Final Exam Study Guide
Nouns
All nouns in Latin have an assigned gender. They can be either masculine, feminine, or neuter. Some nouns can be both
masculine and feminine (for example, canis, canis, m./f. - dog or civis, civis (gen pl civium), m./f. - citizen).
All nouns in Latin belong to a particular declension. There are 5 declensions to which nouns can belong. Knowing the
declension of each noun is crucial so that you know how to decline it into all cases.
The dictionary definition of nouns is given in the following format:
Nominative Singular, Genitive Singluar, Gender - Definition.
The nominative singular must be part of the definition because often this form is unpredictable - you just need to
memorize it. The genitive singular must be part of the definition because it gives you two crucial pieces of information the STEM of the noun (which is used to form all or most of the other forms - any that do not depend on the Nom Sg) and
the DECLENSION.
You look at the genitive singular's ending to identify the declension to which a noun belongs, as below:
1st declension: gen sg ends in -ae
e.g., puella, puellae, f. - girl
2nd declension: gen sg ends in -ī
e.g., servus, servī, m. - slave or baculum, baculī, n. - stick
3rd declension: gen sg ends in -is (SHORT i!)
e.g., corpus, corporis, n. - body
4th declension: gen sg ends in -ūs
e.g., manus, manūs, f. - hand
5th declension: gen sg ends in ēī
e.g., diēs, diēī, m. - day
Neuter nouns all share two rules, regardless of whether they belong to 2nd, 3rd, or 4th declension. #1 - the ACC SG is
always the exact same form as the NOM SG, and the ACC PL is always the exact same form as the NOM PL. #2 - the NOM
PL always ends in -a. Because the NOM/ACC/VOC SG and NOM/ACC/VOC PL are identical for neuter nouns, it can be
tricky to determine whether a neuter noun is a subject or a direct object.
There are many noun endings in Latin which can be more than one case, depending on the declension or simply context.
Watch out for the following:
-ae can be GEN SG, DAT SG, NOM PL and VOC PL in the 1st declension.
-īs can be DAT PL and ABL PL in both the 1st and 2nd declensions, and looks much like the SHORT -is of 3rd declension
GEN SG.
-ī can be GEN SG, NOM PL and VOC PL in the 2nd declension, or DAT SG in the 3rd declension.
-um can be ACC SG masc in 2nd declension, or NOM/ACC/VOC SG neut in the 2nd declension, or GEN PL any gender in the
3rd declension.
-a can be the NOM/VOC SG masc/fem in 1st declension, but the NOM/ACC/VOC PL neuter in 2nd or 3rd declension.
-ō can be the DAT/ABL SG in 2nd declension, but is occasionally the "given" ending of 3rd declension nouns (e.g., caupō).
-ēs can be the NOM/ACC/VOC PL of masc/fem 3rd declension nouns
Among 3rd declension nouns, there is a select group called "i-stems" which have a different gen pl ending: -ium.
We often translate nouns differently depending on what case they are in. The following are the common uses and
translations of the six different cases which you have seen so far:
Nominative - "a/the [noun]" - subject, complement
Genitive - "of a/the [noun]" - possession
Dative - "to/for a/the [noun]" - indirect object
Accusative - "a/the [noun]" - direct object, object of prepositions (ad, apud, in, per, prope)
Ablative - "with/by/etc a/the [noun]" - place where, place from which, time when, time within which, accompaniment,
means, manner, respect, object of prepositions (ā/ab, cum, dē, ē/ex, in, sub)
Vocative - "...., [noun]" or "O, [noun]!" - direct address
The following are examples of sentences with the uses of the above cases:
Cornēlia est puella. Cornēlia est laeta. Cornelia is a girl. Cornelia is happy.
Cornelia in both sentences is NOM - subject. puella and laeta are both NOM - complements (you only see this with a
linking verb, i.e., a form of the verb "to be").
Cornelia Sextum nōn amat. Davus Sextum verberāre vult. Cornelia does not like Sextus. Davus wants to beat Sextus.
Sextum is ACC - DO. He is the recipient of the action in the verb (amat, and then verberāre).
Cornelius est pater Marcī. Cornelius is the father of Marcus.
Marcī is GEN - possession. Marcus has a father (Cornelius). The genitive word usually comes immediately after the thing
it possesses.
Cornelia ē villā venit. Cornelia cum Flaviā sedet. Cornelia comes out of the countryhouse. Cornelia sits with Flavia.
villā is ABL - place from which
Flaviā is ABL - accompaniment. Cornelia is doing the action of the verb along with Flavia.
Sextus Corneliam in agrīs vexant. Sextus annoys Cornelia in the fields.
agrīs is ABL - place where. The fields are the place where Sextus is doing the action of the verb.
Davus servum, nomine Geta, petit. Davus Getam invenit et eum baculō verberat. Davus seeks a slave, Geta with
respect to his name (named Geta). Davus finds Geta and beats him with a stick.
nomine is ABL - respect (only one you know so far). baculō is ABL - means/instrument. The stick is the instrument
(tangible) with which Davus carries out the action of the verb.
Marcus magnā voce clamat. Marcus shouts in a loud voice.
magnā voce is ABL - manner. It describes the manner in which Marcus does the action the verb (something intangible).
Flavia eō ipsō tempore ridet, sed brevī tempore lacrimat. Flavia laughs at that time itself, but in a short (amount of)
time she cries.
tempore in the first sentence is an ABL - time when. tempore in the second sentence is an ABL - time within which
The endings of nouns depend on their declension. The declension endings go as follows:
1st declension
2nd declension masculine
2nd declension neuter
NOM
a
ae
us/ius/er/r
ī
um
a
GEN
ae
ārum
ī
ōrum
ī
ōrum
DAT
ae
īs
ō
īs
ō
īs
ACC
am
ās
um
ōs
um
a
ABL
ā
īs
ō
īs
ō
īs
VOC
a
ae
e/ī/er/r
ī
um
a
3rd decl masc/fem
3rd decl masc/fem i-stem
3rd decl neut
3rd decl neut i-stem
NOM
(ANY)
ēs
(ANY)
ēs
(ANY)
a
(ANY)
ia
GEN
is
um
is
ium
is
um
is
ium
DAT
ī
ibus
ī
ibus
ī
ibus
ī
ibus
ACC
em
ēs
em
ēs
(nom sg) a
(nom sg)
ia
ABL
e
ibus
e
ibus
e
e
ibus
VOC
(nom sg) ēs
(nom sg)
ēs
(nom sg) a
(nom sg)
ia
ibus
Adjectives
Adjectives come in every gender (masculine, feminine, and neuter). The dictionary definition is always given in the
following format:
Nominative Sg Masculine, Nominative Sg Feminine, Nominative Sg Neuter
When they modify a particular noun, adjectives take on the gender of that noun. So far you have learned how to decline
1st/2nd declension adjectives. They usually have the endings –us, -a, -um in the Nom Sg, although sometimes they are
slightly different (e.g., -er, -a, -um). When these adjectives modify a masculine noun, they use 2nd declension masculine
endings. When they modify a feminine noun, they use 1st declension endings; a neuter noun, 2nd declension neuter
endings. Remember that adjectives only have to agree with the noun they modify in CASE, NUMBER and GENDER. They
often will NOT have the same declension endings. However a noun could end in –ēs and the adjective in –ās and they
would still agree because they are both ACC, PL, and FEM.
Some examples:
mater laeta
…
agricola sordidus
…
tempus longum tempora longa
matris laetae
agricolae sordidī
temporis longī
temporum longōrum
matrī laetae
agricolae sordidō
temporī longō
temporibus longīs
matrem laetam
agricolam sordidum
tempus longum tempora longa
matre laetā
agricolā sordidō
tempore longō temporibus longīs
mater laeta
agricola sordide
tempus longum tempora longa
Verbs
All verbs in Latin belong to a group called a conjugation. There are four conjugations in Latin: 1 st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. Some
verbs within 3rd conjugation are called specifically 3rd-io. Verbs which do not belong to one of the four conjugations are
called irregular. Knowing the conjugation of each verb is crucial so that you know how to conjugate it into all forms.
The dictionary definition of verbs is given in the following format:
Present Tense 1st Sg, Infinitive, …, … - to …
Each form given is called a principal part. You only need to know the first two principal parts this year; next year you will
begin to learn verbs by all four principal parts. You can sometimes tell or at least narrow down the conjugation of a verb
by looking at the first principal part, but in order to determine the conjugation, you have to look at the second principal
part, also known as the infinitive – this form ends in –re.
Conjugation
Present 1st Sg
Infinitive
1st
-ō
-āre
2nd
-eō
-ēre
3rd
-ō
-ere
3rd-io
-iō
-ere
4th
-iō
-īre
Just because the first principal part ends in only –ō, you can’t identify the conjugation – it could be 1st or 3rd conjugation.
Just because the first principal part ends in –eō, you can’t identify the conjugation – it is ALMOST always second, but
beware eō, īre (irreg) and its compounds (e.g., redeō, redīre). You need to check with the infinitive to be sure.
Just because the first principal part ends in –iō, you can’t identify the conjugation – it could be 3rd-io or 4th conjugation.
When verbs are the indicative mood, they state facts. These are the main verbs you have seen most of the year. These
verbs come in 1st, 2nd, or 3rd person, singular or plural. Each of these forms has a its own ending in each tense, which
indicates which person and number the subject will be. These subjects correspond with different pronouns in English,
and if there is no noun in the sentence to indicate the subject, you can simply use the pronoun indicated by the verb’s
ending. The endings for present and imperfect tense are below, with the personal pronouns in English and Latin:
PRESENT
IMPERFECT
PRONOUNS (ENG)
PRONOUNS (LAT)
Sg
PL
SG
PL
SG
PL
SG
PL
1st Person
m/-ō
-mus
-bam
-bamus
I
we
ego
nōs
2nd Person
-s
-tis
-bas
-batis
you
y’all
tū
vōs
3rd
-t
-nt
-bat
-bant
he/she/it they
is, ea, id
eī, eae, ea
Person
If a verb is 2nd person plural, “ego” cannot be the subject. Similarly, if a verb ends in –t, the subject can’t be a plural noun
like “equī.”
When we grammar map, we see a few different types of indicative verbs: linking, transitive, and intransitive.
Linking verbs are forms of sum, esse, and they have a subject (NOM) and a complement (NOM) with them.
Transitive verbs take a direct object (DO). Intransitive verbs do not take a DO.
When forming the present and imperfect tenses, you must know the stem of the verb, the vowel(s) it uses in each tense,
and the proper endings.
1st conjugation:
present tense: stem + a + ending
imperfect tense: stem + a + ending
exception: 1st sg (just –ō, no –a-)
2nd conjugation:
present tense: stem + e + ending
imperfect tense: stem + e + ending
3rd conjugation:
present tense: stem + i + ending
imperfect tense: stem + e + ending
exception: 1st sg (just –ō, no –i-)
exception: 3rd pl (unt, not int)
3rd-io conjugation:
present tense: stem + i + ending
exception:
4th conjugation:
3rd
imperfect tense: stem + ie + ending
pl (iunt, not int)
present tense: stem + i + ending
imperfect tense: stem + ie + ending
exception: 3rd pl (iunt, not int)
Sometimes you just have to memorize the irregular verb forms for these tenses, and sometimes they follow the pattern of
a particular conjugation.
In English there are several ways to translate the present tense:
I AM laughing, you ARE laughing, he/she/it IS laughing, we ARE laughing, y’all ARE laughing, they ARE laughing
I DO laugh, you DO laugh, he/she/it DOES laugh, we DO laugh, y’all DO laugh, they DO laugh
I laugh, you laugh, he/she/it laughes, we laugh, y’all laugh, they laugh
In English there is one main way to translate the imperfect, but three other ways which sometimes are appropriate:
I WAS laughing, you WERE laughing, he/she/it WAS laughing, we WERE laughing, y’all WERE laughing, they WERE
laughing (showing something that was happening over a span of time in the past)
I kept laughing, you kept laughing… (showing something that kept continuing in the past)
I used to laugh, you used to laugh… (showing something that habitually happened in the past)
I began to laugh, you began to laugh… (showing something that started happening in the past)
You have also see imperatives, which are commands. They are also main verbs. The implied subject of an imperative is
always you or y’all (the person/people you are commanding). This can be expressed in parentheses or simply left out.
To form the positive singular imperative, you take the infinitive and remove the –re. (e.g., amāre’s imperative = amā!)
Exceptions: the verbs dicō, dicere; ducō, ducere, and faciō, facere remove the entire –ere (dic! duc! fac!)
To form the positive plural imperative, you take the singular imperative and add –te (e.g., amā becomes = amāte!)
Exception: if the verb is 3rd or 3rd-io, before you add the –te you must change the –e ending of the singular imperative to a
short –i-. (e.g., petō, petere’s positive imperatives are = pete! petite!)
To form the negative imperative, you use the imperative of nolō, nolle and then add the infinitive of the verb whose action
you do NOT want someone to do. (e.g., nolī amāre! Don’t love! nolīte amāre! Don’t love!)
Irregular verbs usually must be memorized, but there are some patterns that will help you remember all the forms.
If you know the present and imperfect of sum, esse, you can also conjugate the compounds of sum. For example, you know
the verb absum, abesse. Its forms are the same as sum, esse’s with ab- in front of them. possum, posse also is formed from
sum, esse in the present and imperfect tenses. Wherever the form of sum begins with the letter S, you add POS- in front of
the form of sum to create the corresponding form of possum. Wherever the form of sum begins with the letter E, you add
POT- in front.
Several of the forms of nolō are actually just forms of volō with “nōn” in front of them as a separate word. These forms
correspond with the same person/number as the forms of sum, esse which begin with e- in the present tense.
volō, nolō, and ferō act like a 3rd conjugation verb in the imperfect tense, with the stems vol-, nol-, and fer-.
Some verbs are used with infinitives. Words like possum, volō, and nolō are followed by complementary infinitives. The
infinitive may then have a DO, but the main verb will not. You also see infinitives with impersonal verbs such as “necesse
est”, showing what it is necessary to do.
Adverbs
Remember that there are all sorts of adverbs and they often look like nouns of various cases, numbers, and genders. They
give you additional information about another word in the sentence, usually the verb, but sometimes another adverb, or
an adjective. You can form adverbs by putting the ending –ē on the stem of an –us, -a-, um adjective, or the ending –iter on
the stem of an –is, -is, -e (3rd declension) adjective.
Roman Numerals and Latin Numbers
Know your Latin numbers and how to use Roman numerals. Remember that the first three numbers (unus, -a, -um; duo,
duae, duo; tres, tres, tria) decline into all the cases/genders, but the majority of other numbers are indeclinable – i.e., they
have the same form regardless of the case, number and gender of the noun they modify.
The Roman numerals are I (one), V (five), X (ten), L (fifty), C (one hundred), D (five hundred), and M (one thousand).
When creating a long string of Roman numerals, break your number up into the 1000s 100s 10s and 1s and tackle each of
those separately (e.g., to form 2512, first write 2000, then 500, then 10, then 2 = MMDXII). As you add numbers, place
them after the previous Roman numeral. Don’t forget that you can only repeat the same numeral three times – once you
need a fourth, try counting backwards from the next highest numeral. However, you can only put ONE numeral in front of
a higher Roman numeral. For example, you cannot write VIIII for 9 (it must be IX). And you can’t write IIL for 48 (it must
be XXXVIII).
Cultural/Historical/Mythological Material
We have covered the following topics this year, which you can find in your textbook and in your notes:
The Roman Family
Roman Dress
The Judgment of Paris/The Trojan War/Aeneas
Slaves, especially Spartacus and his revolt
Gladiators in general, the Flavian Amphitheater (aka, the Colosseum)
The 12 Major Gods/Goddesses
Roman Names
The Founding of Rome/Romulus and Remus
The 7 Kings of Rome
Grammar Mapping
Box anything in the Nominative case (subject or complement, noun or adjective).
Circle any main verbs (indicative verbs with the personal endings, imperatives, but NOT infinitives).
If the verb has a DO, draw an arrow to it.
If the verb has a complementary or other infinitive, draw an arrow to it. If that infinitive has a DO, draw an arrow from
the infinitive to its DO.
Connect any adjectives to their noun.
Put parentheses around prepositional phrases.
Label leftover words, which might include: conjunctions, adverbs, genitives, ablatives, vocatives.
Translating into English - tips
If you have a subject, start with it. If you don’t, look at the VERB. The ending tells you the pronoun you can use in place of
a noun for a subjct.
After you establish a subject, look for your main verb. Check to make sure that your subject and verb work together – e.g.,
they are both singular, or both plural, not one of each. WATCH OUT FOR TENSE! Make sure you translate the tense
appropriately.
Next go to your infinitive or DO as appropriate.
Leave prepositional phrases and adverbs to the end, and follow the Latin word order whenever possible.
Translating into Latin - tips
Start with your subject. Remember that most adjectives come after the noun they modify. Genitives follow the noun they
possess. Verbs usually come last in the sentence, then you usually work backwards from the verbs – adverb, INFIN/DO,
prepositional phrases, etc.