Latin for Beginners, Benjamin Leonard D'Ooge [easy novels to read .TXT] 📗

RULE. «Agreement of Adjectives.» Adjectives agree with their nouns in gender, number, and case.

«66.» Feminine adjectives in «-a» are declined like feminine nouns in «-a», and you should learn to decline them together as follows:

          NOUN ADJECTIVE
  «domina» (base «domin-»), «bona» (base «bon-»),
     f., lady good

          SINGULAR TERMINATIONS
  Nom. do´mina bona -a
  Gen. dominae bonae -ae
  Dat. dominae bonae -ae
  Acc. dominam bonam -am
  Abl. dominā bonā -ā

          PLURAL
  Nom. dominae bonae -ae
  Gen. dominā´rum bonā´rum -ārum
  Dat. dominīs bonīs -īs
  Acc. dominās bonās -ās
  Abl. dominīs bonīs -īs

a. In the same way decline together «puella mala», the bad girl; «ancil´la parva», the little maid; «fortū´na magna», great fortune.

«67.» The words «dea», goddess, and «fīlia», daughter, take the ending «-ābus» instead of «-īs» in the dative and ablative plural. Note the dative and ablative plural in the following declension:

«dea bona» (bases «de-» «bon-»)

SINGULAR PLURAL Nom. dea bona deae bonae Gen. deae bonae deā´rum bonā´rum Dat. deae bonae deā´bus bonīs Acc. deam bonam deās bonās Abl. deā bonā dea´bus bonīs

a. In the same way decline together «fīlīa parva».

«68.» «Latin Word Order.» The order of words in English and in Latin sentences is not the same.

In English we arrange words in a fairly fixed order. Thus, in the sentence My daughter is getting dinner for the farmers, we cannot alter the order of the words without spoiling the sentence. We can, however, throw emphasis on different words by speaking them with more force. Try the effect of reading the sentence by putting special force on my, daughter, dinner, farmers.

In Latin, where the office of the word in the sentence is shown by its ending (cf. §32.1), and not by its position, the order of words is more free, and position is used to secure the same effect that in English is secured by emphasis of voice. To a limited extent we can alter the order of words in English, too, for the same purpose. Compare the sentences

I saw a game of football at Chicago last November (normal order) «Last November» I saw a game of football at Chicago At Chicago, last November, I saw a game of «football»

1. In a Latin sentence the most emphatic place is the first; next in importance is the last; the weakest point is the middle. Generally the subject is the most important word, and is placed first; usually the verb is the next in importance, and is placed last. The other words of the sentence stand between these two in the order of their importance. Hence the normal order of words—that is, where no unusual emphasis is expressed—is as follows:

subject—modifiers of the subject—indirect object— direct object—adverb—verb

Changes from the normal order are frequent, and are due to the desire for throwing emphasis upon some word or phrase. Notice the order of the Latin words when you are translating, and imitate it when you are turning English into Latin.

2. Possessive pronouns and modifying genitives normally stand after their nouns. When placed before their nouns they are emphatic, as

    «fīlia mea», my daughter;
      «mea fīlia», «my» daughter;
    «casa Galbae», Galba’s cottage;
      «Galbae casa», «Galba’s» cottage.

Notice the variety of emphasis produced by writing the following sentence in different ways:

    «Fīlia mea agricolīs cēnam parat» (normal order)
    «Mea fīlia agricolīs parat cēnam» («mea» and «cēnam» emphatic)
    «Agricolīs fīlia mea cēnam parat» («agricolīs» emphatic)

  3. An adjective placed before its noun is more emphatic than when it
  follows. When great emphasis is desired, the adjective is separated
  from its noun by other words.

    «Fīlia mea casam parvam nōn amat» («parvam» not emphatic)
    «Fīlia mea parvam casam nōn amat» («parvam» more emphatic)
    «Parvam fīlia mea casam nōn amat» («parvam» very emphatic)

4. Interrogative words usually stand first, the same as in English.

5. The copula (as «est», «sunt») is of so little importance that it frequently does not stand last, but may be placed wherever it sounds well.

«69.» EXERCISE

First learn the special vocabulary, p. 284.

Note the order of the words in these sentences and pick out those that are emphatic.

1. Longae nōn sunt tuae viae. 2. Suntne tubae novae in meā casā? Nōn sunt. 3. Quis lātā in silvā habitat? Diāna, lūnae clārae pulchra dea, lātā in silvā habitat. 4. Nautae altās et lātās amant aquās. 5. Quid ancilla tua portat? Ancilla mea tubam novam portat. 6. Ubi sunt Lesbia et Iūlia? In tuā casa est Lesbia et Iūlia est in meā. 7. Estne Italia lāta terra? Longa est Italia, nōn lāta. 8. Cui Galba agricola fābulam novam nārrat? Fīliābus dominae clārae fābulam novam nārrat. 9. Clāra est īnsula Sicilia. 10. Quem laudat Lātōna? Lātōna laudat fīliam.

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«First Review of Vocabulary and Grammar, §§502-505»

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LESSON IX THE SECOND OR O-DECLENSION

[Special Vocabulary]

  NOUNS
  «bellum, -ī», n., war (re-bel)
  «cōnstantia, -ae», f., firmness, constancy, steadiness
   dominus, -ī, m., master, lord (dominate)
  «equus, -ī», m., horse (equine)
  «frūmentum, -ī», n., grain
  «lēgātus, -ī», m., lieutenant, ambassador (legate)
  «Mārcus, -ī», m., Marcus, Mark
  «mūrus, -ī», m., wall (mural)
  «oppidānus, -ī», m., townsman
  «oppidum, -ī», n., town
  «pīlum, -ī», n., spear (pile driver)
  «servus, -ī», m., slave, servant
   Sextus, -ī, m., Sextus

  VERBS
  «cūrat», he (she, it) cares for, with acc.
  «properat», he (she, it) hastens

«70.» Latin nouns are divided into five declensions.

The declension to which a noun belongs is shown by the ending of the genitive singular. This should always be learned along with the nominative and the gender.

«71.» The nominative singular of nouns of the Second or O-Declension ends in «-us», «-er», «-ir», or «-um». The genitive singular ends in «-ī».

«72.» «Gender.» Nouns in «-um» are neuter. The others are regularly masculine.

«73.» «Declension of nouns in -us and -um.» Masculines in «-us» and neuters in «-um» are declined as follows:

  «dominus» (base «domin-»), «pīlum» (base «pīl-»),
     m., master n., spear

                 TERMINATIONS TERMINATIONS
          SINGULAR
  Nom. do´minus[1] -us pīlum -um
  Gen. dominī -ī pīlī -ī
  Dat. dominō -ō pīlō -ō
  Acc. dominum -um pīlum -um
  Abl. dominō -ō pīlō -ō
  Voc. domine -e pīlum -um

          PLURAL
  Nom. dominī -ī pīla -a
  Gen. dominō´rum -ōrum pīlō´rum -ōrum
  Dat. dominīs -īs pīlīs -īs
  Acc. dominōs -ōs pīla -a
  Abl. dominīs -īs pīlīs -īs

[Footnote 1: Compare the declension of «domina» and of «dominus».]

a. Observe that the masculines and the neuters have the same terminations excepting in the nominative singular and the nominative and accusative plural.

b. The vocative singular of words of the second declension in «-us» ends in «-ĕ», as «domine», O master; «serve», O slave. This is the most important exception to the rule in §56.a.

«74.» Write side by side the declension of «domina», «dominus», and «pīlum». A comparison of the forms will lead to the following rules, which are of great importance because they apply to all five declensions:

a. The vocative, with a single exception (see §73.b), is like the nominative. That is, the vocative singular is like the nominative singular, and the vocative plural is like the nominative plural.

b. The nominative, accusative, and vocative of neuter nouns are alike, and in the plural end in «-a».

c. The accusative singular of masculines and feminines ends in «-m» and the accusative plural in «-s».

d. The dative and ablative plural are always alike.

e. Final «-i» and «-o» are always long; final «-a» is short, except in the ablative singular of the first declension.

«75.» Observe the sentences

  «Lesbia est bona»,
    Lesbia is good
  «Lesbia est ancilla»,
    Lesbia is a maidservant

We have learned (§55) that «bona», when used, as here, in the predicate to describe the subject, is called a predicate adjective. Similarly a noun, as «ancilla», used in the predicate to define the subject is called a «predicate noun».

«76.» RULE. «Predicate Noun.» A predicate noun agrees in case with the subject of the verb.

[Illustration: PILA]

«77.» DIALOGUE GALBA AND MARCUS

First learn the special vocabulary, p. 285.

  G. Quis, Mārce, est lēgātus cum pīlō et tubā?
  M. Lēgātus, Galba, est Sextus.
  G. Ubi Sextus habitat?[2]
  M. In oppidō Sextus cum fīliābus habitat.
  G. Amantne oppidānī Sextum?
  M. Amant oppidānī Sextum et laudant, quod magnā