urbem capit priusquam rēx veniat, he captures the city before the king may arrive; ante vidēmus fulgōrem quam sonum audiāmus, we see the flash of lightning before we hear the sound.
Cum Clauses
377.Temporal cumwhen is used with all tenses of the indicative for merely temporal relations: animus nec cum adest nec cum discēdit appāret, the soul is not visible, either when it is present or when it departs; pāruit cum necesse erat, he obeyed when it was necessary.
378.Descriptive cumwhen is used with the imperfect and pluperfect subjunctive to give circumstances: cum dīmicāret, occīsus est, when he engaged in battle, he was slain; Caesar cum id nūntiātum esset, mātūrat ab urbe proficīscī, when this was announced to Caesar, he hastened to set out from the city. Sometimes called cum circumstantial.
379.Causal or Concessive cumwhen, whereas, although is used with any tense of the subjunctive: quae cum ita sint, dēbet fugere, since these things are so, we must flee; cum pār esset armīs, tamen dēbuerat fugere, although he was equal in arms, nevertheless he had to flee.
Conditional Sentences
A conditional sentence is an ‘if… then…’ sentence — an ‘if’ clause (the protasis) stating a condition and a main clause (the apodosis) stating the result.
380.The Logical (More Vivid or Simple) Conditional Sentence regularly has the same tense of the indicative in both clauses (condition / protasis, and conclusion / apodosis):
Condition
Conclusion
Sī id crēdis
If you believe that,
errās
you are wrong.
Sī id crēdēbās
If you believed that,
errābās
you were wrong.
Sī id crēdidistī
If you (have) believed that,
errāvistī
you were (have been) wrong.
Sī id crēdēs
If you (shall) believe that,
errābis
you will be wrong.Latin puts a real future tense in the “if” clause; English won’t — we say “if you believe,” not “if you shall believe.” The (shall) marks what the Latin literally does.
Sī id crēdiderīs
If you shall have believed that,
errāveris
you will have been wrong.
381.The Ideal (Less Vivid) Conditional Sentence regularly has the present or perfect subjunctive in both clauses:
Condition
Conclusion
Sī id crēdās
If you should (were to) believe that,
errēs
you would be wrong.
Sī id crēdiderīs
If you should prove to have believed that,
errāverīs
you would have been wrong (rare).
a. In indirect discourse the verb of the conditional clause of a logical or less-vivid sentence is in the subjunctive: dīcō tē, sī id crēdās, errāre; dīxī tē, sī id crēderēs, errāre.
382.The Unreal (Contrary to Fact) Conditional Sentence regularly has the imperfect subjunctive in both clauses if contrary to present fact, the pluperfect subjunctive in both if contrary to past fact:
Condition
Conclusion
Sī id crēderēs
If you believed that (but you do not),
errārēs
you would be wrong.
Sī id crēdidissēs
If you had believed that (but you did not),
errāvissēs
you would have been wrong.
a. In indirect discourse the verb of an unreal condition keeps the mood and tense it would have in direct discourse, and the verb of an unreal conclusion takes one of four special periphrastic forms:
Dīcō (dīxī) sī id crēderēs, tē errātūrum esse.
(active, contrary to present fact)
Dīcō (dīxī) sī id crēdidissēs, tē errātūrum fuisse.
(active, contrary to past fact)
Dīcō (dīxī) sī id crēderēs, fore ut dēciperēris.
(passive, contrary to present fact)
Dīcō (dīxī) sī id crēdidissēs, futūrum fuisse ut dēciperēris.
(passive, contrary to past fact)
b. Similarly in substantive clauses: Nōn dubium est quīn, sī id crēderēs, errārēs; Nōn dubium erat quīn, sī id crēdidissēs, errātūrus fuerīs.c. In poetry the present subjunctive is often used in both clauses of an unreal conditional sentence.d. All combinations of mixed conditions are possible; the conclusion may be a wish, command, obligation, etc.: sī Pompēius prīvātus esset, tamen is mittendus erat, if Pompey were a private citizen, nevertheless he ought to be sent; vincite sī vultis, have your way if you will.
383.Ut sī, ac sī, quasi, quam sī, tamquam, tamquam sī, velut, or velut sī with the subjunctive are used in a clause of comparison: tantus metus patrēs cēpit, velut sī jam ad portās hostis esset, a great fear took hold of the senators, as if the enemy were already at the gates.
Concessive Clauses
384. A Concessive Clause(a subordinate clause conceding a contrasting point, the ‘although’ clause) may be introduced by etsī, etiamsī, or tametsī with the indicative or subjunctive; by quamquam with the indicative only; by quamvīs with the subjunctive only.
Relative Clauses
385. The Relative Clause as such (used as an adjective to modify a noun) regularly has its verb in the indicative: amō virum quī fortis est, I like a man who is brave.
386. An indefinite or general relative clause usually has its verb in the indicative; so explanatory quī, when equivalent to quod: errāverim fortasse, quī mē aliquid putāvī, I may have erred in thinking myself to be something.
387. A relative clause that depends on an infinitive or subjunctive and forms an integral part of the thought has its verb in the subjunctive by attraction: pigrī est ingeniī contentum esse iīs quae sint ab aliīs inventa, it is the mark of a lazy mind to be content with what has been found out by others.
388. A relative clause has its verb in the subjunctive when quī is equivalent to ut is in an expression of purpose: ēripiunt aliīs quod aliīs dent, they snatch from some to give to others. This is the relative clause of purpose.
389. A relative clause has its verb in the subjunctive when quī is equivalent to ut is in a clause of description or characteristic; so after an indefinite antecedent and after dignus, indignus, idōneus, aptus, etc.: multī sunt quī ēripiant, there are many to snatch away; sunt (eī) quī dīcant, there are those who say; dignus est quī cōnsul fīat, he is worthy of being made consul. This is the subjunctive of characteristic.
Indirect Discourse
390. Indirect discourse (indirect statement), as opposed to direct discourse, gives the main drift of a speech, not the exact words.
a. Indirect discourse depends on some verb of saying, showing, believing, perceiving, or thinking, expressed or implied.b. In indirect discourse a principal statement has its verb in the infinitive: dīcit eōs vēnisse, he says that they have come; dīcit eōs venīre, he says that they are coming; a question or command has its verb in the subjunctive: quaerit quid velint, he asks what they want; quaesīvit quid vellent, he asked what they wanted; dīcit hominibus ut veniant, he tells the men to come; dīxit hominibus ut fugerent, he told the men to flee.c. A subordinate clause in indirect discourse has its verb in the subjunctive. see 355.
Versification
Built on quantity. Everything in this section depends on the length of syllables — long versus short. If the rules of Quantity (§14–24) have faded, look back at them first; meter is just those long and short syllables arranged into a regular rhythm.
The Dactylic Hexameter
391. One of the most common meters of Latin poetry is the dactylic hexameter. It was commonly employed by the Greeks and Romans in epic (narrative) poetry — the Iliad and Odyssey of Homer, the Aeneid of Vergil, the Metamorphoses of Ovid. It is occasionally used in English, as in Longfellow’s Evangeline.
392. There are six feet (a foot being the basic rhythmic unit of a verse line, a set pattern of long and short syllables) in a hexameter verse. The first five feet are either dactyls (one long syllable followed by two shorts, ) or spondees (two longs, ). The sixth foot is always treated as a spondee ().
393. The final syllable of a hexameter verse may be either long or short (syllaba anceps); but in scansion (the analysis of a verse line to mark its rhythm, finding which syllables are long or short and dividing the line into feet) it is counted long and so marked.
394.The Metrical Scheme of a verse is thus. Each foot opens with a long syllable (bearing the metrical accent, marked ′); its second half resolves either as two shorts (a dactyl, upper tier) or as one long (a spondee, lower tier). The final foot shows the brevis in longō — its last position is in fact often short (upper tier) but is counted long in scansion (lower tier):
′′′′′′
That is, the first syllable of each foot must be long. It is also given slightly more stress than the other half of the foot; this stress is the metrical accent. (see 407 below).
a. A short syllable is often lengthened under the metrical accent or before a pause.
The so-called "ictus" or "Metrical Accent" In Mr. Hotchkiss's opinion, the "Metrical Accent" is a matter of rhythmic prominence, like the relative strength of the different positions in a measure of music. Giving it "slightly more stress" like Pharr suggests can be helpful in clarifying the structure, but the goal is to appreciate the music that arises naturally from contrasts in length (cf. 407).
395. The fifth foot is almost always a dactyl. When a spondee is used there, the verse moves more slowly and is called spondaic.
396. For metrical purposes each syllable is long or short, a long occupying about twice the time of a short (14). Hence a spondaic foot () is the metrical equivalent of a dactylic foot ().
397. Only long vowels are marked in the Latin of this book. For the rules on the length of syllables, see 14–24.
398.Elision. Whenever a word ends with a vowel, diphthong, or m, and the following word begins with a vowel or h, the first vowel or diphthong is regularly elided — not omitted entirely, but lightly and hurriedly half-pronounced, somewhat like grace notes in music.
399.Hiatus. Occasionally a word ending in a vowel, diphthong, or m is followed by a word beginning with a vowel or h and elision does not take place. This is called hiatus.
400.Semi-hiatus. Sometimes when a word ends in a long vowel or diphthong and the next word begins with a vowel or h, the long final vowel or diphthong is shortened. This is called semi-hiatus.
401. The vowels i and u are sometimes used as consonants (j, v): abiete (pronounce abjete), genua (pronounce genva).
402.Hypermeter. Sometimes the final syllable of a verse is elided before a vowel beginning the next verse. This is called synapheia, and the verse whose final syllable is elided is a hypermeter or hypermetric verse.
403.Synizesis. Two successive vowels that do not ordinarily form a diphthong are sometimes pronounced as one syllable for the meter. This contraction within a word is called synizesis.
Scansion
404. Observe the scansion of the opening of the Aeneid (1.1–7). Each syllable carries its mark directly above it: the bar () marks a long syllable and the cup () a short one. The final syllable of every verse is counted long and marked accordingly (see 393). Thin rules divide the feet. Where a vowel is elided it is tied to the following syllable with an undertie (‿) and left unmarked, exactly as Pharr ties elided vowels in his text.
Ar-mavi-rum-queca-nōTrō-jaequīprī-musabō-rīs
Ī-ta-li-amfā-tōpro-fu-gusLā-vī-na-quevē-nit
lī-to-ramult-um‿il-le‿etter-rīsjac-tā-tusetal-tō
vīsu-pe-rumsae-vaeme-mo-remJū-nō-nisobī-ram
mul-taquoqu-e‿etbel-lōpas-susdumcon-de-retur-bem
īn-fer-ret-quede-ōsLa-ti-ōge-nusun-deLa-tī-num
Al-bā-nī-quepa-trēsatqu-e‿al-taemoe-ni-aRō-mae
Elisions are shown in line 3 (mult‿um, ill‿e), line 5 (quoqu‿e), and line 7 (atqu‿e); the tied vowel is pronounced lightly and does not count as a separate metrical position.
Hints on the Metrical Reading of Latin Poetry
405. In reading Latin poetry aloud, keep the words distinct and make no break between separate feet unless there is a pause in sense.
406. Pay careful attention to meaning, and indicate the pauses in sense by the voice. Do not let the voice drop at the end of a verse unless there is a distinct pause in sense.
407. Remember that the rhythm of Latin verse is based primarily on the regular succession of long and short syllables; that of English, on accented and unaccented syllables.
408. To gain facility, memorize a good deal of verse, paying special attention to quantity — about twice as much time for each long syllable as for a short.
409.Caesura.footnote Whenever a word ends within a foot, the break is called caesura. If it coincides with a pause in the verse, it is the principal caesura (or simply the caesura of the verse). Mr. Hotchkiss has different notions about what makes the principal caesura "principal." Fortunately, he more or less agrees with Pharr's note below, so it doesn't make much difference.
410. A single verse may have more than one caesura, each marked by a pause in sense. The principal caesuras are: (1) after the first long syllable of the third foot; (2) after the first long syllable of the fourth foot.
Figures of Syntax and Rhetoric
411.Alliteration is the repetition of the same letter or sound: tum vīctū revocant vīrīs, then they recall their strength with food (the sound of v).
412.Anacolouthon or want of sequence occurs when the scheme of a sentence is changed in its course.
413.Anaphora is the repetition of a word or words at the beginning of successive clauses: mīrantur dōna Aenēae, mīrantur Iūlum, they marvel at the gifts of Aeneas, they marvel at Iulus.
414.Anastrophe is an inversion of the usual order of words: tē propter, on account of you.
415.Antithesis is an opposition or contrast of words or ideas: speciē blanda, reāpse repudianda, charming in appearance, in reality to be rejected.
416.Aposiopesis is a breaking off before the close of the sentence: quōs ego — sed mōtōs praestat compōnere flūctūs, whom I — but it is better to calm the angry waves.
417.Apostrophe is a sudden break from the previous method of discourse to address, in the second person, some person or object, absent or present: Ō patria, Ō dīvum domus, O fatherland, O home of the gods!
418.Asyndeton is the omission of conjunctions: ancora dē prōrā jacitur; stant lītore puppēs, the anchor is cast from the prow; the sterns rest on the beach.
419.Brachylogy (breviloquentia) is the failure to repeat an element that must be supplied in modified form: tam fēlīx essēs quam fōrmōsissima (es) vellem, would that you were as fortunate as you are fair.
420.Chiasmus is the arrangement of corresponding pairs of words in opposite order: Īlionēa petit dextrā laevāque Serestum, he sought Ilioneus with his right and with his left Serestus.
421.Ellipsis is the omission of words obviously understood but needed to complete the construction: Aeolus haec contrā, Aeolus thus (spoke) in reply. The words most commonly omitted are agō, dīcō, faciō, loquor, and sum.
422.Enallage is a shift from one form to another: vōs (pl.), Ō Calliopē (sg.), precor, I entreat you, O Calliope.
423.Euphemism is the substitution of an agreeable word for one that is harsh or unpleasant: sī quid eī acciderit, if anything should happen to him (i.e., if he should die).
424.Euphony is the effect produced by words or sounds so combined as to please the ear.
425.Hendiadys is the expression of one idea by two nouns joined by a conjunction, instead of a noun with a modifier: vī et armīs, by force of arms; vulgus et multitūdō, the common herd.
426.Hypallage is an interchange in the relations of words: dare classibus Austrōs, to give the winds to the fleet (instead of giving the fleet to the winds).
427.Hyperbaton (Trajection) is the violent displacement of words: per omnīs tē deōs ōrō, by all the gods I beg you.
428.Hyperbole is rhetorical exaggeration: praeruptus aquae mōns, a sheer mountain of water (a great wave of the sea).
429.Hysteron Proteron is a reversal of the natural order: moriāmur et in media arma ruāmus, let us die and rush into the midst of arms.
430.Irony states an apparent fact with the manifest intention of expressing its opposite: scīlicet is superīs labor est, ea cūra quiētōs sollicitat, of course this is work for the gods, this care vexes them in their serenity!
431.Litotes (Understatement) is an expression by which more is meant than meets the ear, especially with the negative: nōn indecōrō pulvere sordidī, soiled with not unbecoming (i.e., glorious) dust.
432.Metaphor is an implied comparison: illa, Trōjae et patriae commūnis Erīnys, she (Helen), the common curse of Troy and of her native land.
433.Metonymy is the substitution of one word for another it suggests: Cerēs, goddess of grain, for grain.
434.Onomatopoeia is the use of words whose sound suggests the sense: magnō cum murmure montis, with a mighty rumbling of the mountain.
435.Oxymoron is the use of words apparently contradictory: cum tacent clāmant, when they are silent they cry out.
436.Paraleipsis (Preterition) is an apparent omission by which a speaker artfully pretends to pass by what he really emphasizes: nōn dīcō tē pecūniās accēpisse; rapīnās tuās omnīs omittō, I do not say that you accepted sums of money; I omit all your acts of rapine.
437.Personification attributes personality to an impersonal thing: aspīrat fortūna labōrī, fortune favors our struggle; fuge crūdēlīs terrās, fuge lītus avārum, flee the cruel lands, flee the greedy shore.
438.Pleonasm is the use of superfluous words: sīc ōre locūta est, thus she spoke with her mouth.
439.Polysyndeton is the use of unnecessary conjunctions: ūnā Eurusque Notusque ruunt crēberque procellīs Āfricus, both the East wind and the South wind and the Southwester rush forth together.
440.Prolepsis (Anticipation) is the use of a word, usually a modifier, before it is logically appropriate: summersās obrue puppīs, overwhelm the sunken ships (i.e., sink and overwhelm the ships).
441.Simile is a figure that asserts an explicit comparison between two different things: pār levibus ventīs volucrīque simillima somnō, like unto the light winds and most resembling winged sleep; velutī cum coorta est sēditiō, just as when a riot has arisen.
442.Synchysis is an interlocked order of words: saevae memorem Jūnōnis īram, fell Juno’s unforgetting hate.
443.Synecdoche is the use of a part for the whole, or the reverse: tēctum, roof, for house; puppis, stern, for ship; mūcrō, point, for sword.
444.Synesis is a construction according to sense rather than grammatical form: pars veniunt, part come.
445.Tmesis is the separation of the parts of a compound word by intervening words: quae mē cumque vocant terrae, whatever the lands that call me (for quaecumque terrae mē vocant).
446.Transferred Epithet is an epithet transferred from the word to which it strictly belongs to another word connected with it in thought: vēlivolum mare, the sail-flying sea (sail-flying properly applies to ships).
447.Zeugma is the joining of two words with a modifying or governing word that strictly applies to only one of them: Danaōs et laxat claustra, he looses the barriers and (sets free) the Greeks.
Index to the Grammatical Appendix
References are to section numbers, not pages. Every reference is a live link — tap or click to jump to that section. The abbreviation decl. means “declension/declined”; conj. means “conjugation/conjugated.”
ā, ending of acc. sing. of Greek nouns, 68; nom., acc. and voc. pl. ending of neuters, 33c
Ablative, defined, 30; in -ābus, 34c; in -ī, 55d, 56b, 77, 81, 82a; prepositions with, 339; adv. forms of, 310; of supine, 271; pl. like the dat., 33d; quīs and quī as abl. and dat., 109c, 109d
Ablative, Syntax, absolute, 343; accompaniment, 321; accordance, 326; as adv., 95, 310, 328a; agent, 333; with adjectives (dignus, aliēnus, etc.), 337, 340a; cause, 332; with gerund(ive), 269; with comparatives, 327; degree of difference, 335; with dep. verbs (ūtor, etc.), 342; with dignor,337a; with dōnō,296; manner, 328; material, 324; means, 331; measurement, 334; with opus est and ūsus est,341; origin, 323; place where, 319; place whence, 320; with prepositions, 339; price, 336; respect, 325; route, 338; separation, 340; time, 322
Accusative, defined, 30; in neuters like nom., 33c; sing. in -a,68; sing. in -im,56a; pl. in -īs,56d, 83b; of supine, 270; names of towns, domus and rūs,315a
Accusative, Syntax, adv., 309–311, 95b; cognate, 313; direct obj., 307; exclamation, 318; extent, 314; Greek, 309–311; subj. of inf., 317; with middle voice, 309; with prepositions, 312; respect, 311; of gerund(ive) with ad,268; two accusatives: verbs of asking, making, etc., 316; remembering and forgetting, 288a; compound verbs, 308
Apposition, 241; pronouns and poss. adjectives, 249; expressed by gen., 281; quod and ut clauses with nouns and pronouns, 356, 367; inf. with nouns, 264
aptus, with dat. of gerund(ive), 267; with rel. clause of char., 389
Comparison, of adjectives, 83; of adverbs, 96; disproportion, 244; abl. of, 327; degree of difference, 335; clauses of with ut sī, quasi, etc., 383; metaphor, 432; simile, 441
Dative, defined, 30; sing. in -āī (first decl.), 34b; sing. in -ī (second decl.), 74; pl. in -īs for -iīs (deus), 37f; pl. in -ubus (fourth decl.), 58c
Endings (regular), of nouns, 32; of infinitives and participles, 117.3; see declensions and conjugations
Endings (irregular), gen. sing. in -āī,34b; gen., dat. sing. e for ī in fifth decl., 63; gen. pl. -um,34b, 37d; acc. pl. -īs,56d, 83b; gen. sing. -īus,74; gen. pl. -ium,77, 81, 55c; abl. sing. -ī,55d, 77, 81; nom. and acc. pl. -ia,55d, 81.2; dat., abl. pl. -ābus,34c; acc. -im,56a; gen. pl. -ōn,65a; acc. sing. -in,68; -āstī, -ārunt, -ēre, etc., 204
Feminine, first decl. (mostly), 35; second decl.: cities, islands, trees, and a few others, 38a; third decl., nouns in -dō, -gō, -iō,44; i-stems in -ēs,57; some i-stems in -is,57; all other i-stems, 57; mutes in -s,54; fourth decl., a few in -us,61a; fifth decl., all but diēs and merīdiēs,64
Future perfect tense, 351.6; in conditions, 380; in temporal clauses, 370; like perf. subj., 128.5
Future tense, 351.3; specific and universal, 351.3; as imperative, 351.3a; asseverative, 351.3b; part. expressing purpose, 274; conditions, 380–381; formation of pass. inf., 117.2, 213b; expressed by fore ut,263a; use of periphrastic, 199a; in subj., 354
Gender, rules of, 35, 38, 42, 48, 54, 57, 61, 64; attraction of pronouns, 240a; and see masculine, feminine and neuter; of pred. complement, 239b
Genitive, defined, 30; -āī for -ae,34b; -um for -ōrum,37d; -um and -ium,53, 55c, 56c, 77, 81.3; e for ī,63; -īus,73–74; poss. adj. as gen., 249; two forms for pers. pronouns, 247a
Genitive, Syntax, material, 280; appos., 281; explanatory, 282; poss., 283; subj., 284; obj., 284; quality, 285; part., 286; pred., 285a; with adjectives, 287; with verbs, 287–291; value, 292; with interest and rēfert,293; respect, 294; genitive of gerund(ive), 266
Gerund(ive), 117.3, 203; for formation see verbs, conj. of; uses of, 266–269; with dat. of agent, 302; in -undus,203; see periphrastic; of dep. verbs, 182
Imperative, 115.4; for formation see under verbs, conjugation of; irregular imperatives, 202; pres. and fut., 255; neg., 256; fut. ind. as imv., 351.3a; in ind. disc., 390b
Imperfect tense, 351.2; of possum, etc., for pluperf., 251, 382d; conative, 351.2a; descriptive, 351.2b; in temp. clauses, 368a, 371; in conditions, 380, 382d; sequence of tenses, 353; formation of impf. subj., 128.2
imperō, with dat., 297; with subst. vol. clause, 360
Impersonal verbs, forms of eō,213b; with gen., 290; impers. constructions, 258, 366
Indicative, 115.4; to denote possibility, 251, 382d; in deliberative questions, 348a; with quod in explanatory clauses, 356; in causal clauses, 357–358; in temporal clauses, 368–373, 377; present with dum,372; simple (more vivid) conditions, 380; in unreal conditions, 382d; in concessive clauses, 384
Masculine, first decl., referring to males, 35; second decl. in -us or -r (mostly), 38; third decl. stems in l,42; nouns in -ō, except -dō, -gō, and -iō,44; nouns in -is (eris) and -ōs (ōris),48; some i-stems in -is,57; nouns in -er and -or,46; fourth decl. in -us (mostly), 61; fifth decl. only diēs and merīdiēs,64
nē, in prohibitions, 253, 256a; in purpose clauses, 359; with verbs of hindering, refusing, etc., 361; with verbs of fearing, 363; result, 365; omitted after cavē,256
Neuter, second decl. in -um and a few in -us,38; third decl. stems in ll,42; nouns in -en,44.2; nouns in -ar, -ur,46.2; i-stems in -e, -al, -ar,57b; nouns in -us (eris), -ūs (ūris),48.2; fourth decl. in -ū,61
Nominative, defined, 30; like acc. and voc. pl. in third, fourth, and fifth declensions, 33b; like acc. and voc. in all neuters; in -a,34; in -us (os), -um, -er and -ir,36; in -l,41; in -ō and -en,43; in -or and -er,45; in -us,47; in -s,50–51; in -es,52; in -is, -e, -al,56; in -us, -ū,59; in -ēs,62
Nominative case, 30; as subj., 276; with hist. inf., 277; as subjective complement, 278, 279; of gerund supplied by inf., 258; agreement of verb with, 236; double nom., 239, 241
Perfect tense, 351.4; pres. state, 351.4a; past act, 351.4b; temp. clauses, 368, 370, 376; perf. subj. both primary and secondary; inf. in ind. disc., 263; participle, 275; in conditions, 381, 353b; in ind. disc., 382a, 382b; contracted perfects, 204
Periphrastic conjugation, 199–201; as fut. subj., 354; conditions in ind. disc., 382a; in contrary to fact apodosis, 382d; in ind. questions, 354; with dat. of agent, 302
Person, agreement of verb, 236; agreement of rel. pron., 242; for forms see conjugations
Pluperfect, 351.5; indic. in time clauses, 370; subj. in unreal conditions, 382; secondary sequence in ind. disc., 353, 382a, 382b; in cum descriptive clauses, 378
Plural, see number, agreement, etc.; poetic, 243, 444; editorial, 243a
Possessive adjectives (pronouns), forms, 103–106; used as gen. of pron., 249
Possibility, indic., 251, 382d; subj., 252, cf. 386; periphrastic, 382d; in causal clauses, 357–358; with antequam and priusquam,376a; in conditions, 381; in relative clauses, 389
possum, conj., 125; to express possibility, 251, 382d; in apodosis, 382d
post, prep. with acc., 312; verbs compounded with, 298, 308
Prepositions, with acc., 312; with abl., 339; omitted, 315a, 315b, 319b, 320a, 320b, 340; cum appended to certain words, 321a; compounds of, with dat., 298; with acc., 308
Present tense, 351; specific and universal, 351.1; hist., 351.1a; with jam as perf., 351.1b; conative (as fut.), 351.1c; part., 272; decl., 82; indic. with dum,372; inf. in ind. disc., 263
qu, pronunciation, 6; counts as single consonant, 15; becomes x with s,128.6
Quality, gen., 285; abl., 330; two qualities compared, 245
quam, omission of in compar., 327; quam prō, quam ut, quam quī,244; quam sī,383; with two positives, 245; with two comparatives, 245; antequam and priusquam separated, 376a
Subjunctive, 115.4; potential, 252; opt., 253; vol., 254, 360; in causal clauses, 357–358, 379; in purpose clauses, 359; with verbs of hindering, refusing, etc., 361–362; in ideal and unreal conditions, 381–382; comparisons with ut sī, quasi, etc., 383; double comparisons with quam sī, quam ut,244; cum descriptive, 378; concessive clauses with cum,379; with etsī and quamvīs,384; rel. clauses of attraction, 387; purpose, 388; char., 389; result, 364a; deliberative questions, 348; ind. questions, 349, 354; temp. clauses of anticipation, 374, 376a; result clauses, 364–367; with verbs of fearing, 363; prohibitions, 256; of modesty, cf. 252; proviso, 375; subordinate clauses in ind. disc., 357, 358, cf. 248b; tenses of, 353
Subordinate clauses, sequence of tenses, 353; in ind. disc., 390b, 390c; see temporal, result, conditional, etc.
Substantive (volitive) clauses, of desire, 360; hindering, 361–362; fearing, 363; result, 365–367; conditions in, 382b; quod with indic., 356
sum, conj., 118; compounds of, 123; fut. inf. with ut in ind. disc., 263a; agreement with pred. noun, 236c; with dat. of poss., 299; sunt quī,389; simple sentence with, 278
Syllables, division of, 9–13, 18; named, 25a; final syllable of hexameter line, 393; long syllable shortened, 400; short syllable lengthened, 394a; first syllable of each foot long, 394; long and short syllables, 14–19, 396; two syllables united, 403
Temporal clauses, 368–377; of action prior to the main verb, 368, 370; of action contemporaneous with the main verb, 369, 371–373, 377; of action later than the main verb, 374–376; abl. abs., 343a
Tenses, 115.3; formation of, 127; pres., impf., etc. and verbs of imv., 255; of inf., 263, 390; of part., 272; uses of, 351; primary and secondary, 352; sequence of, 353
Time, from which, 320; when, within which, 322; till which, 315; extent, 314; expressed by abl. abs., 343a; see temp. clauses; time in pronouncing syllables, 14, 408
u, sometimes pronounced like v,6a; after g, q,6, 15; for i in superlatives, 85, 89a; for e in gerund(ive), 203; noun stems in u,58; i and u in dat., abl. pl., 58c
Verbs, uses of, agreement, 236; with gen., 287–291; interest and rēfert,293; with dat., 297–298; with abl., 342; see names of moods and tenses, ind. disc., etc.
Voices, 115.2a; middle with obj. acc., 309a; see active, middle, passive
Volitive, subj., 254; substantive with ut (nē) after verbs of will, desire, etc., 360; in ind. disc., 390b
volō, conj., 230; with inf., 260, 317; with subj., 360; with part., 275
vōs, see tū
voster, see vester
Vowels, long and short, 3–4, 20–24; long vowels marked, 3, 397; elision of final vowels in verse, 398; syncopation, 204; synizesis, 403; long vowel shortened, 400