Chapter 3
The Roman Alphabet
Pronunciation
v=w
ae = ī
qu = kw
ē=ā
i= yuh
ī =ē
c=k
villa, via
terrae, puellae
quo, quem
sedē, manetē
Iulius, iam
lībera, servī
Caesar, carrus
Latin is an inflected language that is the endings show part of
speech rather than word placement
puella
puellae
puellam
The girl likes the boy.
Puella puerum amat.
Puerum puella amat.
Amat puella puerum.
The boy likes the girl.
Puer puellam amat.
Puellam puer amat.
Amat puer puellam.
Reading and
Understanding
Latin
Try to grasp the meaning of each
Latin word in the order in which
it appears in the sentence. Do
not jump around. Your goal is to
understand Latin as the
Romans did.
If you cannot understand the meaning
of a Latin word, try to connect its
spelling with an English word you
know.
aqua = aquatic
having to do with water
aqua = water
Be attentive to not only the meaning
of every word in a Latin sentence
but also to its form (spelling) and
position:
puella= girl
puellae = girls
The meaning of Latin words depend greatly
on its exact spelling. A change in the form of
a Latin word (inflection) almost always
results in a change in the meaning. In Latin,
word position is more important for emphasis
than for meaning.
Puella in agris ambulat.
The girl walks in the fields.
Puellae in agris ambulant.
The girls walk in the fields.
Latin does not have the articles
a, an or the
You must supply them
Girl likes boy.
The girl likes the boy.
What is a noun?
persons, places, things,
ideas, states or qualities
boys, kitchen, pencil, love,
independent, beauty
What is meant by number?
singular or plural
coins
are easier to count when put in
groups
What is a declension of nouns?
a grouping that shares
the same spelling
pattern
manus
puella
arbor
puella
dies
manus
arbor
servus
dies
puella
manus
servus
arbor
dies
servus
Five Declensions of Nouns
1st: puella, puellae
2nd: servus, servi
3rd: arbor, arboris
4th: manus, manus
5th: dies, diei
declension
singular
plural
singular
plural
1st
-a
-ae
puella
puellae
2nd
-us
-i
servus
servi
-r*
-i
puer
pueri
-t
-nt
ridet
rident
verbs
*puer, vir and ager are also 2nd declension nouns
Cornelia est puella Romana.
Cornelia is a Roman girl.
Cornelia et Flavia sunt puellae Romanae.
Cornelia and Flavia are Roman girls.
Davus est servus.
Davus is a slave.
Multi servi in agris laborant.
Many slaves work in the fields.
Marcus est puer Romanus.
Marcus is a Roman boy.
Marcus et Sextus sunt pueri Romani.
Marcus and Sextus are Roman boys.
Cornelius est vir Romanus.
Cornelius is a Roman man.
Viri Romani in Italiā habitant.
The Roman men live in Italy.
Activity 1: Change from singulars to plurals
1. amicus Romanus
2. villa rustica
3. vir solus
4. pictura Romana
5. servus defessus
6. Puella ridet.
7. Puer est iratus.
8. Puella est irata.
Activity 2: Change from plurals to singulars
1. amicae defessae
2. servi irati
3. puellae Romanae
4. viri defessi
5. villae vicinae
6. Viri clamant.
7. Puellae sunt strenuae.
8. Pueri sunt strenui.
Activity 3: Circle the correct form and translate the sentence.
1. Marcus et Sextus in eādem villā _____.
habitat/habitant
2. Davus vir Britannicus _____.
est/sunt
3. In agris laborant _____.
servus/servi
4. Pueri et puellae saepe _____.
gemit/currit/currunt
5. In agris sunt multi _____.
6. In Italiā habitat _____.
puella/servus/servi
Marcus et Sextus/Marcus/puellae
7. Marcus et Sextus sunt pueri _____.
Romanus/Romani/Romanae
8. Cornelia et Flavia sunt puellae _____.
Romanus/Romani/Romanae
9. Aurelia est femina _____.
Romanus/Romani/Romana
10. Davus non _____.
ridet/rident