Nōmen
Latin I, Magistra Snyder / Magister Jaffe, R ______
Term 1, IA Review Packet
This packet belongs in the Reference Information section of your binder. It condenses all of the material
we have covered so far into one place.
Parts of Speech
We are concerned with SIX different parts of speech.
1. Latin ADVERBS have only one form, and they modify a verb, an adjective, or another adverb.
a. e.g. ĪRĀTĒ dīcit – she speaks ANGRILY
b. NB: we have not discussed the forms of adverbs and you have none yet in your vocabulary list. They
will be glossed for you.
2. Latin CONJUNCTIONS have only one form, and they separate and begin clauses.
a. e.g. orāculum dīcit, SED vera verba nōn dīcit – she speaks a prophecy, BUT she does not speak
true words.
3. Latin ADJECTIVES modify a noun.
a. They appear in a masculine, a feminine, and a neuter form – īrātus, īrātī, īrātum angry
b. Latin adjectives agree with the noun they modify in gender, number, and case.
i. e.g. deī ĪRĀTĪ VERBA verba dīcunt – ANGRY gods speak TRUE words.
4. Latin PREPOSITIONS have only one form, and they are followed by a noun. Together, the preposition and
the noun form a PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE.
a. The noun following a preposition is called the object of the preposition.
b. The object of the preposition will always be in the ablative or accusative case, according to the
preposition.
c. Prepositions are listed together with the case of the object that they take and their meaning: sine,
(+ABL), without / ad, (+ACC), towards
d. e.g. amīcus IN SILVĀ petit – the friend seeks IN THE FOREST
e. NB: The object of a preposition can never be a subject, a direct object, an ablative of means, or
anything else. It is ONLY the object of a preposition. Prepositional phrases are super easy to
translate once you have identified them!
5. Latin NOUNS name a person, a place, an abstract idea, or a thing.
a. Nouns appear in their nominative singular form, their genitive singular form, their gender, and then
their meaning – vir, virī, m. man; husband
b. Nouns change their form according to the grammatical role that they play in a clause. A noun’s case
identifies its grammatical role. Its number identifies it as singular or plural.
6. Latin VERBS describe an action or an occurrence.
a. Verbs appear with four principal parts and then a meaning –
i. cupiō, cupere, cupīvī, cupītus want
b. Verbs change endings to show their person and number. e.g. amās – YOU love.
c. Verbs change form to show their tense, which tells us when the verb happened.
 amās – you WERE loving – present tense, vs.
 amāBĀs – you WERE loving – imperfect tense.
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Noun Translations and Declensions
“The man eats cake with a fork in the house of his friend.”
The heart of every clause in any human language is the VERB. Every clause must have a verb, and a
person or thing who is doing the verb. All nouns and parts of speech stand in relation to the verbal action
of the clause. Latin nouns can play the following roles in relation to the verb:
A Latin noun can act as a SUBJECT, when it is the do-er or be-er of the verb. The man is the subject of the
sentence above. He is the one doing the eating. Who or what is eating? The man is.
A Latin noun can act as a DIRECT OBJECT, when it is the recipient of the verbal action. The cake is the
direct object of the sentence above. It is the thing being eaten. Who or what is being eaten? Cake is.
A Latin noun can be the OBJECT OF A PREPOSITION when it is part of a prepositional phrase. House is an
object of a preposition in the sentence above. Where is the action happening? In a house.
A Latin noun can MODIFY ANOTHER NOUN. The noun friend modifies the noun house. Whose house is
the action happening in? His friend’s.
A Latin noun can show the MEANS or WAY by which the verb happens. The word fork shows the means
by which the action happens. How is the man eating the cake? With a fork.
In ENGLISH, we know which noun is acting as the SUBJECT, which noun is acting as the DIRECT OBJECT,
etc. because of the ORDER in which the words appear.
In EVERY English sentence, the subject is placed immediately before the verb, and the direct object is
placed immediately after the verb.
In LATIN, words can appear IN ANY ORDER.
“The cake in of the friend the house with a fork the man eats.”
Readers of Latin know which noun is acting as the subject, which noun is acting as the direct object, etc.
only because of the ENDINGS of the words. These endings tell readers the CASE of the noun (what role it
is playing in the sentence) and the NUMBER of the noun (singular vs. plural).
When you translate Latin, your job is first to IDENTIFY the verb, the subject, the direct object, etc., and
then to simply PLACE THEM IN ORDER in English with the subject first, then the verb, and then the direct
object.
ONCE YOU HAVE CORRECTLY TRANSLATED THE SUBJECT, VERB, AND DIRECT OBJECT, ALL THE OTHER
PIECES WILL FALL INTO PLACE FOR YOU.
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Nouns and the Case System
Latin SUBJECTS appear in the NOMINATIVE CASE (as do PREDICATES NOMINATIVE)
Latin DIRECT OBJECTS appear in the ACCUSATIVE CASE.
Latin OBJECTS OF PREPOSITIONS appear either in the ACCUSATIVE CASE or the ABLATIVE CASE,
depending on the preposition.
Latin nouns that MODIFY OTHER NOUNS appear in the GENITIVE CASE.
Latin nouns showing the MEANS by which the action happens appear in the ABLATIVE CASE.
The nominative, genitive, accusative, and ablative cases take the endings shown below:
Nominative Singular
Genitive Singular
Accusative Singular
Ablative Singular
Nominative Plural
Genitive Plural
Accusative Plural
Ablative Plural
1st Declension
2nd Declension
2nd Declension (Neuter)
-a
-ae
-am
-ā
-ae
-ārum
-ās
-īs
-us/r
-ī
-um
-ō
-ī
-ōrum
-ōs
-īs
-um
-ī
-um
-ō
-a
-ōrum
-a
-īs
When one puts Latin nouns into these different CASES and NUMBERS by switching their endings, one
DECLINES the noun.
Latin nouns belong to families called DECLENSIONS. A noun that belongs to the 1st DECLENSION always
takes the endings listed in the 1st DECLENSION column. You can only judge the CASE of a 1st declension
noun, and therefore how it should be translated, by considering 1st declension endings.
A noun that belongs to the 2nd declension will only ever take the endings listed in the 2nd DECLESION
column.
Neuter nouns belong to declensions like any other noun, but there are two special rules that apply always
and forever to every neuter noun:
1) The nominative singular and the accusative singular look identical.
2) The nominative plural and the accusative plural have the ending –a.
Together, we call these patterns the NEUTER RULE.
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Let’s DECLINE nouns from the first, second, and second-neuter DECLENSIONS:
The noun fēmīna, fēmīnae, f. woman belongs to the 1st declension. We know this because the genitive
singular form ends in –ae.
Nominative Singular
Genitive Singular
Accusative Singular
Ablative Singular
fēmīna
fēmīnae
fēmīnam
fēmīnā
Nominative Plural
Genitive Plural
Accusative Plural
Ablative Plural
fēmīnae
fēmīnārum
fēmīnās
fēmīnīs
The noun ager, agrī, m. field belongs to the 2nd declension. We know this because the genitive singular
form ends in –ī.
Nominative Singular
Genitive Singular
Accusative Singular
Ablative Singular
ager
agrī
agrum
agrō
Nominative Plural
Genitive Plural
Accusative Plural
Ablative Plural
agrī
agrōrum
agrōs
agrīs
The noun rēgnum, rēgnī, n. kingdom belongs to the 2nd declension. We know this because the genitive
singular form ends in –ī. However, we also notice that this noun is neuter, and we therefore will follow
the neuter rule as we decline.
Nominative Singular
Genitive Singular
Accusative Singular
Ablative Singular
rēgnum
rēgnī
rēgnum
rēgnō
Nominative Plural
Genitive Plural
Accusative Plural
Ablative Plural
rēgna
rēgnōrum
rēgna
rēgnīs
One can translate Latin ONLY IF ONE IS ABLE TO IDENTIFY THE CASE AND NUMBER OF THE NOUNS
ONE SEES IN SENTENCES. By identifying the case and number, you will be able to place the nouns in the
correct order and translate properly.
THERE IS NO OTHER WAY!
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Verb Tenses and Conjugations
Nouns belong to DECLENSIONS and when they change form, they DECLINE.
Verbs belong to CONJUGATIONS and when they change form, they CONJUGATE.
A Latin verb will always show PERSON and NUMBER in its ending. Person indicates whether the action is
being done by the speaker(s), by the person(s) the speaker is addressing, or by other person(s) the
speaker is talking about.
In the 1st Person, “I” or “we” are the subjects.
In the 2nd Person, “you” or “you all” are the subjects.
In the 3rd Person, “he/she/it” or “they” are the subjects.
A verb’s NUMBER indicates whether the subject is singular or plural (I vs. we, she vs. they, etc.)
PERSONAL ENDINGS are placed at the end of verbs to indicate their person and number.
1st
SINGULAR
I
-ō / -m
2nd
3rd
-s
-t
you
he/she/it
-mus
-tis
-nt
PLURAL
we
you all
they
A verb that ends in –ō will always have “I” as a subject translated right before the verb.
A verb that ends in –t will always have “he”, “she”, or “it”, OR a singular nominative noun in the clause as a
subject translated right before the verb.
A verb that ends in –nt will always have “they” OR a plural nominative noun in the clause as a subject
translated right before the verb.
To be able to conjugate a verb, we must be able to find its PRESENT STEM. To do so, simply chop off the
-re at the end of the second principal part.
e.g. iubē is the present stem of iubeō, iubēre, iussī, iussus order, command
We must also be able to identify the CONJUGATION to which a verb belongs. To do so, simply look at the
vowel at the end of the present stem.
CONJUGATION NUMBER
PRESENT STEM VOWEL
PATTERN OF PRINCIPAL PARTS 1 & 2
1st
2nd
3rd
3rd-io
4th
-ā
-ē
-e
-e (with –iō) in 1st PP
-ī
-ō, -āre
-eō, -ēre
-ō, -ere
-iō, -ere
-iō, -īre
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PRESENT TENSE
The Latin PRESENT TENSE talks about actions or occurrences happening right now.
“you VERB”, “you are VERBing”, “you do VERB” are all correct ways to translate the Latin present tense.
To form the present tense, follow the following simple formula:
PRESENT STEM + PERSONAL ENDING
*Exceptions*
1) In the 1st & 3rd conjugations, the present stem vowel disappears in the 1st person singular.
2) In the 3rd conjugation, the stem vowel –e- changes to –i- before the personal endings.
3) In the 3rd conjugation, the stem vowel changes to –u- in the 3rd person plural.
4) In the 3rd-io conjugation, an –i- appears in front of the personal ending in the 1st person singular, and
before the –u- in the 3rd person plural.
5) In the 4th conjugation, a –u- appears before the personal ending.
These exceptions are better understood simply by looking at the patterns of the present tense. Let’s
conjugate a verb from each conjugation in the present tense.
The verb amō, amāre, amāvī, amātus love has the present stem amā- and belongs to the 1st
conjugation. Its present tense is:
LATIN
ENGLISH
LATIN
ENGLISH
1st
amō
I love
amāmus
We love
2nd
amās
You love
amātis
You all love
3rd
amat
He/she/it loves
amant
They love
The verb habeō, habēre, habuī, habitus have has the present stem habē- and belongs to the 2nd
conjugation. Its present tense is:
LATIN
ENGLISH
LATIN
ENGLISH
1st
habeō
I have
habēmus
We have
2nd
habēs
You have
habētis
You all have
3rd
habet
He/she/it has
habent
They have
The verb caedō, caedere, cecidī, caesus strike; kill has the present stem caede- and belongs to the 3rd
conjugation. Its present tense is:
LATIN
ENGLISH
LATIN
ENGLISH
1st
caedō
I strike
caedimus
We strike
2nd
caedis
You strike
caeditis
You all strike
3rd
caedit
He/she/it strikes
caedunt
They strike
The verb capiō, capere, cēpī, captus seize has the present stem cape- and an –iō at the end of the first
principal part. It belongs to the 3rd-io conjugation. Its present tense is:
LATIN
ENGLISH
LATIN
ENGLISH
1st
capiō
I seize
capimus
We seize
2nd
capis
You seize
capitis
You all seize
3rd
capit
He/she/it seizes
capiunt
They seize
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The verb veniō, venīre, vēnī, ventus arrive, come has the present stem venī- and belongs to the 4th
conjugation. Its present tense is:
LATIN
ENGLISH
LATIN
ENGLISH
1st
veniō
I arrive
venīmus
We arrive
2nd
venīs
You arrive
venītis
You all arrive
3rd
venit
He/she/it arrives
veniunt
They arrive
The irregular verb sum, esse, to be has the following forms in the present tense:
1st
2nd
3rd
LATIN
sum
es
est
ENGLISH
I am
You are
He/she/it is
LATIN
sumus
estis
sunt
ENGLISH
We are
You all are
They are
IMPERFECT TENSE
The Latin IMPERFECT TENSE talks about action that happened in the past that was ongoing.
“you were VERBing” or “you used to VERB” are both correct ways to translate the Latin imperfect tense.
To form the imperfect tense, follow the following simple formula:
PRESENT STEM + -BĀ- + PERSONAL ENDING
*Exceptions*
1) In the first person singular, use the alternate personal ending –m.
2) In the 3rd-io and 4th conjugations, the vowel at the end of the present stem becomes –iēThe verb dō, dare, dedī, datus give has the present stem da- and belongs to the 1st conjugation. Its
imperfect tense is:
LATIN
ENGLISH
LATIN
ENGLISH
1st
dabam
I was giving
dabāmus
We were giving
2nd
dabās
You were giving
dabātis
You all were giving
3rd
dabat
H/S/I was giving
dabant
They were giving
The verb fugiō, fugere, fūgī, fugitus flee, escape has the present stem fuge- and an –iō at the end of the
first principal part. It belongs to the 3rd-io conjugation. Its imperfect tense is:
LATIN
ENGLISH
LATIN
ENGLISH
1st
fugiēbam
I was fleeing
fugiēbāmus
We were fleeing
2nd
fugiēbās
You were fleeing
fugiēbātis
You all were fleeing
3rd
fugiēbat
H/S/I was fleeing
fugiēbant
They were fleeing
The irregular verb sum, esse, to be has the following forms in the imperfect tense:
1st
2nd
3rd
LATIN
eram
erās
erat
ENGLISH
I was
You were
He/she/it was
LATIN
erāmus
erātis
erant
ENGLISH
We were
You all were
They were
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Annotation and Translation Strategy
ANNOTATION is a tool to aid translation. If you can annotate a sentence, then you can translate it. Similarly, if you
understand a sentence well enough to translate it, then by definition you can annotate it.
To translate ANY Latin sentence, take the following steps:
1) COUNT the verbs. There are exactly as many clauses in a sentence as there are conjugated verbs. Use
conjunctions and punctuation to divide the sentence into its clauses.
a. INFINITIVES – the second principal part of a verb, such as facere “to make” or cupere “to want”,
does not stand on its own as a verb but is rather translated after another conjugated verb. It does
NOT count when deciding on clauses.
2) UNDERLINE the verb of the clause you are working on. Check its personal ending. If the personal ending is
plural, the subject will have to be a plural nominative noun. If the personal ending is singular, the subject
will have to be a singular nominative noun. If no noun in the clause matches that description, the subject is
implied in the personal ending and you must circle that ending.
3) IDENTIFY any PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES. Find any prepositions and put PARENTHASES around it and its
object (at least two words). Save these phrases for later, and do nothing with them until you are ready to
translate.
4) IDENTIFY the SUBJECT. Every verb has a subject, a person or thing doing the action. Look through the
words in the clause for one or more with a nominative ending. That is your subject. CIRCLE it. If there is no
nominative word that matches the verb, CIRCLE the verb’s personal ending.
5) IDENTIFY the DIRECT OBJECT. Many clauses have a direct object. Look through the words in the clause for
one or more with an accusative ending. BOX it.
a. PREDICATES NOMINATIVE – the verb to be never takes a direct object! Instead you should expect
to see another noun in the nominative case which will be translated instead of a direct object.)
6) IDENTIFY any GENITIVE NOUNS. Genitive nouns modify a nearby noun. HOOK the genitive noun to the
noun that it modifies.
NOW you are ready to translate!
7) Write the SUBJECT (paying attention to its number- singular or plural).
8) Write the VERB (paying attention to its tense – present or imperfect).
9) Write the DIRECT OBJECT (paying attention to its number) OR write the predicate nominative.
10) Decide where the PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES will make sense and add them in (paying attention to the
number of the object of the preposition).
11) Add in GENITIVES by translating them next to the noun to which they are hooked (paying attention to the
number of genitives).
12) Translate any lingering ABLATIVES OF MEANS using BWIOF – “by, with, in, on, from.”
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