The Tutoring and Learning Center 300 Library 747-5366
http://academics.utep.edu/tlc
Latin Handout #5
Basic Sentence Structure for Latin

In English, most sentences are made up of three components:
subject + verb + direct object
Example:
Veronica loves Marcus.

In Latin, most sentences include these three components as well; however, they are in
different order.
subject + object + verb
Example:
Veronica Marcum amat.

The subject of a sentence must be in the nominative case.
Nominative: Veronica
Genitive:
Veronicae
Dative:
Veronicae
Accusative: Veronicam
Ablative:
Veronicā
Vocative:
Veronica

The direct object is in the accusative case.
Nominative:
Genitive:
Dative:
Accusative:
Ablative:
Vocative:
Marcus
Marci
Marcō
Marcum
Marcō
Marcus
Note: Each case has different functions. For our purposes, we will be discussing the
nominative and accusative case only.
Let’s switch the sentence around.
Marcus loves Veronica.
Some materials borrowed from Balme , Maurice and James Morwoord . Oxford Latin Course Part I. New
York: Oxford, 2000.
Hint: Marcus = nominative
Veronica = accusative.
Answer: Marcus Veronicam amat.

The verb must agree in number and person (1st, 2nd, 3rd) with the subject. Also, verbs
fall under one of 4 conjugations.
1st conjugation
(stems in –a)
I
par-ō
You (sing) parā-s
He/she
para-t
We
parā-mus
You (pl.) parā-tis
They
para-nt
2nd conjugation
(stems in –e)
I
mone-ō
You
monē-s
He/she mone-t
We
monē-mus
You (pl.) monē-tis
They
mone-nt
3rd conjugation
(stems in consonants)
I
reg-ō
You (sing)
reg-is
He/she
reg-it
We
reg-imus
You (pl)
reg-itis
They
reg-unt
3rd conjugation
(stems in –io)
I
capi-ō
You (sing) cap-is
He/she
cap-it
We
cap-imus
You (pl.) cap-itis
They
capi-unt
4th conjugation
(stems in –i)
I
audi-ō
You (sing)
audi-s
He/she
audi-t
We
audi-mus
You (pl.)
audi-tis
They
audi-unt
Some materials borrowed from Balme , Maurice and James Morwoord . Oxford Latin Course Part I. New
York: Oxford, 2000.
Word order
Latin allows for a very flexible word order because of its inflectional syntax. Ordinary
prose tended to follow the pattern of Subject, Indirect Object, Direct Object, Adverbial
Words or Phrases, Verb (SIDAV). Any extra, though subordinate verbs, are placed before
the main verb; for example infinitives. Adjectives and participles usually directly
followed nouns, unless they were adjectives of beauty, size, quantity, goodness, or truth,
in which case they preceded the noun being modified. Relative clauses were commonly
placed after the antecedent which the relative pronoun describes. While these patterns for
word order were the most frequent in Classical Latin prose, they are frequently varied;
and it is important to recall that there is virtually no evidence surviving that suggests the
word order of colloquial Latin (see Vulgar Latin).
In poetry, however, word order was often changed for the sake of the meter, for which
vowel quantity (short vowels vs. long vowels and diphthongs) and consonant clusters, not
rhyme and word stress, governed the patterns. It is, however, important to bear in mind
that poets in the Roman world wrote primarily for the ear, not for the eye; many
premiered their work in recitation for an audience. Hence, variations in word order served
a rhetorical, as well as a metrical purpose; they certainly did not prevent understanding.
In Virgil's Eclogues, for example, he writes, Omnia vincit amor, et nos cedamus amori!:
Love conquers all, let us yield to love!. The words omnia (all), amor (love) and amori (to
love) are thrown into relief by their unusual position in their respective phrases. The
meter here is dactylic hexameter, in which Virgil composed The Aeneid, Rome's national
epic.
The ending of the common Roman name Marcus is different in each of the following
examples due to its grammatical usage in that sentence. The ordering in the following
sentences would be perfectly correct in Latin and no doubt understood with clarity,
despite the fact that in English they are awkward at best and senseless at worst:


Marcus ferit Corneliam: Marcus hits Cornelia. (Subject-Verb-Object)
Marcus Corneliam ferit: Marcus Cornelia hits. (Subject-Object-Verb)

Cornelia dedit Marco donum: Cornelia has given Marcus a gift. (Subject, Verb,
Indirect Object, Direct Object)
Cornelia Marco donum dedit: Cornelia (to) Marcus a gift has given. (Subject,
Indirect Object, Direct Object, Verb)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_grammar#Word_order
Some materials borrowed from Balme , Maurice and James Morwoord . Oxford Latin Course Part I. New
York: Oxford, 2000.
Sentence Structure
Although Latin does not have any set sentence structure, due to the ending of
nouns telling you what each word means in a sentence, there are some sentences
constructions you would want to know about.
Subject-Linking Verb-Compliment
-These are the simplest types of sentences to work with. They are composed of a
Noun, a verb, and usually an adjective.
-The noun and verb MUST ALWAYS agree.
e.g. (Singular noun/Singular verb
-Plural noun/ Plural verb)
-Nouns and the compliment MUST AGREE as well, the noun will always be
Nominative case, for it is the subject, so the adjective, which must always agree in
case, number, and gender will be in the Nominative case.
Puer est Romanus - The boy is Roman
The boy, puer, is nominative singular Masculine, so your compliment is
nominative, singular, masculine.
Also, Puer, is singular, thus you use the singular verb, est.
Puellae sunt defessae - The girls are tired
Plural subject/Plural verb
Plural Nom. Fem. subject, Plural. Nom. Fem Compliment.
Compound Sentences
These are sentences brought together by conjunctions. They can bring together
sentences, clauses, and simply words.
e.g. Cornelia sedet et legit.
Cornelia sits and reads. Notice how et brings together the first sentence, with the
word 'read'. Although apparent, conjoined sentences keep the same subject as the
first clause.
Questions
Questions are easily asked within latin, they can either be introduced by
interrogative words (Who, what, when etc.) or by adding the enclitic -ne to the end
of the first word (usually the verb) of a question
e.g. Quid facit Cornelia? - What is Cornelia doing?
Estne puer laetus? - Is the boy happy?
Also, nonne can be used when you expect "yes" to be the answer.
e.g. Nonne cenare vultis? - Surely you want to eat, dont you? (or, more simply,
You want to eat, right?)
Some materials borrowed from Balme , Maurice and James Morwoord . Oxford Latin Course Part I. New
York: Oxford, 2000.
Regular Sentence Form
The name itself is unfit, due to the many different ways to form sentences and use
of passive verbs, deponents, etc.
but a basic sentence, for our case, usually consists of a Subject, a verb, a Direct
Object, and an ablative.
e.g. Sextus vexat Corneliam in horto semper. - Sextus is always annoying
Cornelia in the garden
http://www.learnlatinonlinefree.com/sentence_structure.php
Some materials borrowed from Balme , Maurice and James Morwoord . Oxford Latin Course Part I. New
York: Oxford, 2000.
Some materials borrowed from Balme , Maurice and James Morwoord . Oxford Latin Course Part I. New
York: Oxford, 2000.