IMPERATIVE MOOD & VOCATIVE CASE
WHAT IS MOOD ?
1.
Mood refers to one of the five attributes of a verb.
2.
Verbs can be described by describing each of their attributes: a.
Person – who performs the verb’s action? i.
First: “I” or “we” ii.
Second: “you” or “you (pl.)/ya’ll” iii.
Third: “(s)he/it” or “they” b.
Number – how many subjects perform the verb’s action? i.
Singular: I/you/(s)he/it ii.
Plural: we/ya’ll/they c.
Tense
– when in time does the verb’s action take place?
i.
Present – right now ii.
Future
– later, unspecified as to when iii.
Future Perfect
– later, finished at some point iv.
Imperfect
– recently up until now or repeatedly in the past, incomplete v.
Perfect – in the past, now completed vi.
Pluperfect – further back in the past, already completed d.
Voice
– subject’s relationship to the verb: does the subject perform or receive the action of the verb?
i.
Active
– the subject performs the action
1.
The general attacks the enemy.
2.
The horses eat much grain. ii.
Passive
– the subject receives the action
1.
The enemy is attacked by the general.
2.
Much grain is eaten by the horses. e.
Mood
– the attitude of the speaker towards what he is saying.
i.
I NDICATIVE : EXPRESSES STATEMENTS OF FACTS OR
DIRECT QUESTIONS .
1.
My son is coming to the farmhouse. fīlius meus ad vīllam venit
.
2.
Your son is coming too, isn’t he? Nōnne tuus fīlius quoque venit
? i

IMPERATIVE MOOD & VOCATIVE CASE
3.
Will we walk with our sons?
Ambulāmus cum nostrīs fīliīs
? ii.
I MPERATIVE : EXPRESSES DIRECT COMMANDS
1.
Come to the farmhouse, my son.
Venī
ad vīllam, mī fīlī
.
2.
Walk with me to the road, boys.
Ambulāte
, puerī, mēcum ad viam
,
3.
Do not walk* with those boys, my daughter.
Nōlī ambulāre, mea fīlia, cum istīs puerīs.
*
This is an example of a “negative command,” which follows slightly different rules of formation in Latin.
iii.
Subjunctive: expresses “unreal” actions, which include:
1.
Deliberations
2.
Possibilities
3.
Doubts
4.
Unlikely wishes
5.
Uncertain conditions
6.
Contrary-to-fact conditions
7.
Mild commands
8.
Purpose, Result
9.
Indirect Questions
10.
Indirect Commands iv.
Infinitive: expresses the action of the verb in an almost abstract form, more akin to the basic “idea” of a verb
1.
Currently, the only infinitive you need to know is the present active infinitive, which is the same as the second principal part of regular verbs.
a.
venīre: to come b.
ambulāre: to walk c.
esse: to be d.
abesse : to be absent e.
docēre
: to teach
2.
Infinitives have forms in other tenses and voices as well: a.
docērī
: to be taught (present passive ) b.
ambulāvisse
: to have walked ( perfect active) c.
doctus, -a, -um esse : to have been taught ( perfect passive ) d.
ambulātūrus, -a, -um esse
: to be going to walk ( future active ) ii

IMPERATIVE MOOD & VOCATIVE CASE
3.
Notāte Bene : a.
All of the verbs you have worked with so far have been in the active voice . i.
You can often say the same thing in English in both active and passive voice by rewording your sentences. ii.
In Latin the same is true, but you have not yet learned how to say things in passive voice. This will happen later this year. b.
Nearly all of the verbs you have worked with so far have been in the indicative mood . i.
Infinitives are not always considered moods.
1.
The other tenses and voices of the infinitive will be taught in the second year of Latin.
2.
The infinitives you have used this year have either been subjects of verbs or objects of verbs: a.
Subject: “To live without food is hard.”
Habitāre / Vīvere sine cibō dūrum est
. b.
Object: i.
“We love to run.” Amāmus currere
. ii.
“Are you trying to listen?” Temptāsne audīre
?
3.
You will learn a use called the “complementary” infinitive, which is just the infinitive used to complete the action of an intransitive verb. a.
Complementary infinitive: “We are able to live for a long time.” possumus diū vīvere
. b.
“Can you speak in Latin?” potesne Latīnē dīcere
? ii.
Subjunctive mood is complex and cannot be summarized in just one statement like the other moods.
1.
Subjunctive in Latin is much more widely used than it is in English, which makes it harder to
“hear” (i.e. detect) in English.
2.
It will be introduced in the second year of Latin
3.
It will become the focus of the third year of Latin. iii

IMPERATIVE MOOD & VOCATIVE CASE
IMPERATIVE MOOD
1.
Imperatives exist in two tenses and two voices each a.
Present Tense i.
A CTIVE V OICE :
“D
O THIS .” ii.
Passive Voice: “Be influenced.” b.
Future Tense: i.
Active Voice: “You will do this.” or “Thou shalt do this.” ii.
Passive Voice: “You will be lead.”
2.
Forming the Present Active Imperative in Latin: a.
To conjugate any verb’s present active imperative, you need to follow a few simple steps: i.
STEP #1: Start with the verb in its 2nd principal part.
1.
SAMPLE DICTIONARY ENTRY: quae·rō
, rere , sīvī
or siī
, sītus
, tr to look for, search for; to try to get a.
quaerō
is the 1 st principal part b.
quae- + -rere = quarere , the 2 nd principal part c.
quae- + -sīvī (or -siī) = quaesīvī
(or quaesiī ), the 3 rd principal part d.
quae- + -sītus = quaesītus
, the 4 th principal part ii.
STEP #2: Remove the
–re
from the verb’s second principal part
1.
You memorized this “formula” for conjugating:
(2 nd principal part) –– (re ) = present stem of the verb. The present stem in most cases is the same as the present active imperative form.
2.
EXAMPLES: a.
1 st conjugation: ( amāre
) –– (re ) = amā b.
2 nd conjugation: ( sedēre
) –– (re ) = sedē c.
3 rd conjugation*: ( mittere ) –– (re ) = mitte d.
4 th conjugation: ( audīre
) –– (re ) = audī iv

IMPERATIVE MOOD & VOCATIVE CASE e.
*Key difference between present stem and present active imperative is in the third conjugation i.
Present Stem (for conjugating present, imperfect, and future tenses):
( quaerere ) –– (ere ) = quaer - ii.
Present Active Imperative (command form): ( quaerere ) –– (re ) = quaere iii.
STEP #3: To make the imperative form plural, add
–te to the singular form (change the final -e of the imperative to i - first if the verb is 3 rd conjugation)
1.
EXAMPLES: a.
1 st conjugation: ( amāre
) –– (re ) = amā
+ (te ) = amāte b.
2 nd conjugation: ( sedēre
) –– (re ) = sedē
+
(te ) = sedēte c.
3 rd conjugation: ( mittere ) –– (re ) = mitte
–
(e ) = mitt + (-i-) = mitti + (te ) = mittite d.
4 th conjugation: ( audīre
) –– (re ) = audī
+
(te ) = audīte b.
The present active imperative forms of verbs will take direct objects if the verbs themselves are transitive (i.e. normally take direct objects). i.
“
Give the book to my son.” Da librum meō fīliō . ii.
“
Send auxiliary troops to the camp tomorrow, lieutenant.” crās mitte
, lēgāte, auxilia ad castra
. iii.
“
Carry the water far and wide through the fields, boys.” portāte
aquam, puerī, longē lātēque per agrōs . iv.
“
Read the letter to me.” Lege mihi litterās . v.
“
Give me a thousand kisses.” Da mī/mihi basia mille . c.
Similarly, the present active imperative will NOT take a direct object if the verbs themselves are intransitive . i.
“
Be good, Caesar.” Es bonus, Caesar . ii.
“
Sit in your chairs, children.”
Sedēte , līberī, in vestrīs sellīs
. v

IMPERATIVE MOOD & VOCATIVE CASE
3.
Imperative mood verbs often appear with the vocative case in the same sentence. a.
Imperative mood verbs are direct commands and therefore considered in the 2 nd person. b.
When you use 2 nd person verbs, you are talking directly to somebody. c.
It is common when talking to somebody to address them by their name, their title, or their status. vi

IMPERATIVE MOOD & VOCATIVE CASE
VOCATIVE CASE
1.
The Vocative case is the sixth case in Latin, after the Nominative,
Genitive, Dative, Accusative, and Ablative. a.
There is also a seventh case called the Locative case. b.
You will learn the Locative case later, in the second year of Latin, but for now, learn these specific examples: i.
Rōmae
= “in Rome” or “at Rome” (i.e. You can’t write in Rōmā
in Latin to mean “in Rome”) ii.
Athēnīs
= “in Athens” or “at Athens” iii.
domī
= “at home” or “in the house”
2.
The Vocative Case only has one construction: Direct Address . a.
When you talk to someone and say his name to him, the name goes into the vocative case. i.
“Billy-Bob, how could you let Angelina get away? ii.
“Nobody cares about your hair, Justin.” iii.
“Katie Perry, come sing me a song.” b.
The vocative case applies to other words too, not just names.
It is used for any word you are using as a form of direct address when you talk to somebody. i.
“Boys and girls, please sit in your seats.” ii.
“Hello everyone!” iii.
“Listen, sh*thead, get out of my way!”
3.
Forming the Vocative case in Latin: a.
Baseline: vocative case forms are the same as the nominative. b.
Exception: singular 2 nd declension words ending in – us and
2 nd declension proper nouns ending in – ius . i.
– us : replace the – us with – e
1.
Mārcus
– (us ) + (e ) = Mārce
2.
porcus
– (us ) + (e ) = porce
3.
amīcus
– (us ) + (e ) = amīce ii.
– ius : replace the – ius with – ī
1.
Lūcius
– (-i us ) + (ī
) =
Lūcī
2.
Claudius – (-i us ) + (ī
) =
Claudī c.
Special Rules: i.
fīlius
– (-i us ) + (ī
) = fīlī
; same for genius (divine guardian) vii

IMPERATIVE MOOD & VOCATIVE CASE ii.
The adjective meus becomes mī
(only in the masculine singular, otherwise, mea , meum ) iii.
deus
1.
in the plural can be either deī
or, more commonly, dī , e.g. “O immortal gods!”
O dī immortālēs !
2.
deus in the vocative singular does not occur in classical Latin a.
in the Vulgate , deus is used as the vocative. b.
the vocative outside of classical Latin is said to have been dee . iv.
Adjectives and Greek names ending in – ius use – ie for their vocative, such as egregius, -a, -um
, “outstanding”
PRACTICE SENTENCES:
1.
Boy, carry my letter ( epistula, -ae ) to the farmhouse.
2.
My son, give me (use dative pronoun mihi ) your true word today.
3.
Eat ( edō, edere
, 3 rd conjugation) your food quickly (use adverb celeriter , formed from 3 rd declension adjective), my boys.
4.
Lucius, run ( currō
, currere , 3 rd conjugation) to the forum in the meantime (use Ch. 9 adverb meaning “meanwhile”).
5.
Friend, why did you not prepare yourself (use accusative pronoun tē
) then?
6.
Julius and Marcus, stand in front of the sacred doors ( iānua
, ae ).
7.
Appius, you are enjoying ( gustō
(1)) the journey ( iter, itineris , n.)
3 rd declension) to Italy, are you not?
8.
Daughter, where were my wagons yesterday?
9.
Tell us (use dative pronoun nōbīs
) a good story, teacher.
10.
Great master, save your money well! viii