BEGINNERS LATIN COURSE
If you are unfamiliar with the terminology of English grammar (eg. pronoun, adverb, participle etc.) please consult Norma Goldman and Ladislas Szymanski, English grammar for students of Latin, 2nd edn. London 1993.
Theprovisionalplan based on Reading Latin. Grammar, vocabulary and exercises, sections 1A-3D, is as follows:
1st CLASS
Introduction on Latin Language:
- Latin language in Linguistic History:from Indo-European to English.
- The origins of Latin.
The Alphabet and pronunciation:
- Vowels
- Diphthongs
- Consonants
Rules of the accent
2nd CLASS
Morphology (study of the forms which words take): conjugations & declensions
Sum (I am): introduction & meaning
The verbs in Latin:
- Person, number, tense, mood, voice: the paradigm
- Conjugation: what is a conjugation? Stem & endings
Present Indicative Active:
- Amo (amare= to love) – 1st Conjugation
- Habeo (habere= to have) – 2nd Conjugation
3rdCLASS
Nouns:
- Number & gender: masculine, feminine, neuter; singular & plural.
- Declension: what is a declension? What are the cases?
1st Declension feminine nouns:
- serua, ae (slave-woman)
2nd Declension masculine nouns:
- masculine in –us: seru-us, i (male-slave)
Prepositions: what are they?
Translation hints
4th CLASS
2nd Declension neuter nouns:
- somnium, i (dream)
2nd Declension irregular nouns:
- deus, i ( god)
Adjectives: what is an adjective? Agreement of the adjectives.
1st and 2nd Declension Adjectives
Apposition: what is an apposition?
Word building: stems, prefixes; verb stems different from the stem of the present tense.
5thCLASS
3rd Declension nouns:
- “consonant stem”: fur, is (thief)
- “i-stem”: aedis, is (room, temple, house)
Other stems and endings of the 3rd Declension
Word order in Latin
Syntax: what is it?
6th CLASS
Present imperative active:
- 1st Conjugation: amo (I love)
- 2nd Conjugation: habeo (I have)
Irregular verbs: present indicative and imperative of “eo” (I go)
Possessive adjectives and personal pronouns: what are they?
Other 1st/2nd Declension possessive adjectives:
- meus, tuus (my, mine-your(s))
Personal pronouns: what are they?
- Ego, tu (I, you)
Prepositions
7thCLASS
Present indicative and imperative:
- 3rd Conjugation: dico (I say)
- 4th Conjugation: audio (I hear, I listen to)
2nd Declension masculine nouns:
- in –er: puer, i (boy); culter, cultri (knife)
- in –r: uir, i (man).
Other 1st/2nd Declension adjectives:
- miser,- a,- um
- pulcher, -a, -um
Interrogative pronouns: what are they?
- Quis, quid (who? which? what?)
8thCLASS
Present indicative active of irregular verbs:
- capio (I capture)
- uolo (I wish, I want)
- fero (I bear)
Regular and irregular present imperatives active (all conjugations)
3rd Declension neuter nouns
- nomen, is (name)
- onus, oneris (load, burden)
Question in –ne?
Quid + genitive
9th CLASS
Regular and irregular present infinitive active “to -” (all conjugations)
Personal pronouns: nos (we) and uos (you)
2nd Declension possessive adjectives: noster (our-s) and uester (your-s)
3rd Declension adjectives:
- omnis, e (all, every)
- ingens, ingens (huge)
- audax, audax (bold)
- diues, diues (wealthy)
- pauper, pauper (poor)
10thCLASS
The dative case: usage and meaning
The ablative of description
3rd Declension adjectives:
- celer, celeris, celere (swift, fast)
- acer, acris, acre (keen, sharp)
3rd Declension monosyllable nouns:
- nox, noctis (night)
- dos, dotis (dowry, gift)
11th CLASS
Future indicative active “I shall –” (all conjugations)
Irregular futures of:
- sum (I am)
- eo ( I go)
Present and future indicative of three irregular verbs:
- possum ( I can, I am able)
- nolo (I am unwilling, I do not want, I refuse)
- malo (I prefer)
12th CLASS
In-class test
13thCLASS
Cardinal numerals (1-10; 100-1000)
4th Declension nouns:
- manus, us (hand)
- domus, us (house) irregular
14thCLASS
Present indicative, imperative, infinitive deponent (all conjugations)
Noli + infinitive
5th Declension nouns:
- res, re-i (thing)
3rd Declension neuter noun:
- caput, capitis (head)
Special 1st/2nd decl. adjectives:
- nullus, a, um (no-one, not any)
- alter, a, um (one of two, the one...the other)
15thCLASS
Demonstrativeadjectives:
- hic, haec, hoc (this, this person, this thing, the latter)
- ille, illa, illud (that, that person, that thing, the former)
16thCLASS
Perfect indicative active “I –ed, I have –ed” (all conjugations, regular and irregular)
Ablative of time
17thCLASS
Future indicative deponent (all conjugations)
Genitive of value
Demonstrative adjective/pronoun:
- is, ea, id (that, those; he, she, it)
Accusative of Time
18thCLASS
Comparative and superlative adjectives: what are they?
- Comparative: longior, ius (longer)
- Superlative: longissimus, a, um (longest)
Irregular comparatives and superlatives
19thCLASS
Perfect indicative deponent (all conjugations)
Semi-deponents:
- Audeo (I dare)
- Fio (I become, I am made, I happen)
Perfect participlesdeponent “having –ed”
Translation hint: usage and meaning of deponent participles
Regular and irregular adverbs: what are they?
Reflexive pronoun –se.
Possessive adjective su-us, a, um
20th CLASS
In-class test
21thCLASS
Future participles, active and deponent “about to/ on the point of –ing”
Perfect participle of active verbs
Unpredictable principal parts (the paradigm)
Usage of the ablative of instrument or means “by means of, with”
22thCLASS
Usage of nonne?(doesn’t…?)
Definitive adjectives and pronouns:
- idem “the same”
- nemo “no one”
Comparative and superlative adverbs “more –ly, most –ly”
Datives: usage and meaning
23-24th week
Revision classes
Coursebook:
P.V. Jones and K. Sidwell, Reading Latin.Grammar, vocabulary and exercises, and Reading Latin. Text(Cambridge 1986).
Latin Dictionary:
J. Morwood, Pocket Oxford Latin Dictionary (revised 2005, OUP)
Optional further reading:
A.J. Taylor, Chambers English Grammar (Edinburgh 1990)
J. Morwood, Oxford Grammar of Classical Latin (Oxford 2001)
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