Download Latin is an inflected language, that is, a language

Wheelock Chapters 1 & 2
Latin is an ____________ ____________, that is, a language “in which the nouns, pronouns,
adjectives, and verbs have variable endings by which the relationship of the words to each other
in a sentence can be indicated.” (p xxviii)
In both Latin and English, verbs have five characteristics:
1. ___________ – Who is the subject of the sentence? The one who performs (or, in
passive voice, receives) the action, from the POV of the speaker. There are three
options:
 _____________: I, we (i.e. the one speaking)
 _____________: you, y’all (i.e. person(s) spoken to)
 _____________: he, she, it, they (i.e. the person(s) spoken about, but not
directly to)
2. ____________ – how many subjects? Singular (one) or plural (more than one)
3. ____________ – the time of the action (ex: present, future)
4. ____________ – this is perhaps the hardest one to explain to native English speakers,
but there are (in English and Latin) three:
 _____________: indicates facts (ex: The book is red.)
 _____________: commands and orders actions (ex: Stop!)
 _____________: describes hypothetical or potential actions (ex: If I were
you…)
5. ___________ – Does the subject perform the action, or does it receive it? This has to
do with transitive verbs (verbs that can take a direct object).
 ___________ ___________: The subject performs the action. (ex: “The
car hits the dog.” The car is the subject of the sentence, while the dog is
the direct object.)
 ___________ ___________: The subject receives the action. (ex: “The
dog is hit by the car.” The dog is the subject of the sentence, and is
receiving the action, while the car is the agent, that is, the one performing
the action.)
Latin verbs are divided up into four groups called ____________________. Each has a different
thematic vowel:
 1st conj. = ______________
 2nd conj. = ______________
 3rd conj. = ______________
 4th conj. = ______________
Personal Endings of the Active Voice:
Singular
English equiv.
st
1 person
I (verb)
nd
2 person
You (verb)
rd
3 person
he/she/it (verbs)
Plural
English equiv.
we(verb)
you pl (verb)
they (verb)
In Latin, the ______________ _________________ of the verbs tell us its person, number,
voice, tense, and mood.
Latin verbs have four ____________ ___________, and it’s important to learn them all when
you learn vocabulary.
To conjugate a verb, add the personal endings to the _________. To find the ________, chop the
-___ off the end of the ______________, which is the _____ principal part.
eg: laudō, laudāre, laudāvī, laudātum – to praise
Singular
English equiv.
st
1 person
2nd person
3rd person
moneō, monēre, monuī, monitum – to advise
Singular
English equiv.
st
1 person
2nd person
3rd person
Plural
English equiv.
Plural
English equiv.
NB: Vowels that are normally long are usually shortened when immediately before __________
_________. In the case of 1st conjugation, the ___ disappears entirely in the ______ _______
_______. Vowels are also shortened before _____, ____, or _____ at the end of a word, or
before _____ or ____ in any position. You must learn the macra on the verb endings.
Singular imperative = _____________ ____________
Plural imperative = _____________ ______________+ _______
2nd person singular
2nd person plural
Praise!
Praise! (pl)
Advise!
Advise! (pl)
Because it is inflected, Latin has a looser word order than English. In English, the meaning of
the sentence is tied to the position of the words in the sentence, while in Latin the word endings
tell us the functions of the words in the sentence, saying “Sally seashells sells,” in Latin, would
make perfect sense. In fact, Latin word order tends to be _______, while English word order is
_______. (S = Subject, O = Object, V = Verb)
Latin nouns have three characteristics:
1. ______________
 ______________
 ______________
 ______________
2. ______________
 ______________
 ______________
3. ____________ – The inflected forms of nouns are called this, and each has specific
functions. This is a preliminary list of functions, which we will add to as our study of
Latin progresses:
 _______________ – Used for the subject of the sentence.
 _______________ – Used to show possession; the noun doing the possessing is in
this case; can usually be ascertained by translating it with the preposition “of.”
 _______________ – Used for indirect objects, that is, secondary objects of verbs.
Usually translated with “to” or “for.”
 _______________ – Direct object of verbs; the person or object directly affected
by the verb. Also, used with certain prepositions.
 _______________ – This is the adverbial case. This case encompasses many
usages, including with certain prepositions, for manner, means, agent, and
accompaniment.
 _______________ – Direct address. The form of this case is usually just like the
nominative, with one exception (Ch 3), so it is usually not listed in paradigms.
Nouns are divided up into five groups called __________________. It is very important to
remember that ________________ does NOT equal _______________!
First declension endings:
Singular Plural
Nom.
Gen.
Dat.
Acc.
Abl.
Voc.
Ex: vita, vitae, f
Singular
Nom
Gen
Dat
Acc
Abl
Voc
To decline a noun or adjective, we add
endings to the word stem.
You find the stem by removing the case
ending from the __________ __________.
Noun vocabulary entries always give you a
word as “_____________ _____________,
____________ ____________,” so always
memorize both of these!
English Equiv.
the life
of the life
to/for the life
the life (d.o.)
by/with/from/etc the life
O, the life!
Plural
English Equiv.
the lives
of the lives
to/for the lives
the lives (d.o.)
by/with/etc the lives
O, the lives!
NB: in Latin there is no word for “_____.”
Adjectives and the nouns they describe must agree in ____________, ____________, and
__________.