Opus Novum Review Grammar
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Case
Syntactic structures (clauses, absolutes)
Participles
The infinitive
Number
Finite verbs
Declensions
Case
Case shows what job a noun, adjective or
participle is doing in a sentence. These jobs
can be subject, direct object, object of
preposition, to name a few.
Case is expressed by the endings of words,
which change according to those jobs. Equus
and equos have distinct jobs in a sentence,
just like I and me do in English.
There are five major cases and two
secondary cases
Syntactic structures
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Purpose clauses
Relative clauses
Complementary infinitives
Indirect statement
Ablative absolutes
The present infinitive
The active form is simply the 2nd principle part of
the verb: mutare, docēre, mittere, audīre,
ferre. Its translation comes from its use in the
particular sentence.
The passive form take the active form and
changes the final –e to –ī, with the exception of
3rd conjugation where the whole –ere is
dropped before adding the -ī:
mutārī, docērī, mittī, audīrī, ferrī.
The infinitive
The infinitive serves as a secondary verb—While
we can think of its basic meaning as “to___”, it
gets its actual meaning and use only in relation
to the finite verb of the sentence. It should
never be considered “The Verb” of a sentence or
clause.
There are a number of infinitive forms:
Present active and passive
Perfect active and passive
Future active and (rarely) passive
The perfect infinitive
The active form of the perfect infinitive is
the third principle part of the verb with
the ending –sse:
occupāvisse, mīsisse, tulisse.
The passive form is the fourth principle part
(generally with an accusative ending
agreeing with the leading accusative
noun) accompanied by the word esse:
occupatum esse, latās esse
Infinitive usage
The infinitive can be used
-- in indirect statement, where it follows a
“mind” or “head” verb and a direct
object/accusative.
--as a complementary infinite following
those verbs (studeo, propero, dubito)
which need to be completed before they
can be understood.
Complementary Infinitive
The complementary infinitive is an infinitive
related to a verb which needs to be
“completed” before its full meaning can be
understood. Such verbs include studeō,
properō, dubitō, possum. (list of most common
complementary infinitives)
Exemplum
Mars nōn poterat militēs gloriōsōs docēre.
Mars was not able to teach the boastful soldiers
Common Complementary infinitives
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coepī, coeptus (defective verb-only 3rd and 4th principle parts)
he/she/it began to
constituō, constituere 3, constituī, constitūtus
to decide
debeō, debere 2, debuī, debitus
to ought to
dubitō, dubitāre 1, dubitavī, dubitātus
to hesitate or doubt
mereō, merere 2, meruī, meritus
to deserve
possum, posse, potuī, --to be able (can)
properō, properāre 1, properavī, properātus
to hurry or hasten
studeō, studere 2, studui
to be eager, to be
desirous
timeō, timere 2, timui
to fear, to be afraid to
Purpose clause
A purpose clause is a subordinate clause that
expresses why someone does something.
In Latin, a purpose clause is introduced by and ut
(so that) or nē (so that . . .not) and uses a verb
the subjunctive mood.
Exempla
Cornelia gladium invēnit ut comās removēret.
Cornelia took a sword so that she could remove (her) hair.
Faber pilam rapuit nē filia eam super murum iaceret.
The craftsman grabbed the ball so that the daughter would not throw it
over the wall again.
Indirect statement
Indirect statement is a reported or conveyed
statement.
Statement: the dog was barking.
Indirect statement: The boys knew that the
dog was barking
Indirect statement has three components.
A mind/head verb
A d.o./accusative
An infinitive
exempla
Indirect statement
An indirect statement is simple statement
that is being reported or commented on in
some way.
In Latin indirect statement is expressed by
using a head/mind verb along with a
direct object and an infinitive. That d.o.
can be considered the lead noun of the
infinitive and will be translated as if it
were a subject.
Indirect Statement Exempla
Mind or Head Verbs
Mind/heads verbs are verbs which
express obvious mental processes:
videre, audire, dicere, sentire,etc.
They are often used to introduce
indirect statement. (list of common mind/head
verbs)
Common Head/Mind Verbs
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Audiō 4: to hear
Respondeō, respondere 2, respondī, responsus:
to answer, reply
Sciō 4: to know
Videō, videre 2, vidī, visus: to see
Cognoscō, cognoscere 3, cognovī, cognitus:
to get to know, realize, become aware of
Sentiō, sentīre 4, sensī, sensus: to feel
Credō, credere 3, credidī, creditus: to believe
Sperō 1: to hope
Clamō 1: to shout
Negō 1: to deny, refuse
Indirect statement exempla
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Discipula equōs currere ex agro viderat.
The student had seen that the horses were running
from the field.
Dux piratam ad urbem fugere clamābat.
The leader was shouting that the pirate was fleeing
toward the city
Dominus militēs villam et hortōs et nummōs non bene
(well) custodivisse cognovit.
The master knew that the soldiers had not guarded
the farm and the garden and the coins well
Indirect Statement Exempla
Domina filiās dormīre vīdit.
The mistress saw that the daughters were
sleeping.
Musca ranam accedere sensit.
The fly felt that the frog was approaching.
Clamābat magister pueros mensas in hortum
trahere.
The teacher was shouting that they boys were
dragging the tables into the garden
Relative Clause
A relative clause is a complete sentence found
inside another sentence which describes one of
the nouns in that second sentence.
The relative clause begins with a relative pronoun
which shows the same number (singular or
plural) and gender (masculine or feminine) as
the noun it is describing. The relative clause
usually ends with a verb.
Relative clause exempla
Relative pronoun forms
Relative pronouns
masc.
fem.
neuter
Nominative
Genitive
Dative
Accusative
Ablative
quī
cuius
cuī
quem
quō
quae
cuius
cuī
quam
quā
quod
cuius
cuī
quod
quō
Nominative
Genitive
Dative
Accusative
Ablative
quī
quōrum
quibus
quōs
quibus
quae
quārum
quibus
quās
quibus
quae
quōrum
quibus
quae
quibus
Singular
Plural
Relative clause exempla
Nuntius quem regina mandāvit non tacebat.
The messenger whom the queen sent was not
keeping quiet.
Nuntius quī non tacēbat clamāvit et
populum permovit.
The messenger, who was not keeping quiet,
shouted and moved the people deeply.
Puella quam magister docēbat equōs amavit.
The girl whom the teacher was teaching loved
horses.
Finite verbs
Finite verbs are those verbs which take a
nominative subject and can be considered
the central element of a Latin sentence.
Finite verbs can be either active or passive
Finite verb tense
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Finite verbs all show tense, i.e., the time
when something happens.
They also show mood; indicative or
subjunctive. As a very general rule,
indicative states facts, while subjunctive
gives wishes, commands or hopes—that is
a very gross simplification.
Finite verb tense and meaning
Indicative
The indicative tenses in Latin (with meanings) are
Present: s/he __________s,
s/he is _________ing,
Does s/he___________?
Imperfect: she was _______ing, she used to________.
Future: she will _______, she is going to________.
Perfect: s/he________ed, s/he has ________ed,
did s/he__________?
Pluperfect: s/he had__________ed.
Future perfect: s/he she will have _____________ed.
Finite verb tense and meaning
subjunctive
The subjunctive tenses in Latin are
Present: let him/her__________,
he/she may_______________
Imperfect: s/he would, might _______________.
Perfect: s/he _____________ed
Pluperfect s/he would have _____________ed;
In some contexts, the subjunctive is translated just
like its indicative counterpart.
Finite verbs endings
Indicative active
Present
Imperfect
Future
1st
-at
-ābat
-ābit
2nd
-et
-ēbat
-ēbit
3rd
-it
-ēbat
-et
4th
-it
-iēbat
-iet
Perfect: add –t to the 3rd principle part
Pluperfect: add –erat to the 3rd principle part, after
removing the -ī
Future perfect: add –erit to the 3rd principle part,
after removing the -ī
paradigm
Finite verbs forms
Indicative passive
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
Present
-atur
-etur
-itur
-itur
Imperfect
-ābatur -ēbatur
-ēbatur -iēbatur
Future
-ābitur -ēbitur
-etur
-ietur
Perfect: add the word est to the 4th principle part
Pluperfect: add the word erat to the 4th principle
part.
Future perfect: add the word erit to the 4th principle
part.
paradigm
Conjugations
Verb are sorted in 4 conjugations. The inifinitive
shows the conjugation (-āre, -ēre, -ere, -īre).
The conjugation dictates what vowels will be
before the endings in the imperfect tense
(tenebat, audiebat), as well as the present
participle (necantem, ponentes).
They are also important in forming the present
(both indicative and subjunctive) and future
tenses. These forms are not learned in the first
semester.
Present and Future tenses active
1st conjugation
2nd
3rd*
4th
Portat
docet
mittit
audit
doceat
mittat
audiat
docebit
mittet
audiet
Present indicative
Present subjunctive
Portet
Future indicative
Portabit
*3rd –io verbs (like facio, facere, fēcī, factus) straddle the 3rd and 4th
conjugations.
Usually they resemble the 4th conjugation (facit, faciat, faciet) but in the
infinitive (facere) and imperative resemble the 3rd.
Click here for passive
Present and Future tenses passive
1st conjugation
2nd
3rd*
4th
Portatur
docetur
mittitur
auditur
doceatur
mittatur
audiatur
docebitur
mittetur
audietur
Present indicative
Present subjunctive
Portetur
Future indicative
Portabitur
*3rd –io verbs (like facio, facere, fēcī, factus) straddle the 3rd and 4th
conjugations.
Usually they resemble the 4th conjugation (facit, faciat, faciet) but in the
infinitive (facere) and imperative resemble the 3rd.
Click here for active
Finite verbs forms
Indicative active
Present
Imperfect
Future
1st
amat
amābat
amābit
Perfect:
amāvit
Pluperfect: amāverat
Future perf: amāverit
Click here for passive
2nd
docet
docēbat
docēbit
3rd
4th
mittit
audit
mittēbat audiēbat
mittet
audiet
docuit
docuerat
docuerit
mīsit
audīvit
mīserat audīverat
mīserit audīverit
Finite verbs forms
Indicative passive
Present
Imperfect
Future
1st
amatur
amābatur
amābitur
2nd
docetur
docēbatur
docēbitur
3rd
mittitur
mittēbatur
mittetur
4th
auditur
audiēbatur
audietur
Perfect:
Pluperfect:
Future perf:
amātus est
amātus erat
amātus erit
doctus est
doctus erat
doctus erit
mīssus est
missus erat
missus erit
audītus est
audītus erat
audītus erit
Click here for active
Finite verb endings
Subjunctive active
1st
Present
Imperfect
-et
-āret
2nd
3rd
-eat
-ēret
-at
-eret
4th
-iat
-īret
Perfect: add –erit to the 3rd principle part, after
removing the -ī
Pluperfect: add –sset to the 3rd principle part
paradigm
Finite verbs forms
Subjunctive active
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
Present
Imperfect
amet
amāret
doceat
docēret
mittat
mitteret
audiat
audīret
Perfect
Pluperf
amāverit
amāvisset
docuerit
docuisset
mīserit
mīsisset
audīverit
audīvisset
Click here for passive
Finite verbs forms
Subjunctive passive
Present
Imperfect
1st
ametur
amāretur
2nd
doceatur
docēretur
3rd
4th
mittatur
audiatut
mitteretur audīretur
Perfect
Pluperf
amātus sit
amātus esset
doctus sit
doctus esset
missus sit
audītus sit
missus esset audītus esset
Click here for active
Participles
Participles are adjectives made from verbs.
There are 4 different types of participles in
Latin
Present active with the endings -ns, -ntēs
Perfect passive made from the 4th principle
part
Future active showing –ur-before the ending
Future passive-showing –nd-before the
ending
Present participle active endings
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The present participle uses third
declension endings
Singular
Plural
Nominative
duce-ns
duce-nt-ēs
Genitive
duce-nt-is
duce-nt-ium
Dative
duce-nt-is
duce-nt-ibus
Accusative
duce-nt-is
duce-nt-ēs
Ablative
duce-nt-is
duce-nt-ibus
likewise: ama-ns; doce-ns, audie-ns
Present participle usage
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The present participle, translated ____ing,
can serve as an adjective for any noun:
Puer currens ancillās in hortō dormientēs vidit.
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Since is originates from verb it can even
take a direct object:
Puer sportulas ferens ancillās mensam trahentēs vidit.
Present participle active forms
Perfect Passive Participle
The perfect participle passive, translated
having been_____ed, can serve as an
adjective for any noun:
Dux occupatus per forum cucurrerat.
And sometimes there is another element
between the participle and its noun.
Puer in hortō visus florēs ex ancillīs raptōs
ferebat.
Perfect participle passive forms
Perfect Passive Participle
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The perfect passive participle uses the
same endings as 1st and 2nd declension
nouns. The 1st declension endings are
used if the noun described is feminine, the
2nd if masculine. (forms)
Past participle passive forms
Singular
Nominative
Genitive
Dative
Accusative
Ablative
uxor amāt-a
uxoris amāt-ae
uxorī amāt-ae
uxorem amāt-am
uxore amāt-ā
hospēs amāt-us
hospitis amāt-ī
hospitī amāt-ō
hospitem amāt-um
hospite amāt-ō
Plural
Nominative
Genitive
Dative
Accusative
Ablative
uxorēs amāt-ae
uxorum amāt-ārum
uxoribus amāt-īs
uxorēs amāt-ās
uxoribus amāt-īs
hospitēs amāt-ī
hospitum amāt-ōrum
hospitibus amāt-īs
hospitēs amāt-ōs
hospitibus amāt-īs
Number
Number is the term for whether something
is singular or plural. All nouns, adjective
and participles have to show number as
well as case and gender.
Verbs also have number but it is not treated
in the first semester.
7 cases
There are five major cases in Latin:
 nominative
 genitive
 dative
 accusative
 ablative
and two secondary cases:
 vocative
 locative
Cases—Five major
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Nominative—used for the subject or words
describing the subject
Genitive-used for possession and with some
adjectives, verbs and prepositions
Dative-used for the indirect object (to or for
someone or something) and with some verbs
Accusative-used mainly for the direct object and
with some prepositions.
Ablative-used with some prepositions [a(b),
e(x), de, pro, sine, in, sub], ablative absolutes,
and when used alone, the ablative of means.
The five major cases
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Nominative—used for the subject or words
describing the subject
Genitive-used for possession and with some
adjectives, verbs and prepositions
Dative-used for the indirect object (to or for
someone or something) and with some verbs
Accusative-used mainly for the direct object and
with some prepositions.
Ablative-used with some prepositions [a(b),
e(x), de, pro, sine, in, sub], ablative absolutes,
and when used alone, the ablative of means.
The two secondary cases
Secondary cases
The vocative-used when addressing someone
directly. It uses the nominative forms except in
the 2nd declension, where –ius goes to –ī, and –
us goes to –e.
Exemplum: Marcus Tullius becomes Marce Tulli.
The locative-used to tell where something is
located or takes place. It is used mainly for
towns (Romae, Athenis) and the words domi (at
home) and ruri (in the countryside).
Cases- Two secondary
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The vocative-used when addressing someone
directly. It uses the nominative forms except in
the 2nd declension, where –ius goes to –ī, and –
us goes to –e
Marcus Tullius when adressed is Marce Tullī
The locative-used to tell where something is
located or takes place. It is used mainly for
towns (Romae, Athenis) and the words domi (at
home) and ruri (in the countryside).
Case endings
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Each word that uses case endings can
show 10 different endings depending on its
job in the sentence. The are two endings
for each case, one for the singular and one
for the plural. The actual ending for each
word will depend on the declension in
which it is found.
Case endings (1st page)
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The case of a word is shown in its ending.
In the word puellam, the ending –am
shows that it is in the accusative case
(and it is singular)
In the word puellis, the ending -is shows
that it is in either the dative or ablative
case and that is it plural.
Case endings (2nd page)
Nominative case
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Nominative is used for the subject or
words describing the subject. It is
marked up S. The nominatives in the
following sentences are underlined.
Invenit puellam vacca.
Taurus per urbem currebat
Villam dux reliquerat.
The endings for the nominative case can be found
in the declensions pages
Accusative case
Accusative is used mainly for the direct object and with
some prepositions (ad, trans, in, contra, circum, per).
The accusatives in the following sentences are
underlined.
Puella sportulas per villam ferebat.
The girl was carrying the baskets though the villa.
Hospitem ad arbores uxor miserat.
The wife had sent the guest toward the trees
Scelestus pecuniam in murōs sepelīvit.
The crook buried the money in the walls.
The endings for the accusative case can be found
in the declensions pages
Ablative Case
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Ablative is used with some prepositions [a(b),
e(x), de, pro, sine, in, sub], ablative absolutes,
and the ablative of means. The ablatives in the
following sentences are underlined.
Puer ex arbore cecidit.
The boy fell from the tree.
Gladio clamoribusque magister milites terrebat.
The teacher with a sword and shouts was terrifying the soldiers.
Fenestrā apertā, Maximus solem vīdit.
When the window had been opened, he huge man saw the sun.
The endings for the ablative case can be found
in the declensions pages
Ablative of means
When a non-human noun is used in the ablative case,
without being related to a preposition or part of an
ablative absolute, it is most likely an ablative of means.
In the following sentences the ablative of means is
underlined. N.B. We often translate the ablative of
means as “with” in English.
servus cibum carrō traxerat.
The slave had brought the food by means of a cart.
crevit arbor aquā soleque.
The tree has grown by water and sun.
ubi pellēbātur rupibus equus?
Where was the horse being pelted with rocks
Ablative absolute
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The ablative absolute is a phrase that gives background
information for the rest of the sentence. The A. A. is two
words in the ablative case, agreeing in number and
gender as well. One word is usually a noun while the
other is typically a participle. The translation will depend
on the type of participle used.
Exempla:
Perfect participle passive, a. form or b. meaning
turbīs occupatīs
after the crowds were attacked
filiō celato
after the son was hidden
urbe visā
after the city was seen
Present participle active, a. form or b. meaning
asinīs ferentibus
while the donkeys were carrying
ducibus relinquentibus
while the leaders were leaving
coquō parante
while the cook was preparing
Declensions
Each noun is assigned to one of five declensions
and only uses the case endings of that declension.
The only way you know that a noun is in one
declension (and not another) are the endings
which it uses. If you know the nominative
singular form and the accusative plural form,
you can figure out all the other forms (with a
few exceptions).
Declensions matter
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The word vacca (1st declension) will always be
vaccam when it is a singular direct object and
vaccas when a plural direct object.
The word taurus (2nd declension) will always be
taurum when it is a singular direct object and
tauros when a plural direct object.
The charts of the declension are found here:
1st
2nd
2nd neuter
4th
4th neuter
5th
3rd
3rd neuter
2nd declension neuter
Nominative
Genitive
Dative
Accusative
Ablative
Singular
templ-um
templ-ī
templ-ō
templ-um
templ-ō
Plural
templ-a
templ-ōrum
templ-īs
templ-a
templ-īs
The first declension
Nominative
Genitive
Dative
Accusative
Ablative
Singular
vacc-a
vacc-ae
vacc-ae
vacc-am
vacc-ā
Plural
vacc-ae
vacc-arum
vacc-īs
vacc-ās
vacc-īs
2nd declension
Nominative
Genitive
Dative
Accusative
Ablative
Singular
taur-us*
taur-ī
taur-ō
taur-um
taur-ō
Plural
taur-ī
taur-ōrum
taur-īs
taur-ōs
taur-īs
*some nominative singulars end in –r: puer, ager, vir,
magister, and (except in puer) that -e- before the final –
r disappears in the oblique cases agrum, magistrum
3rd declension (mas/fem)
Nominative
Genitive
Dative
Accusative
Ablative
Singular
flos*
flor-is
flor-ī
flor-em
flor-e**
Plural
flor-ēs
flor-um**
flor-ibus
flor-ēs
floribus
*The nominative singular ending is undefined. There is no set form
**some words show -ium: navium, urbium, in the genitive plural,
and a smaller group show –ī in the ablative singular.
3rd declension neuter
Nominative
Genitive
Dative
Accusative
Ablative
Singular
caput
capit-is
capit-ī
caput
capit-e
Plural
capit-a*
capit-um*
capit-ibus
capit-a*
capitibus
*Some words show –ia in the nominative and accusative
plural and –ium in the genitive plural: animalia,
animalium
4th declension
Nominative
Genitive
Dative
Accusative
Ablative
Singular
lac-us
lac-ūs
lac-uī
lac-um
lac-ū
Plural
lac-ūs
lac-uum
lac-ibus
lac-ūs
lac-ibus
5th declension
Nominative
Genitive
Dative
Accusative
Ablative
Singular
fid-ēs
fid-ēī
fid-ēī
fid-em
fid-ē
Plural
fid-ēs
fid-ērum
fid-ēbus
fid-ēs
fid-ēbus