Latin 1
Grammar CARDS: Oxford, page 1
A. The 8 Parts of Speech (Introduction)
Noun
Ch. 1
Pronoun
Adjective
Ch. 1
Verb
Ch. 1
Adverb
Ch. 1
1. a word that is a person, place, thing
or idea [EXAMPLES: fireman, school,
window, peace]
2. nouns have special endings in Latin
divided into fixed patterns or
“declensions”
1. a word that replaces a person or thing
[EXAMPLES: I, you, he, she, it, we,
they, me, him, her, us, them, etc.
1. a word that describes/modifies a noun
in terms of quality or quantity
[EXAMPLES: tall, funny, new, loud,
scary, many, few, 2, 11th, several]
2. adjectives use virtually the same
Latin endings as nouns
(“declensions”), with few exceptions
1. an action word [run, swim, laugh] or
a word denoting existence or state of
being [be]
2. verbs have special endings in Latin,
divided into fixed patterns or
“conjugations”
1. a word that describes an adjective or
verb. Usually they end in –ly in
English [loudly, quickly, fast, slowly,
then, often, seldom, also, together]
2. Often used to show how or in what
manner an action is done
1.
a word that usually indicates direction or
location [in, into, out of, from, with,
through, near, to, toward]
2. In English and Latin, we have
prepositional phrases [in the pool, out of
the garden]
1. connecting words [and, but, when, after,
while, although, if]
1. words that are used in exclamations to
indicate emotion [Yippee! Hurray! Alas!
Woops! Uh-oh!]
Preposition
conjunction
interjection
article
Ch. 1
1. words like “the” (definite article) or
“a” / “an” (indefinite article)
2. Latin does NOT have articles: you
must supply them in English
translations
1
Latin 1
Grammar CARDS: Oxford, page 2
Ch. 1 to Ch. 3 Grammar Info
Word Order in Latin + position of the Latin verb.
o
o
o
Ch. 1
o
Unexpressed subjects
Ch. 1
What are the 3 ways to translate a verb in the present
tense?
Example: ambulant
Because of the various endings Latin words can be
positioned in different places in a sentence.
Whatever is 1st or last in the sentence is
emphasized.
Verbs most often are placed at the end of the
sentence. (Ch. 1)
Latin does not always express the subject
If there is no noun as subject, you must translate
the verb ending with a pronoun: ambulant =
(1) they walk, (2) they are walking, (3) they do
walk
1. There are 3 ways to translate the Latin present
into English:
ambulant = (1) they walk, (2) they are walking, (3)
they do walk
2. Note: in the “they are walking” translation, it is
incorrect to use “sunt” because helping verbs
are not expressed in Latin
Ch. 1
1.
Subject
(“a” system)
Ch. 1
Linking verbs:
EXAMPLE: est/sunt
The subject is the noun that performs the action of
the verb: Ryan breaks the window. (Ryan is the
subject)
2. In the “a” pattern, the singular subject ends in –a;
the plural subject ending is –ae. (puella 
puellae)
1. The verbs est and sunt are called “linking verbs”
because they link the subject with a complement.
2. The verbs est and sunt are NOT action verbs
Ch. 1
Complement (The subject complement)
1. The noun or adjective linked to the subject
with est/sunt (linking verb):
a. Ryan is a Phillie. (Phillie is the noun complement)
b. The Phillies are happy. (happy is the adjective
(used only with linking verbs)
Ch. 1
Number
complement))
Number = either Singular or PLURAL
Ch. 4
Direct object
Ch. 2
o
o
# applies to nouns, adjectives & verbs
Singular = one (person)
Plural = 2 or more
o
1. The noun that receives the action of the verb:
Ryan breaks the window. (window is the direct
object)
2. Accusative Case endings [-am, -um, -em / -ās, ōs, -ēs]
2
Latin 1
Grammar CARDS: Oxford, page 3

Case

CASE is a category of endings for regular uses
for nouns/adjectives.
for example, the nominative case ending is
used for the subject of a sentence
Ch. 2
The Nominative Case
1. The subject of the sentence must have a
nominative case ending
2. The subject complement with a linking verb
must have a nominative case ending
Ch. 2
The Accusative Case
1. The direct object of the sentence must have an
accusative case ending
2. The object of any idea od motion towards must
have an accusative case ending
Ch. 2
Declension
1. a system or pattern of noun (and adjective)
endings
2. there are 3 main declensions in Latin; 5 in all
3. a noun belongs to one (and only one)
declension
Ch. 3
1 Declension (Card 1)
1. mostly feminine nouns whose subject ends in –a
[examples: aqua, puella, ancilla, piscīna, epistula, vīlla]
st
Ch. 3
2 Declension (Card 1)
nd
Ch. 3
o
o
o
o
The Noun/Adjective Ending: -a
(1st declension)
[aqua, puella, ancilla, piscīna, epistula, vīlla]
1. masculine nouns
a. –us type [servus, hortus, lupus, Marcus]
b. –er type [puer, ager, caper, etc.]
c. –ir type [vir]
2. neuter nouns [saxum, baculum]
feminine
singular
subject (nominative)
1st Declension
Ch. 1
o
o
[aquam, puellam, ancillam, piscīnam, epistulam,
o
vīllam]
Ch. 2
o
The Noun/Adjective Ending: -us
o
o
[servus, lupus, Marcus, hortus]
o
Ch. 3 o
The Noun/Adjective Ending: -am
feminine
singular
direct object/motion towards (accusative)
1st Declension
masculine
singular
subject (nominative)
2nd Declension
3
Latin 1
The Noun/Adjective Ending: -er
[puer, ager]
The Noun Ending: -ir
[vir]
The Noun/Adjective Ending: -um
[servum, lupum, puerum, agrum]
Conjugations
The verb ending –t
Grammar CARDS: Oxford, page 4
o masculine
o singular
o subject (nominative)
Ch. 3 o 2nd Declension
o masculine
o singular
o subject (nominative)
Ch. 3 o 2nd Declension
o masculine
o singular
o direct object/motion towards (accusative)
Ch. 3 o 2nd Declension
1. There are 4 types of regular verbs divided into
conjugations
2. All verbs use the same pattern of personal endings;
only the stem vowel will differ between conjugations
Ch. 3
o The ending –t on a verb is SINGULAR; if there is
no other noun as subject, translate the –t as “he”,
“she” or “it”
o
The verb ending -nt
Ch. 3 o
o
Ch. 4
o
o
Puella legit. = The girl is reading.
Legit. = He/She/(It) is reading
The ending –nt on a verb is PLURAL; if there is no
other noun as subject, translate the –nt as “they”
Puellae legunt. = The girls are reading.
Legunt. = They are reading.
1.
Nouns have Gender
Ch. 3
There are 3 genders is Latin: feminine (F), masculine
(M), or neuter (N).
2. When learning the vocabulary for a noun, also learn
its gender. Sometimes it is not obvious.
3. Gender should be considered for nouns and
adjectives

Adjective-Noun Agreement
Ch. 3
Adjectives must agree with the nouns they
describe in three ways: in
(1) case, (2)
number, and (3) gender.
The Complete patterns of noun declensions for
the 1st 3 declensions
SINGULAR
1st
Declension
2nd
Declension
3rd Declension
Nominative
-a
varies
[SINGULAR ONLY]
Genitive
-ae
-ae
-am
-ā
-a
-us/-ius/
-er/-ir
-ī
-ō
-um
-ō
-e/-ī/-er/-ir
Dative
Accusative
To be learned later
Ablative
Vocative
-is
-ī
-em
-e
= nom. singular
4
Latin 1
The Complete patterns of noun declensions for
the 1st 3 declensions
[PLURAL ONLY]
Grammar CARDS: Oxford, page 5
PLURAL
1st Declension
2nd
Declension
3rd Declension
Nominative
Genitive
Dative
Accusative
Ablative
Vocative
-ae
-ārum
-īs
-ās
-īs
-ae
-ī
-ōrum
- īs
-ōs
- īs
-ī
-ēs
-um
-ibus
-ēs
-ibus
-ēs
5
Latin 1
Grammar CARDS: Oxford, page 6
6