Form III CLC Latin Term II 2014
Examination Format & Study Guide
Question 1 : Prepared Translations.
Translations:
[15 marks]
venalicius
Stage 3 (p. 31)
Hermogenes
Stage 4 (p. 43)
actores
Stage 5 (p. 58)
pugna
Stage 6 (p. 72)
You need to learn the translations listed above off by heart. Given that this question is worth a
large chunk of your exam, it is a good way to score easy marks. In the exam, you will be asked to
translate sections from two of these translations from Latin into English.
To learn the passages, don’t try to memorize just the English; instead, look at the Latin text, and
then match up the English translation word for word, until eventually you can translate the passage
simply by looking at the Latin text. Try to understand what function the words have in the sentence,
and how they fit together. Learning translations takes practice, and it is not something you can
leave until the last minute.
Question 2 : Unprepared Translations.
[20 marks]
You will have to translate a passage of Latin which you have not seen before. The passage will
include all the vocabulary which you have learnt so far (up to page 82), as well as all the grammar
(up to page 82). You are expected to know all the bold vocabulary words from stages 1 to 6; any
additional words will be given to you in the exam.
An unprepared translation is a test of two things: whether you know what the words mean
(vocabulary), and whether you can put them together in the right way, looking at case endings,
verb endings, tenses, prepositional phrases, etc. Try not to guess what the sentence means;
rather, use your knowledge of grammar to work out the meaning by looking at the case endings,
the tense of the verbs, the person endings, etc.
Question 3 : Grammar.
[45 marks]
Question A.
Refer to Question 1 (the Prepared Translations). Identify the case of
certain nouns and explain the reason for their case.
[5 marks]
Question B.
Refer to Question 1 (the Unprepared Translations). Identify the
Declension (1st / 2nd / 3rd) of certain nouns.
[2 marks]
Refer to Question 2 (the Unprepared Translation). Find and write
down in Latin one example of certain grammatical features.
[4 marks]
Question C.
Question D.
Write out declension tables (declensions 1 to 3). The genitive and
dative cases will not be required.
[6 marks]
Question E.
Write out conjugation tables (all conjugations, present, imperfect
and perfect tenses, including sum, esse, fui).
[8 marks]
Question F.
Translate verb forms from Latin to English and English to Latin.
[9 marks]
Question G.
Theory questions.
[6 marks]
Question H.
Complete Latin sentences by choosing a word.
[5 marks]
Choose the correct option given to complete a Latin sentence.
Question 4 : Derivations.
[10 marks]
Give the English derivation from a Latin word, or the Latin word and its meaning when given the
derivation. All derivations are from stages 3 to 5, as listed in bold on the vocabulary sheets.
Question 5 : Life and Customs.
[10 marks]
Write a short, detailed paragraph about two topics. You must make at least five detailed and
valid points for each topic. The topics are:
•
the town of Pompeii, Stage 3
•
the forum, Stage 4
•
the theatre at Pompeii, Stage 5
Examination Advice.
Do the prepared translations first, to get you thinking about Latin using something you should
know very well. Check when you finish that you have not left out a sentence or word: every word
must be accounted for in your English.
When doing the unprepared translation, identify in each sentence the verb, subject and object
from their case endings, and then adding in prepositional phrases. Be especially careful of tenses
of verbs. If you have forgotten what a word means, try to work it out from the context, and make an
attempt rather than leaving a blank. It is important that you try to do the WHOLE translation – don’t
give up half way through because there is a difficult section that you can’t do. Marks are distributed
evenly over the whole translation, and you can still get the easy marks at the end, even if you can’t
do a hard part in the middle. Check when you finish that you have not left out a sentence or word.
In the grammar section, accuracy is vital. Most students will lose marks by making silly
mistakes, not because they don’t know their grammar. You must check your answers thoroughly,
especially in the tables of nouns and verbs.
Finally, check out the help and revision available on the School intranet pages (go to
Departments>Latin>Kepheus>Form III>Term II CLC Latin).
If you study hard and are well prepared, you will reap great rewards!
Work hard and good luck!