Lesson Seventy-Three : The remarkable preposition 'in' /  by Anthony Gibbins

Salvēte, sodālēs.

Let’s begin with speculum, which is illustrated in the margin.

from Lingua Latīna Per Sē Illustrāta, page 48.


Next, let’s move on to sē. Sē is a great little reflexive pronoun that can mean herself, himself, itself and even themselves - it all depends on who or what the subject is.

Iūlia sē in speculō videt. Julia sees herself in a mirror.

Marcus sē in speculō videt. Marcus sees himself in a mirror.

Monstrum sē in speculō videt. A monster sees itself in a mirror.

Iūlia et Marcus et monstrum sē in speculō vident. Julia and Marcus and a monster see themselves in a mirror.

We have the new verbs aperit/aperiunt and claudit/claudunt. The margin tells us that they are opposites, and the text makes it clear that they are both things that you can do to an ostium door. Try to deduce their meaning as your enjoy today’s reading. Pāret/pārent means obeys/obey.

Fōrmōsus, we are told, means there same as pulcher.

Lastly, some remarkable news about the preposition in. We have been learning that all prepositions are followed by either an accūsātīvus (ad, ante, post, inter, prope, circum, apud, per) or an ablātīvus (in, cum, sine, ā/ab, ē/ex).

The remarkable preposition in, however, can be followed by either an ablātīvus or an accūsātīvus. So far, we have only seen it followed by an ablātīvus, in which case it meant in or on, depending on context. From today’s lesson, we will also see it followed by an accūsātīvus. Then it will mean into or onto.

from Handy Latin Tables Pars Secunda

When in is followed by the accūsātīvus and means into it is the opposite of ē/ex.

from Lingua Latīna Per Sē Illustrāta, page 48.

Now READ Capitulum Septimum, lines 8-19.

  • aperit/aperiunt : opens/open

    claudit/claudunt : closes/close

Satis est. See you shortly.

Lesson Seventy-Two : Puella et Rosa /  by Anthony Gibbins

Salvēte, sodālēs.

Today we begin Capitulum Septimum. The boys are waiting for Julius in front of the villa’s door, Aemilia is in the peristyle, and Julia - sadly - is in her room, upset at the unkind words of her brothers.

There are a handful of new words; exspectat/exspectant, illīc, tenet/tenent, lacrimat/lacrimant, oculus and lacrima.

Illīc - which means there - is a companion word to hīc here. In today’s reading it refers to the peristylum. Oculus and lacrima are illustrated in the margin, as is tenet. As for the other words, try to work deduce their meaning as you read.

from Lingua Latīna Per Sē Illustrāta, page 48.

Read Capitulum Septimun, lines 1-7.

  • exspectat/exspectant : is waiting for/are waiting for

    illīc : there

    tenet/tenent : is holding/are holding

    lacrimat/lacrimant : is crying/are crying (note the connection to the noun lacrima)

    oculus : eye

    lacrima : tear

Satis est. See you again soon.

Lesson Seventy-One : In Viā /  by Anthony Gibbins

Salvēte, sodālēs.

Today’s lesson is an entirely optional short story set in the Star Wars Universe. If you have seen Return of the Jedi, you will know that Jabba is NOT a good guy. This story uses the vocabulary and grammar of Capitulum Sextum, but the story is quite different. The first two pages describe the towns and roads in the area. If you’d prefer to skip to the narrative on page 3, go ahead.

Click on this link to open In Viā in a new window. Click on the + in the top right corner of any picture to expand it. Now you can read the comic using everything you have learnt from Capitulum Sextum.

by Anthony Gibbins

Satis est. See you soon.

Lesson Seventy : Instrument and Agent /  by Anthony Gibbins

Salvēte, sodālēs.

In today’s lesson we will end our trilogy on passive verbs with a discussion of instruments and agents. To help us to understand instruments and agents better, let’s look at the four sentences below:

From Handy Latin Tables Pars Secunda

Antōnius ostium pulsat. Antony knocks upon the door. We have seen plenty of sentences just like this one, with a subject in the nōminatīvus, an object in the accūsātīvus and an active verb.

Antōnius ostium baculō pulsat. Antony knocks upon the door with a stick. In this sentence, baculō plays the roie of instrument. It indicates the instrument with which Antony knocks upon the door. It is in the ablātīvus without a preposition. The verb in this sentence is active. In Capitulum Sextum we have seen other examples of an instrument with an active verb:

Dominus servōs malōs baculō verberat. The masters beats ‘bad’ enslaved men with a stick.

Mēdus viā Latīnā Tūsculõ Rõmam ambulat. Medus walks from Tusculum to Rome using the Via Latina.

Ostium baculō pulsātur. The door is knocked upon with a stick. The main difference between this sentence and the previous one is that the verb is passive. The instrument, on the other hand, works in exactly the same manner. In Capitulum Sextum we have seen other examples of an instrument with a passive verb:

Cornēlius nōn est fessus, nam is equō vehitur. Cornelius is not tired, as he is being carried by a horse.

Iūlius lectīcā vehitur. Julius îs being carried by a litter.

And in today’s reading…

Lydia verbīs Mēdī dēlectātur. Lydia is delighted by the words of Medus.

Ostium ab Antōniō pulsātur. The door is knocked upon by Antony. In this sentence, the passive verb pulsātur is accompanied by an agent. The agent, expressed by a prepositional phrase beginning with ā/ab, tells us by whom the passive verb is being performed. One difference between an agent and an instrument is that an agent will usually be a person and the instrument usually won’t be. Grammatically, agents can ONLY be used with passive verbs (not with active ones). In Capitulum Sextum we have seen many examples of an agent with a passive verb:

Saccus quem Syrus portat nōn tam magnus est quam saccus quī ā Lēandrõ portātur. The sack which Syrus is carrying is not as big as the sack which is being carried by Leander.

Dominus ā servō malō timētur. The master is feared by the ‘bad’ enslaved man.

It is now time to complete Capitulum Sextum. Julius is about to return home, where he will be greeted ab Aemiliā līberīsque laetīs. And Medus is about to arrive at the home of Lydia. READ lines 84-95.

Satis est. See you shortly.

Lesson Sixty-Nine : More on Passive Verbs /  by Anthony Gibbins

Salvēte, sodālēs.

In Lesson 68 we encountered our first passive verbs. We saw that -at/-ant verbs like portat/portant become passive through the edition of an -ur : portātur/portantur. And that -it/-unt verbs like vehit/vehunt do the same : vehitur/vehuntur.

This leaves the passive of -et/-ent and -it/-iunt verbs to be introduced in today’s reading. Examine the eight sentences illustrated below and their English translations. A rāna, as you will see, is a frog.

from Handy Latin Tables Pars Secunda

Indicātīvus Āctīvus

Cleopātra librum habet. Cleopatra has a book.

Cleopātra et Antōnius librōs habent. Cleopatra and Antonius have books.

Indicātīvus Passīvus

Liber ā Cleopātrā habētur. A book is had by Cleopatra.

Librī ā Cleopātrā habentur. Books are had by Cleopatra.

Indicātīvus Āctīvus

Cleopātra rānam audit. Cleopatra is listening to a frog.

Cleopātra et Antōnius rānam audiunt. Cleopatra and Antonius are listening to a frog.

Indicātīvus Passīvus

Rāna ā Cleopātrā audītur. A frog is being listened to by Cleopatra.

Rānae ā Cleopātrā audiuntur. Frogs are being listened to by Cleopatra.

It’s now time to meet our final preposition for Capitulum Sextum. This one is per, and it means through. Like all of the prepositions introduced in Capitulum Sextum, per is followed by the accūsātīvus.

from Lingua Latīna Per Sē Illustrāta, page 44.

Other than this, there is nothing new in today’s reading. And yet, it is probably our most challenging reading yet. For this reason, I will take three sentences that I think are particularly challenging and provide a translation of these at the end of the lesson. Just click to see the translation.

Now READ Capitulum Sextum, lines 72-83.

  • He who comes by the Via Latina enters Rome through the Capena Gate.

  • Medus is called to Rome by his friend, who is an attractive and upright woman.

  • But that which Medus sings is not heard by Lydia.

Satis est. Until next time.

Lesson Sixty-Eight : Passive Verbs /  by Anthony Gibbins

Salvēte, sodālēs.

Today’s lesson introduces passive verbs for the first time. We are accustomed to seeing active verbs like portat/portant and vehit/vehunt, but from now on we’ll also be seeing passive verbs like portātur/portantur and vehitur/vehuntur. Along with these new verb forms, we will be seeing the preposition ā/ab (from) used for a new and different purpose.

In today’s reading we will only see -at/-ant and -it/-unt verbs. Examine the eight sentences illustrated below and their English translations.. A statua, as you will see, is a statue.

from Handy Latin Tables Pars Secunda

Indicātīvus Āctīvus

Antōnius statuam portat. Antonius is carrying a statue.

Antōnius et Cleopātra statuās portant. Antonius and Cleopatra are carrying statues.

Indicātīvus Passīvus

Statua ab Antōniō portātur. A statue is being carried by Antony.

Statuae ab Antōniō portantur. Statues are being carried by Antony.

from Handy Latin Tables Pars Secunda

Indicātīvus Āctīvus

Antōnius rosam carpit. Antonius is plucking a rose.

Antōnius et Cleopātra rosās carpunt. Antonius and Cleopatra are plucking roses.

Indicātīvus Passīvus

Rosa ab Antōniō carpitur. A rose is being plucked by Antony.

Rosae ab Antōniō carpuntur. Roses are being plucked by Antony.

Now read Capitulum Sextum, lines 60-71. Keep your eye out for these new -ur endings that make a verb passive. And do your best to deduce the meaning of the new adjective, fessus. Good luck!

  • fessus : tired

Satis est. See you next time.

Lesson Sixty-Seven : Cornēlius in equō est. /  by Anthony Gibbins

Savēte, sodālēs.

Way back in Capitulum Secundum we first met Cornēlius. Cornēlius est dominus Rōmānus et amīcus Iūliī. Well, Cornēlius is back and he’s on a horse. Equus pulcher est. The horse is beautiful. You are probably wondering to where (quō) and from where (unde) Cornēlius is going.

from Lingua Latīna Per Sē Illustrāta, page 43.

In the previous lesson you determined the Latin for:

in/at Tusculum :

in/at Rome :

from Tusculum :

to Rome :

During today’s reading, try to determine the Latin for:

from Rome :

to Tusculum :

Now, READ Capitulum Sextum, lines 52-59.

  • in/at Tusculum : Tūscilī

    in/at Rome : Rõmae

    from Tusculum : Tūsculō (ablātīvus)

    to Rome : Rōmam (accūsātīvus)

    from Rome : Rōmā (ablātīvus)

    to Tusculum : Tūsculum (accūsātīvus)

Satis est. See you again soon.

Lesson Sixty-Six : Ubi est Mēdus? /  by Anthony Gibbins

Salvēte, sodālēs.

In today’s lesson, we return to Medus and discover where he going with the money he stole from Julius.

from Lingua Latīna Per Sē Illustrāta, page 44.

Grammatically, today and tomorrow’s readings are all about describing movement to and from Tūsculum and Rōma, as well as being in those places. Latin does a few strange things when you refer to a town or city by its name ONLY. As you read, try to determine the Latin for the following :

in/at Tusculum :

in/at Rome :

from Tusculum :

to Rome :

Now READ Capitulum Sextum, lines 46-51.

  • in/at Tusculum : Tūscilī

    in/at Rome : Rõmae

    from Tusculum : Tūsculō (ablātīvus)

    to Rome : Rōmam (accūsātīvus)

The margin provides a diagram that summarises all of this information nicely.

from Lingua Latīna Per Sē Illustrāta, page 43.

Satis est. Come back soon for the return of Cornelius, amīcus Iuliī.

Lesson Sixty-Five : cum Iūliō = apud Iūlium /  by Anthony Gibbins

Salvēte, sodālēs.

Today’s lesson is packed full of new material. Firstly, we meet yet another preposition - apud - that is followed by the accūsātīvus. The margin tells us that apud means the same thing as cum. Cum, however, is followed by the ablātīvus.

from Lingua Latīna Per Sē Illustrāta, page 43.

from Handy Latin Tables Pars Secunda

The adjective malus is introduced, with the explanation that it means the opposite of bonus. Which is great, because we were only told that bonus means the same as probus, which means the opposite of improbus, the meaning of which we deduced from a child’s behaviour.

from Lingua Latīna Per Sē Illustrāta, page 43.

Autem means the same as sed, but the word order is different. Sed Davus servus bonus est. = Davus autem servus bonus est. I have to say, I don’t love these lines about a servus bonus and a servus malus not being amīcī but inimīcī. I’m not convinced of the historical accuracy of such a statement.

rom Lingua Latīna Per Sē Illustrāta, page 43.

This leaves you to deduce the meanings of nam, timet, itaque and autem. And finally, what do you think baculō means? This is the first time that you have seen an ablātīvus WITHOUT a preposition! As always, these questions will be answered after the reading.

Now READ Capitulum Sextum, lines 37-45.

  • nam : for/because

    timet/timent : fears/fear

    itaque : and so/therefore

    autem : but/however

    baculō : one of the uses of the ablātīvus is to express the object/instrument with which something is done. And so baculō means with a rod. But don’t confuse this with cum or apud, where with is about accompaniment, not use.

Satis est. Bye for now.

Lesson Sixty-Four : Post Meridiem /  by Anthony Gibbins

Salvēte, sodālēs.

Today’s lesson is a short one, although it does introduce four new words.. Let’s begin with the two new prepositions, which are both followed by an acūsātīvus - ante and post. The margin tells us that they are opposites, and if you are familiar with the expressions ante meridiem (am) and post meridiem (pm) you may already know their meanings.

from Lingua Latīna Per Sē Illustrāta, page 42.

Then we have two question words - quō? and unde?. The margin tells us that these are opposites as well.

from Lingua Latīna Per Sē Illustrāta, page 42.


Now READ Capitulum Sextum, lines 31-36. Use the illustration and think about the characters’ journey to deduce the meanings of the new words. If necessary, you can check your deductions after the reading.

from Lingua Latīna Per Sē Illustrāta, page 42.

  • ante : before/in front of

    post : after/behind

    quō? : to where?

    unde? : from where

from Handy Latin Tables Pars Secunda

Satis est. See you again soon.

Lesson Sixty-Three : Relative Pronouns /  by Anthony Gibbins

Salvēte, sodāles.

Back in Lesson 37 we met quī and quae, which both mean who.

Puer quī Aemiliam vocat Marcus est. Puella quae Aemiliam vocat Iūlia est. The boy who is calling Aemilia is Marcus. The girl who is calling Aemilia is Julia.

Quī and quae are examples of relative pronouns. And quī Aemiliam vocat and quae Aemiliam vocat are examples of relative clauses. Quī and quae are both the subjects of their relative clause (who is calling Aemilia) and are therefore nōminātīvus.

Then in Lesson 38 we met the accūsātīvus relative pronouns quem and quam. These relative pronouns mean whom and are the object of a verb in their own relative clauses (whom Aemilia is calling).

Puer quem Aemilia vocat est Marcus. Puella quam Aemilia vocat est Iūlia. The boy whom Aemilia is calling is Marcus. The girl whom Aemilia is calling is Julia.

Quī and quem are masculine and quae and quam are feminine. In Lesson 46 we met the neuter relative pronoun, quod. We use quod for the nōminātīvus AND accūsātīvus.

nōminātīvus : Aemilia baculum quod in mēnsā est videt. Aemilia sees the rod which is on the table. accūsātīvus : Baculum quod Aemilia videt in mensā est. The rod which Aemilia sees is on the table.

Apologies if that is too much revision, but we can now move on to a small amount of new material. The relative pronouns quī and quōs are the plurals of the masculine quī and quem. The textbook introduces them while discussing Syrus and Leander carrying two sacks. In Latin, a sack (saccus) is masculine.

from Lingua Latīna Per Sē Illustrāta, page 42.

Servī quī saccōs portant sunt Syrus et Lēander. Saccī quōs servī portant sunt magnī. The enslaved men who are carrying the sacks are Syrus and Leander. The sacks which the enslaved men are carrying are large.

Now read Capitulum Sextum lines 27-30. Enjoy seeing tam/quam in action once more. The margin tells us that vehit/vehunt means the same thing as portat/portant.

Satis est. See you back here soon.

Lesson Sixty-Two : it/eunt /  by Anthony Gibbins

Salvēte, sodālēs.

In Lesson 56 we learnt that the vast majority of Latin verbs fit into one of four categories. Here is the table to jog your memory. We call any verb that fits into one of the categories a regular verb. The verb est/sunt doesn't fit any of these patterns, so we call it an irregular verb.

Today you will meet another irregular verb, it/eunt (go).

from Lingua Latīna Per Sē Illustrāta, page 42.

In the illustration above, Julius is going to his villa. Iūlius ad vīllam suam it. Of course, it’s more accurate to say that Julius and the men he enslaves are going to their villa. Iūlius et servī ad vīllam suam eunt.

You probably deduced that ad means to or towards and is followed by the accūsātīvus. Indeed, the margin has an excellent diagram showing movement from town to the villa, ab oppidō ad vīllam. And (+acc) indicates that the preposition is followed by the accūsātīvus, (+abl) that it is followed by the ablātīvus.

from Lingua Latīna Per Sē Illustrāta, page 42.

Finally, take a look at the map and locate Roma, the Porta Capēna, Tusculum (parvum oppidum) and villa Iūliī et Aemiliae. Today’s reading is set on a road between Tusculum and the villa.

from Lingua Latīna Per Sē Illustrāta, page 41.

Now READ lines 18-26. The meaning of umerus is provided through an illustration in the margin. Try to deduce the meanings of portat/portant, ambulat/ambulant, saccus and lectīca from the text and illustrations. You’ll be able to check your understanding after the reading.

from Lingua Latīna Per Sē Illustrāta, page 42.

  • portat/portant : is carrying/are carrying

    ambulat/ambulant : is walking/are walking

    saccus : sack

    lectīca : the ‘vehicle’ that Davus and Ursus are carrying and Julius is sitting within.

Satis est. See you soon.

Lesson Sixty-One : Mūrus et Porta /  by Anthony Gibbins

Salvēte, sodālēs.

A short reading today, but introducing a good deal of new vocabulary. Our verbum prīmum (this might just mean first word, but prīmum can also mean most important) is another preposition that is followed by the accūsātīvus : circum around.

from Lingua Latīna Per Sē Illustrāta, page 41.

Next we have mūrus and porta, illustrated together in the margin. Porta is also defined in the margin as magnum ōstium. To put all this together: Circum oppidum mūrus longus est. In mūro magna porta est.

from Lingua Latīna Per Sē Illustrāta, page 41.

Finally, we have the number duodecim XII (12). This number is formed from two numbers you have already met, duo II (2) and decem X (10).

Now READ lines Capitulum Sextum 14-17. If you need a refresher on the tam/quam combination, see Lesson 60.

Satis est. See you next lesson, in which we will join Julius on the road back from Tusculum.

Lesson Sixty : Tam/Quam /  by Anthony Gibbins

Salvēte, sodālēs.

In the previous lesson we saw that the accūsātīvus is used to indicate an object and following certain prepositions. The first such preposition was inter between. Today we will see the accūsātīvus following the preposition prope. At the same time, you will meet the adverb procul far, which will be used together with ā/ab to mean far from. The margin tells us that prope Rōman is the opposite of procul ab Rōmā.

Ōstia est prope Rōmam. Brundisium nōn est prope Rōmam, sed procul ab Rōmā: via Appia longa est.

I’m guessing that you have already deduced the meaning of longa.

from Lingua Latīna Per Sē Illustrāta, page 40.

Now let’s look at a useful pair of words - tam and quam. We’ll take some the roads (viae) described in the previous lesson and stretch them each out into a straight line to compare their lengths.

Read these three sentences, and see whether you can deduce the meanings of tam and quam. You can check your understanding afterwards. Via Latīna nōn est tam longa quam via Appia. Quam longa est via Flāminia? Via Flāminia nōn tam longa est quam via Appia.

  • The Via Latina is not as long as the Via Appia. How long is the Via Flaminia? The Via Flaminia is not as long as the Via Appia.

Now READ Capitulum Sextum, lines 8-13.

Satis est. See you soon.

Lesson Fifty-Nine : The Case for Cases /  by Anthony Gibbins

Salvēte, sodālēs.

In Lesson 51 we saw the following table. It presents the different endings that are placed on nouns, depending on the role they are playing in their sentence (subject, object, ‘of’ or after in and cum), the noun type they belong to (-a, -us/-r or -um), and whether they are singular or plural. (It also shows the form of she/he/it that would replace that noun when needed). The only thing that has changed since Lesson 51 is the list of prepositions in the final line: it would now read ‘after in, cum, sine, ā/ab and ē/ex’.

The time has come to introduce the concept of cases. While we could go on saying that fēmina, vir, oppidum, fēminae, virī and oppida are all in their subject forms, most grammarians would say that they are all nōminātīvus (in the nominative case), and that the nōminātīvus is the case used to indicate a subject. Likewise, we could continue to say that fēminam, virum, oppidum, fēminās, virōs and oppida are all in their object forms, but most grammarians would say that they are accūsātīvus (in the accusative case), and that the accūsātīvus is used to indicate an object. The case used for ‘of’ is genitīvus and after the pronouns in, cum, sine, ā/ab and ē/ex we use the ablātīvus.

All of this begs questions; Why use these fancy grammatical terms at all? Isn’t it simpler just to refer to these sets of endings by the role they play? Well, that only works to a point. The problem is that these cases can often perform more than one role. For example, here are two things that we already know:

The accūsātīvus is used to show that a word is an object.

The ablātīvus is used with certain prepositions (in, cum, sine, ā/ab and ē/ex).

But, the accūsātīvus has more than one role:

The accūsātīvus is used with certain prepositions (inter, ad, ante, post, prope, circum, apud and per).

Take these two sentences: Iūlia Iūlium et Aemiliam amat. Iūlia inter Iūlium et Aemiliam dormit. Julia loves Julius and Aemelia. Julia sleep between (inter) Julius and Aemilia. In both sentences Iūlium and Aemiliam are accūsātīvus. In the first they are accūsātīvus to show that they are the object. In the second it is to show that they are following inter. And that is why we need to talk about cases.

Speaking of inter, in today’s reading you are going to learn about some of the major roads (viae) of Italy and the towns they run between. Take the time to locate each town and each road on the map as you are reading.

from Lingua Latīna Per Sē Illustrāta, page 40.

READ Capitulum Sextum, lines 1-7.

Satis est. See you again shortly.

Lesson Fifty-Eight : Quid agunt puerī? /  by Anthony Gibbins

Salvēte, sodālēs.

Believe it or not, you now have almost everything you need to complete your reading of Capitulum Quīntum.

The only word left to introduce is agit/agunt - a versatile verb that more or less means do. Quid agit puer? means What is the boy doing? Quid agunt puellae? means What are the girls doing?

This verb can also be used in the imperative form (the form of the verb used for giving orders) to mean something like Come on! Here are two examples, one singular and one plural:

Age, Mārce! carpe rōsās. Come on, Marcus! pick roses.

Agite, puerī! carpite rōsās et eās in aquā ponite! Come on, boys! pick roses and put them in water.

Now READ lines 77-105.

from Lingua Latīna Per Sē Illustrāta, pages 36 & 37.

Well, congratulation on completing Capitulum Quīntum. If you have any questions at all, please leave them in the comments. And if you are following the lessons, I’d love to hear how you are finding them.

Satis est. See you shortly.

Lesson Fifty-Seven : Carpe Rosās /  by Anthony Gibbins

Salvēte, sodālēs.

If there is a top-five of Latin maxims, then Carpe Diem! is surely among them. It is usually translated - not quite correctly - as Seize the Day! Today you’ll learn that Carpe Rosās! means Pick the Roses!, and that Pluck the Day! is probably a better translation of Carpe Diem.

from Lingua Latīna Per Sē Illustrāta, page 35.

Today’s reading is focused on showing you more imperative verbs - both singular and plural (see Lesson 56) - and on giving you more experience with prepositions. Added to our list of in in/on, cum with, sine without and ā/ab from is ē/ex, which means out of. (ē is used before a consonant and ex before a vowel or h.)

from Lingua Latīna Per Sē Illustrāta, page 35.

Besides the above, there is tantum ūnum novum verbum in today’s lengthy reading - dēlectat/dēlectant. Try to deduce the meaning of dēlectat/dēlectant for yourself, then check your understanding afterwards if necessary.

Now READ lines 56-76.

from Lingua Latīna Per Sē Illustrāta, page 35.

  • dēlectat - delights (Rōsa Aemiliam dēlectat.)

    dēlectant - delight (Rōsae Aemiliam dēlectant.)

Satis est. See you next time.

Lesson Fifty-Six : All About Verbs /  by Anthony Gibbins

Salvēte, sodālēs.

Latin verbs can be grouped based on their endings. In Lesson 50 we saw that there are verbs that end in -at when they are singular (puer cantat the boy is singing) and -ant when they are plural (puerī cantant the boys are singing). And that there are verbs that end in -et when they are singular (puella rīdet the girl is laughing) and -ent when they are plural (puellae rīdent the girls are laughing). The time has come to meet the other two groups of verbs:

Verbs like discēdit end in -it and -unt. Other verbs you’ve met that end in -it and -unt are pōnit and sūmit.

from Handy Latin Tables Pars Prīma, page 25.

Verbs like dormit end in -it and -iunt. Other verbs you’ve met that end in -it and -iunt are audit and venit.

from Handy Latin Tables Pars Prīma, page 26.

You may be wondering what this term indicātīvus means. At the moment that’s not important - you can just think of them as ‘normal’ verbs. What is important, however, is that you understand what is meant by imperātīvus. Imperātīvus is the form of the verb that you use to tell somebody to do something. You met imperative verbs (that’s their name in English) for the first time in Lesson 41 (Capitulum Quartum, line 23). Here are some imperative verbs from Capitulum Quartum, along with their meanings:

Dāvum vocā! Call Davus! Venī! Come! Salūtā dominum! Greet the master! Salvē, domine! Be well, master!* Tacē et audī! Be silent and listen! Respondē, Dāve! Respond, Davus! Interrogā Mēdum! Ask Medus! Respondē, serve! Answer, slave! Sacculum tuum in mēnsā pōne! Put your purse on the table! Vidē! Look! Sūme sacculum tuum et discēde! Take you purse and leave! *Used as a greeting.

You will note that these imperative verbs have four different endings (-ā, -ē, -e and -ī) These relate to the same four groups discussed above. But before saying more about that, you need to understand that ALL of the imperatives in Capitulum Quartum were used to tell only one person to do something. This is called the imperātīvus singulāris. If we want to tell more than one person to do something (imperātīvus plūrālis) we use a different set of endings. You will see these endings in today’s reading.

The good news is that this can all be displayed in one handy table. Here are all of the regular verb endings that you will need to know for quite a while. I hope you find it helpful.

from Handy Latin Tables Pars Prīma, page 27.

Now READ Capitulum Quīntum lines 51-55. Remember, eōs means them, and in this reading refers to the boys.

Satis est. See you again soon.

Lesson Fifty-Five : In Peristylō /  by Anthony Gibbins

Salvēte, sodālēs.

Back in Lesson 52 we saw this table of prepositions.

from Handy Latin Tables, Pars Prīma, page 18

Up to this point, we have met two of these prepositions - in and cum. In today’s reading we will meet two more - sine and ā/ab. (You may be wondering why I’ve written ā/ab. It is because there are two forms of this word. Similar to a/an in English, ā is used before a consonant and ab before a vowel.)

We are told that sine is the opposite of cum.

from Lingua Latīna Per Sē Illustrāta, page 34.

Then we are given two diagrams to help us visualise cum and ā/ab. (Discēdit was introduced in Capitulum Quartum).

from Lingua Latīna Per Sē Illustrāta, page 35.

Lastly, remind yourself where Tūsculum is. Ubi est Tūsculum? Tūsculum est in Italiā.

Now READ lines 43-50. If you forget the meanings of any words, use the Index Vocābulōrum. If you forget adest/adsunt or abest/absunt, you will find them listed under adesse and abesse. If you still have any questions, feel free to drop them in the comments.

Satis est. See you soon.

Lesson Fifty-Four : Ōstia et Fenestrae /  by Anthony Gibbins

Salvēte, sodālēs.

Lingua Latīna Per Sē Illustrāta really shines meā sententiā (in my opinion) when discussing aspects of Roman culture in Latin. Today’s lengthy reading is a particularly satisfying introduction to a villa typical of a wealthy Roman family. It begins with this floorpan.

from Lingua Latīna Per Sē Illustrāta, page 33.

Starting at 1. and 6., the margin provides an illustration of not only an ōstium, but also a fenestra.

from Lingua Latīna Per Sē Illustrāta, page 33.

The next illustration is of 2. and 3., the ātrium and the impluvium. By looking carefully at image as you read, you’ll also discover the meaning of aqua.

from Lingua Latīna Per Sē Illustrāta, page 33.

Our final image is of 4., the peristylum (there should be a macron over the y, but my computer refuses to cooperate).

from Lingua Latīna Per Sē Illustrāta, page 34.

The remainder of the labeled spaces (5.) are listed only as cubicula (singular : cubiculum). You’ll learn about these as you read the text.

There are MANY pronouns in today’s reading. The margin will help by identifying which noun the pronouns refer to. You may also find it useful to revisit lesson 51. Otherwise, the only other new word is etiam. We are told that it has the same meaning to quoque, although the word order is different.

from Lingua Latīna Per Sē Illustrāta, page 34.

There are two examples of etiam in today’s reading. The last sentence begins Etiam ancillae multae in ūnō cubiculō dormiunt… This could instead have been written Ancillae multae quoque in ūnō cubiculō dormiunt…

Now READ Capitulum Quīntum, lines 25-42.

Satis est. See you soon.