Latin Grammar List

c before e or i sounds like ch, g before e or i like j, v like v and ae like eh, so caelum (sky) sounds like CHEH-loom and Cicero like CHEE-cheh-ro.

c and g are always hard, v sounds like w and ae sounds like the English word eye: Caesar sounds like KYE-sar and vinum like WEE-noom.

The genitive shows the declension and the stem: rosa, rosae (rose); dominus, domini (lord); rex, regis (king).

puella, puellae (first); amicus, amici (second); rex, regis (third); manus, manus (fourth); res, rei (fifth).

Amare (to love), habere (to have), ducere (to lead), capere (to take) and audire (to hear) each stand for one conjugation.

The letter i stands for the vowel and the consonant (iam, Iulius), v stands for the w or v sound (via, vinum), and ae and oe are written as two letters (caelum, poena).

In Marcus aquam portat, portat is the verb, Marcus is the subject and aquam is the object: Marcus carries water.

Aquarium comes from aqua (water), vision from videre (to see) and student from studere (to study).

The long ā in puellā (by the girl) lasts longer than the short a in puella (girl). Sentences in this course leave the bars off.

Dominus (lord) is masculine, puella (girl) is feminine and verbum (word) is neuter: dominus bonus, puella bona, verbum bonum.

Puella can mean a girl or the girl, and the story around it decides: puella ridet (the girl is smiling).

There are six cases: nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, ablative and vocative, as in puella, puellae, puellae, puellam, puella, puella.

Amat (he loves), amabat (he was loving), amet (may he love), amatur (he is loved).

Amo (I love), amas (you love), amat (he or she loves), amamus (we love), amatis (you all love), amant (they love).

Amo, amare, amavi, amatum (love): I love, to love, I loved, and a form that gives the stem of words like amatus.

Classical Latin is the Latin of Caesar and Cicero. Church Latin is the same written language, read the Italian way: Gloria in excelsis Deo (glory to God in the highest).

Marcus puellam videt and puellam Marcus videt both mean Marcus sees the girl, and the verb usually comes last.

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis (Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us): learn it whole, line by line.

Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum (Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you): learn it whole and read the parts later.

The Confiteor opens Confiteor Deo omnipotenti (I confess to almighty God) and reaches its heart in mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa (through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault); learn both lines whole.

Deo gratias (thanks be to God) answers many parts of the Mass; Amen (so be it) and Alleluia (praise the Lord) come from Hebrew and sound almost the same in Latin.

Before communion everyone prays Domine, non sum dignus ut intres sub tectum meum (Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof); learn it whole.

Dominus vobiscum (the Lord be with you) is answered by Et cum spiritu tuo (and with your spirit); learn both whole, since vobiscum is vobis plus cum.

The Agnus Dei ends with Dona nobis pacem (Grant us peace), a plain request that choirs repeat; learn the line whole.

Many mottos are still used in Latin: carpe diem (seize the day), veni, vidi, vici (I came, I saw, I conquered), tempus fugit (time flies), e pluribus unum (out of many, one), semper fidelis (always faithful).

Puella (girl), rosa (rose) and villa (house) take the accusative puellam and the plurals puellae and puellas.

Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto (Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit): learn the prayer whole; Patri, Filio and Spiritui are the forms that mean to.

The Gloria opens Gloria in excelsis Deo, et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis (Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to people of good will); learn the first line whole.

In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti. Amen. (In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.): learn it whole; the three names are in the form that means of.

The Mass ends with Ite, missa est (Go, it is the dismissal), and the answer is Deo gratias (Thanks be to God).

The Mass keeps one Greek prayer, Kyrie, eleison (Lord, have mercy), and the Creed opens with Credo in unum Deum (I believe in one God); learn both as whole phrases.

Several short forms in English come from Latin: e.g. is exempli gratia (for example), i.e. is id est (that is), etc. is et cetera, a.m. is ante meridiem (before noon), p.m. is post meridiem (after noon).

English keeps many Latin phrases whole: et cetera (and the rest), ad hoc (for this), per se (by itself), vice versa (the other way round), status quo (the present state), bona fide (in good faith).

Marcus est puer and Roma est urbs (Rome is a city): both nouns are nominative.

Donum est bonum (The gift is good), Marcus donum videt (Marcus sees the gift), Iulia dona videt (Iulia sees the gifts).

Puella, puellae; amicus, amici; verbum, verba.

Ora pro nobis (pray for us) closes many prayers to Mary and the saints: Sancta Maria, mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus (Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners).

Pater noster, qui es in caelis (Our Father, who are in heaven): learn the prayer whole, line by line.

Pax vobis (Peace be with you) greets the people, Oremus (Let us pray) opens a prayer, and a call such as Gratias agamus Domino Deo nostro (Let us give thanks to the Lord our God) is answered Dignum et iustum est (It is right and just); learn each pair whole.

Amo, amas, amat, amamus, amatis, amant (love), and also cantare (sing), portare (carry) and laudare (praise).

Habeo, habes, habet, habemus, habetis, habent (have), and also videre (see), ridere (laugh) and tenere (hold).

The Mass for the dead opens Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis (Eternal rest grant them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them); learn the first line whole.

A Roman man had three names, a first name, a family name and a nickname, as in Marcus Tullius Cicero and Gaius Iulius Caesar; a woman took the feminine of the family name, such as Iulia and Cornelia.

Romans wrote numbers with letters: I is one, V is five, X is ten, L is fifty, C is one hundred, D is five hundred and M is one thousand, and a smaller letter before a larger one is taken away, so IV is four and XIV is fourteen.

The hymn Salve Regina begins Salve, Regina, mater misericordiae (Hail, Queen, mother of mercy); salve here greets the Queen directly.

The Sanctus sings Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus Dominus Deus Sabaoth (Holy, holy, holy Lord God of hosts) and goes on Pleni sunt caeli et terra gloria tua (Heaven and earth are full of your glory); learn it whole.

A speaker repeats the verb, or says ita (so) or certe (certainly); for no, a speaker says non or minime (not at all).

Verbum (word), bellum (war), donum (gift) and templum (temple) have plurals in -a: verba, bella, dona, templa.

Amicus (friend), hortus (garden) and dominus (lord) take the accusative amicum and the plurals amici and amicos.

Puer (boy), ager (field), liber (book) and vir (man): puer keeps its e (pueri), but ager and liber drop it (agri, libri).

In the third person, a singular subject takes a verb ending in -t and a plural subject takes one ending in -nt: puella cantat (the girl sings), puellae cantant (the girls sing).

Classical Cicero sounds like KIK-eh-ro, and Church Cicero sounds like CHEE-cheh-ro; gens is a hard g in classical Latin and JENS in Church Latin.

Before the Eucharistic Prayer the priest calls Sursum corda (Lift up your hearts) and the people answer Habemus ad Dominum (We lift them up to the Lord); both are short whole phrases.

The hymn Te Deum begins Te Deum laudamus: te Dominum confitemur (We praise you, O God; we acknowledge you as Lord).

Marcus librum legit (Marcus reads a book) and Iulia amicos videt (Iulia sees the friends).

Amare (to love), habere (to have) and videre (to see): first conjugation infinitives end in -are, and second conjugation infinitives end in -ere.

Marcus legit (Marcus reads) and puellae cantant (the girls sing).

Iulia rosam portat (Iulia carries a rose): the subject comes first, then the object, and the verb comes last.

In classical Latin ae sounds like eye, oe like oy and au like ow; in Church Latin ae and oe both sound like eh and au still sounds like ow.

A word of two syllables is stressed on the first, like RO-ma and VIL-la; in longer words the second-to-last syllable is stressed if it is long, and otherwise the third-to-last: a-MI-cus, DO-mi-nus, a-MA-re.

Amo, amas, amat, amamus, amatis, amant (I love, you love, he loves, we love, you all love, they love).

Ecce Roma! (Look, Rome!) and Ecce Agnus Dei (Behold the Lamb of God).

Est means is and sunt means are: Marcus est puer (Marcus is a boy), Iulia et Livia sunt puellae (Iulia and Livia are girls).

Marcus et Iulia (Marcus and Iulia), Marcus legit et Iulia cantat (Marcus reads and Iulia sings).

Gratias tibi ago (thank you, literally I give thanks to you) and gratias (thanks) are the usual thanks; quaeso (please) and sis (if you like) make a request polite.

In villa (in the house), in horto (in the garden), in foro (in the forum).

Marcus non est in villa (Marcus is not in the house), puellae non rident (the girls are not laughing).

Quid agis? (How are you, literally what are you doing?) and Quomodo vales? (How are you?) are answered with Bene (well), Bene valeo (I am well) or Male (badly).

Quis est? (Who is it?) and Quid est? (What is it?).

Salve (hello) greets one person and salvete several; vale (goodbye) is for one person and valete for several. Ave (hail) greets someone with respect.

Marcus in horto est, sed Iulia in villa est (Marcus is in the garden, but Iulia is in the house).

In classical Latin ti sounds like tee, gn like ng-n, sc like sk and h like h; in Church Latin they can sound like tsee, ny, sh and nothing.

Ubi est Iulia? (Where is Iulia?) and Iulia in horto est (Iulia is in the garden).

Put -ne on the word you are asking about, usually the verb at the front: Amasne Romam? (Do you love Rome?), Venitne Marcus? (Is Marcus coming?).

Marcus Iuliaque (Marcus and Iulia), villa hortusque (the house and the garden): -que is attached to the end of the second word.

The ablative singular ends in -a (long) in the first declension and -o in the second: puella, amico, verbo; puella (nominative) and puella with a long a (ablative) are spelled alike, so the sentence tells them apart.

The accusative plural ends in -as in the first declension, -os in the second masculine and -a in the second neuter: puellas, amicos, verba.

The Christmas hymn begins Adeste, fideles, laeti triumphantes, venite, venite in Bethlehem (Come, faithful ones, joyful and triumphant, come, come to Bethlehem); learn the first lines whole.

A describing word agrees with its noun in gender, number and case, so it has masculine, feminine and neuter forms: bonus puer, bona puella, bonum donum (good boy, girl, gift).

Some adjectives have a masculine form ending in -er: miser, misera, miserum (unhappy) keeps its e, and pulcher, pulchra, pulchrum (beautiful) drops it.

The Angelus begins Angelus Domini nuntiavit Mariae (The angel of the Lord declared to Mary), and the answer is Et concepit de Spiritu Sancto (And she conceived by the Holy Spirit); learn both lines whole.

Ave verum corpus, natum de Maria Virgine (Hail, true body, born of the Virgin Mary) opens a hymn that many choirs sing; learn the first line whole.

Sedete! (Sit down!), Surgite! (Stand up!), Audite! (Listen!), Legite! (Read!), Scribite! (Write!), Aperite libros! (Open your books!), Respondete! (Answer!).

The singular command is the stem and the plural adds -te: ama, amate; habe, habete; lege, legite; cape, capite; audi, audite. Four verbs drop the e: dic (say), duc (lead), fac (make), fer (carry).

Unus, duo and tres match the noun they count (una puella, duo amici, tres libri), while the numbers from quattuor to decem never change.

The dative of the pronouns is mihi (to me), tibi (to you), nobis (to us) and vobis (to you all): Marcus mihi librum dat (Marcus gives me a book).

The dative singular ends in -ae in the first declension and -o in the second: puellae, amico, verbo.

In the first and second declensions the dative and ablative plural are the same, -is: puellis, amicis, verbis; the sentence decides which job it does.

The endings are -o, -s, -t, -mus, -tis and -nt in every family, and the vowel before them changes: amat, habet, ducit, capit, audit.

The genitive plural ends in -arum in the first declension and -orum in the second: puellarum, amicorum, verborum, as in villa amicorum (the friends' house).

The genitive singular ends in -ae in the first declension and in -i in the second: puella, puellae; amicus, amici; verbum, verbi.

Alumnus, alumni; datum, data; formula, formulae; curriculum, curricula; radius, radii.

Mary's song begins Magnificat anima mea Dominum (My soul magnifies the Lord) and is sung at evening prayer; learn the first line whole.

A few nouns in -a name men and are masculine, so adjectives take masculine endings: nauta bonus (a good sailor), poeta Romanus (a Roman poet), agricola laetus (a happy farmer).

The subject pronouns ego (I), tu (you), nos (we) and vos (you all) are left out unless a speaker stresses them; the accusative forms are me, te, nos, vos: Ego te video (I see you).

The possessives are meus (my), tuus (your), noster (our) and vester (your, plural) and they agree with the thing owned, not with the owner: liber meus, villa mea, donum nostrum. The vocative of meus is mi: mi amice.

A, ab (from, by), cum (with), de (down from, about), e, ex (out of), in (in), sine (without) and pro (for, in front of) are followed by the ablative: cum amico, sine pecunia, ex villa.

Ad (to), ante (before), apud (at, near), circum (around), contra (against), inter (between), per (through), post (after), prope (near) and propter (because of) are followed by the accusative: ad forum, per viam.

Fourth conjugation verbs keep a long i in the stem and add u in the third person plural: audio, audis, audit, audimus, auditis, audiunt (hear); also venio (come), dormio (sleep), scio (know).

Third conjugation verbs in -io add an i before the ending in the first person and the third person plural: capio, capis, capit, capimus, capitis, capiunt (take); also facio (make) and iacio (throw).

Third conjugation verbs have a short e in the stem that turns to i or u: duco, ducis, ducit, ducimus, ducitis, ducunt (lead); also scribo (write), lego (read), mitto (send), ago (do, drive).

The Easter hymn Regina caeli, laetare, alleluia (Queen of heaven, rejoice, alleluia) greets Mary with the command laetare; learn the first line whole.

An adjective after est agrees with the subject in gender, number and case: Roma est magna, Marcus est laetus, puellae sunt laetae (Rome is big, Marcus is happy, the girls are happy).

The ablative answers questions such as where, with what, from where and with whom, often after a preposition: in villa (in the house), cum amicis (with friends), ex horto (out of the garden).

The dative names who receives something or who it is done for, usually the indirect object: Marcus puellae rosam dat (Marcus gives the girl a rose), Iulia amico librum portat (Iulia carries a book for her friend).

The infinitive tells you the conjugation: amare (first), habere (second), ducere (third), capere (third in -io), audire (fourth). The third conjugation has a short e, so the stress falls earlier: DOO-keh-reh.

The genitive shows who owns something or what something belongs to, and it usually follows the noun: liber Marci (Marcus's book), villa Iuliae (Iulia's house), amicus puellae (the girl's friend).

The vocative is the form for calling someone, and a second declension noun in -us changes to -e: Marce! Domine! A -ius name or noun ends in -i: Iuli! Fili! Everything else matches the nominative: Iulia!

An adjective can stand before or after its noun, bonus puer or puer bonus; words for size and number often come first: magna villa (a big house), multi amici (many friends).

Nunc (now), saepe (often), semper (always), numquam (never), hodie (today), heri (yesterday), cras (tomorrow), hic (here) and ibi (there).

Ad with the accusative tells where someone is going or what they are moving toward: Iulia ad forum currit (Iulia runs to the forum), Marcus ad amicum venit (Marcus comes to his friend).

Aut joins choices: Marcus aut Iulia (Marcus or Iulia), Venis aut manes? (Are you coming or staying?).

Cur asks why and quia gives the reason: Cur ridet Iulia? Quia Marcus ridet. (Why is Iulia laughing? Because Marcus is laughing.)

Latin has no word like there, so the verb comes first: Est in horto rosa (There is a rose in the garden), Sunt in villa multi libri (There are many books in the house).

In with the accusative means into or onto, in with the ablative means in or on: Marcus in villam currit (Marcus runs into the house), Marcus in villa est (Marcus is in the house).

Mihi nomen est Marcus (My name is Marcus), Quod tibi nomen est? (What is your name?).

Nec Marcus nec Iulia (neither Marcus nor Iulia), neque cantat neque saltat (he neither sings nor dances).

Pluit (it is raining), ningit (it is snowing), tonat (it is thundering), fulgurat (there is lightning): Hodie non pluit (It is not raining today).

Quando venis? (When are you coming?) Quomodo vales? (How are you?) Quot libros habes? (How many books do you have?)

Quis (who) and quid (what) stand alone, and qui, quae, quod (which) go with a noun and match it: Qui puer? Quae puella? Quod donum?

Quo asks where to and unde asks where from: Quo curris? Ad forum curro. Unde venis? Ex Italia venio. (Where are you running to? To the forum. Where do you come from? From Italy.)

Marcus quoque venit (Marcus comes too), etiam Iulia venit (even Iulia comes).

The verb sum (I am) is irregular: sum, es, est, sumus, estis, sunt; the pronoun is added only for emphasis: Ego sum Marcus, tu es Iulia, nos sumus amici (I am Marcus, you are Iulia, we are friends).

Quot annos natus es? (How old are you?) and Duodecim annos natus sum (I am twelve years old); a girl or woman is nata.

Nocte (at night), hieme (in winter), tertia hora (at the third hour) and prima luce (at first light).

Quia, quod and quoniam all give a reason and are followed by the indicative: Marcus ridet quia Iulia cantat (Marcus laughs because Iulia sings).

Iulia stilo scribit (Iulia writes with a pen) and Marcus pedibus it (Marcus goes on foot).

Possum, potes, potest, possumus, potestis, possunt means can and is followed by an infinitive: Marcus legere potest (Marcus can read); the imperfect is poteram and the perfect potui.

Undecim (11), duodecim (12), tredecim (13), quindecim (15), viginti (20), triginta (30), centum (100) and mille (1000).

Dies Lunae (Monday) and dies Martis (Tuesday); Church Latin has dies Dominica (Sunday), feria secunda (Monday) and feria tertia (Tuesday); mensis Ianuarius is January.

Nolo, non vis, non vult, nolumus, non vultis, nolunt means do not want and is followed by an infinitive: Nolo venire (I do not want to come), Marcus legere non vult (Marcus does not want to read).

A polite or firm command not to do something is noli (to one) or nolite (to several) plus an infinitive: Noli timere (Do not be afraid), Nolite ridere (Do not laugh). Cave (beware) warns in the same way: Cave canem (Beware of the dog).

Satis (enough), nimis (too much), parum (too little), valde and magnopere (very much): Nimis ridet (He laughs too much) and Valde laetus est (He is very happy).

Primus, secundus, tertius, quartus, quintus, sextus, septimus, octavus, nonus and decimus, as in tertia hora (the third hour).

Primum (first), deinde (then), postea (afterwards), tum (then), denique (finally) and subito (suddenly).

The first and second conjugations add -bi- before the ending: amabo, amabis, amabit, amabimus, amabitis, amabunt; habebo, habebis, habebit.

The third and fourth conjugations, and the third in -io, use -a- in the first person and -e- after it: ducam, duces, ducet, ducemus, ducetis, ducent; audiam, audies, audiet; capiam, capies, capiet.

The verb eo is irregular: eo, is, it, imus, itis, eunt; the infinitive is ire and the commands are i and ite: Marcus ad forum it (Marcus goes to the forum), Ite, pueri! (Go, boys!).

Boni (good people), omnes (everyone), multi (many people), omnia (everything) and multa (many things).

Ecclesia (church), episcopus (bishop), evangelium (gospel), angelus (angel), baptizare (to baptize) and apostolus (apostle).

The pronoun is, ea, id serves as he, she, it and as a light that: Ea in horto est (She is in the garden), Marcus eam videt (Marcus sees her); the genitive eius means his, her or its.

Hic (here), huc (to here) and hinc (from here); ibi (there), eo (to there) and inde (from there): Huc veni! (Come here!)

The reflexive pronoun refers back to the subject and has one form for every gender and number: se (accusative and ablative), sibi (dative) and sui (genitive): Marcus se laudat (Marcus praises himself).

Marcus patrem suum amat (Marcus loves his own father) and Iulia et Livia matrem suam vident (Iulia and Livia see their own mother).

Iulia cum cura scribit means Iulia writes with care, and Iulia magna cura scribit means she writes with great care.

Latin can show who has something with sum and the dative: Mihi est liber (I have a book, literally a book is to me), Iuliae sunt duo fratres (Iulia has two brothers).

Civis, civium (citizen), urbs, urbium (city), nox, noctium (night), mors, mortium (death), mare, mari, maria (sea) and animal, animali, animalia (animal).

Iesus, Iesu, Iesum (Jesus) and Christus, Christi, Christo, Christum, Christe (Christ).

Si with the indicative makes a plain real condition: Si Marcum video, gaudeo (If I see Marcus, I am glad), Si Marcus venit, Iulia ridet (If Marcus comes, Iulia laughs).

The imperfect adds -ba- before the personal ending: amabam, amabas, amabat, amabamus, amabatis, amabant; habebam, ducebam, audiebam; the third conjugation in -io has -ie-: capiebam.

-tion from -tio (action), -ity from -itas (quality), -able from -abilis (admirable) and -ment from -mentum (document).

Ad- (to), con- (with), ex- (out), in- (into, not), pre- (before), sub- (under) and trans- (across), as in transport, submarine and prefix.

Pulchre (beautifully), laete (happily) and fortiter (bravely); bene (well) and male (badly) come from bonus and malus.

Telephonum (telephone), autocinetum (car), birota (bicycle) and computatrum (computer) are ordinary nouns of the first or second declension.

O Marce! (O Marcus!), Heu, quid facis? (Alas, what are you doing?) and O me miserum! (Poor me!)

Some perfects lengthen the vowel or double the first syllable: vidi (video), veni (venio), feci (facio), legi (lego), cepi (capio), dedi (do), cucurri (curro), steti (sto).

The perfect has its own endings, added to the perfect stem: -i, -isti, -it, -imus, -istis, -erunt, as in amavi, amavisti, amavit, amavimus, amavistis, amaverunt (I loved, I have loved).

Use the perfect for a single finished event and the imperfect for the scene around it: Iulia cantabat cum Marcus venit (Iulia was singing when Marcus came).

Many third conjugation verbs, and a few from other conjugations, make the perfect with -s-: duxi (from duco), scripsi (scribo), misi (mitto), dixi (dico), risi (rideo).

Many first and fourth conjugation verbs make the perfect with -v-, and many second conjugation verbs with -u-: amavi, audivi, habui, tenui, ploravi.

A preposition goes right before the relative pronoun: villa in qua habito (the house in which I live), amici cum quibus venio (the friends with whom I come).

The case of the relative pronoun is set by its job in its own clause: puella quam video (the girl whom I see), amicus cuius liber est bonus (the friend whose book is good), puer cui librum do (the boy to whom I give a book).

Quota hora est? (What time is it?), Hora tertia est (It is the third hour) and Hora sexta est (It is the sixth hour, midday).

The pointing word ille, illa, illud (that, over there) agrees with its noun: ille puer, illa puella, illud donum; the accusative is illum, illam, illud.

Romae (at Rome), Athenis (at Athens), Pompeiis (at Pompeii) and domi (at home).

Omnis puer, omnis puella, omne donum (every boy, every girl, every gift) and fortis, forte (brave).

Corpus, corporis (body), tempus, temporis (time), nomen, nominis (name) and flumen, fluminis (river), with the plurals corpora, tempora, nomina, flumina.

Rege, regibus (with the king, with the kings); patre, patribus; urbe, urbibus (in the city, in the cities).

Regem, patrem, urbem are accusative singular; reges, patres, urbes are accusative plural.

Regi, regibus (to the king, to the kings); patri, patribus (to the father, to the fathers); civi, civibus (to the citizen, to the citizens).

Regis, regum (of the king, of the kings); civis, civium (of the citizen, of the citizens); urbis, urbium (of the city, of the cities).

Rex, regis (king), pater, patris (father), civis, civis (citizen), urbs, urbis (city) and corpus, corporis (body).

The pointing word hic, haec, hoc (this, near me) agrees with its noun: hic puer, haec puella, hoc donum; the accusative is hunc, hanc, hoc and the plural is hi, hae, haec.

Romam eo (I go to Rome), Roma venio (I come from Rome), domum it (he goes home) and domo venit (he comes from home).

Verbs such as possum, volo, debeo (ought), cupio (desire), incipio (begin), soleo (be accustomed) and audeo (dare) are followed by an infinitive, and the subject stays the same: Marcus scribere incipit (Marcus begins to write).

A prefix changes the meaning of a verb and often the vowel: venio, advenio (arrive), convenio (meet), evenio (turn out); facio, conficio (finish); teneo, contineo (hold together).

Volo, vis, vult, volumus, vultis, volunt means want and is followed by an infinitive: Iulia Romam videre vult (Iulia wants to see Rome).

The imperfect of sum is eram, eras, erat, eramus, eratis, erant: Marcus laetus erat (Marcus was happy), in Italia eramus (we were in Italy).

The perfect of sum is fui, fuisti, fuit, fuimus, fuistis, fuerunt: Marcus in Graecia fuit (Marcus was in Greece, or has been in Greece).

The imperfect describes what was going on, what used to happen and the scene behind the story: Iulia in horto cantabat (Iulia was singing in the garden), Roma magna erat (Rome was big).

The relative pronoun starts a clause that describes a noun; it takes the gender and number of that noun: puer qui legit (the boy who reads), puella quae cantat (the girl who sings), donum quod video (the gift that I see).

The future of sum is ero, eris, erit, erimus, eritis, erunt: cras in Roma ero (tomorrow I will be in Rome), Marcus laetus erit (Marcus will be happy).

Mecum (with me), tecum (with you), nobiscum (with us), vobiscum (with you all), secum (with himself): Dominus tecum (The Lord is with you).

Marcus atque Iulia (Marcus and also Iulia) and pueri ac puellae (the boys and also the girls).

Deus, Dei, Deo, Deum, Deo (God) in the singular, and di, deorum, dis, deos (gods) in the plural.

With the indicative, dum means while, ubi and cum mean when, and postquam means after: Dum Marcus legit, Iulia cantat. Postquam Marcus venit, Iulia risit.

Enim (for) and autem (however) stand second, igitur (therefore) usually second, itaque (and so) and nam (for) usually first, and tamen (yet) first or second.

Nemo (no one), nihil (nothing), nullus (no) and numquam (never): Nemo venit (No one comes) and Nihil video (I see nothing).

Nonne Marcus venit? (Marcus is coming, isn't he?) and Num Iulia hic est? (Iulia isn't here, is she?)

Quam pulchra est Roma! (How beautiful Rome is!) and Quam admirabile est nomen tuum! (How wonderful is your name!)

Urbe capta (after the city was taken) and Marco vocato (after Marcus was called) stand apart from the main sentence.

Marco legente (while Marcus is reading) and sole oriente (as the sun rises) show two things happening together.

Cicerone consule (when Cicero was consul) and me invito (against my will) have no participle at all.

Felix (lucky), ingens (huge), audax (bold) and prudens (wise) say puer felix, puella felix and donum felix.

Marcus pecunia caret (Marcus lacks money) and Iulia periculo liberata est (Iulia was freed from danger).

Absum (am away), adsum (am present), desum (am lacking), praesum (am in charge) and prosum (am useful).

Credo in unum Deum (I believe in one God) opens the Creed at Mass, and Jesus says Creditis in Deum, et in me credite (You believe in God; believe also in me).

Bonus, melior, optimus (good, better, best) and malus, peior, pessimus (bad, worse, worst) have to be learned as sets.

Liber a Marco scribitur (The book is written by Marcus) and Liber stilo scribitur (The book is written with a pen).

Fero, ferre, tuli, latum means carry or bring: Iulia aquam fert (Iulia carries water).

Altior (taller), pulchrior (more beautiful), fortior (stronger) and gravior (heavier) decline like third declension words.

Loquor (I speak), sequor (I follow) and conor (I try) look passive but mean the same as an active verb.

Locutus sum means I spoke, and loqui means to speak.

Res (thing) and dies (day) show the endings; fides (faith) and spes (hope) follow the same pattern.

Cornu (horn) and genu (knee) have the plural cornua and genua.

Manus (hand), manus, manui, manum, manu and fructus (fruit) show the endings of the fourth declension.

Timore tacet (he is silent from fear) and ingenio clarus (famous for his talent) both use the ablative.

Venturus est (he is about to come) and cantatura est (she is about to sing): the participle agrees with its noun.

Amabor (I will be loved), habebor (I will be held), ducar (I will be led), capiar (I will be taken) and audiar (I will be heard).

Amavero, amaveris, amaverit (I will have loved, you will have loved, he will have loved): the perfect stem plus -ero, -eris, -erit.

Urbs capta erat (the city had been taken) and urbs capta erit (the city will have been taken).

Deus Abraham, Deus Isaac et Deus Iacob means the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.

Ipse Marcus means Marcus himself, and Ego ipse te vidi means I myself saw you.

Tres annos Romae habitavit (he lived in Rome for three years) and tria milia passuum (three miles).

Volo te venire means I want you to come, and Iubet pueros sedere means He orders the boys to sit down.

Amabar, amabaris, amabatur, amabamur, amabamini, amabantur (I was loved, you were loved, he was loved, we were loved, you all were loved, they were loved).

Unus, nullus, ullus, solus, totus, alius, alter, uter and neuter: unius puellae (of one girl), toti urbi (to the whole city).

Pueri inter se ludunt means The boys play with each other, and alius alium videt means one sees another.

Marcus vel Iulia (Marcus or Iulia, either one) and duo tresve (two or three).

Satis pecuniae (enough money), multum vini (much wine), nihil novi (nothing new) and pars militum (part of the soldiers).

Amans (a lover), sapiens (wise, a wise person), dicta (things said), facta (things done) and Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini (Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord).

Habeor, haberis, habetur; ducor, duceris, ducitur; capior, caperis, capitur; audior, audiris, auditur.

Amari, haberi, duci, capi and audiri are the present passive infinitives; the perfect passive infinitive is the participle plus esse: amatus esse.

Amatus (loved), auditus (heard), ductus (led), captus (taken) and visus (seen) decline like bonus.

Iulia a Marco amata est (Iulia was loved by Marcus), Urbs capta est (The city was taken) and Pueri vocati sunt (The boys were called).

Amaveram, amaveras, amaverat (I had loved, you had loved, he had loved): the perfect stem plus -eram, -eras, -erat.

Malo, mavis, mavult, malumus, mavultis, malunt: Malo legere quam scribere means I would rather read than write.

Amans, habens, ducens, capiens and audiens mean loving, having, leading, taking and hearing.

Amor, amaris, amatur, amamur, amamini, amantur (I am loved, you are loved, he is loved, we are loved, you all are loved, they are loved).

Villa ubi habito (the house where I live), urbs unde venio (the city I come from) and locus quo eo (the place I am going to).

Iulia dicit Marcum venire means Iulia says that Marcus is coming.

Aqua gives aquatic and aquarium, terra gives territory and terrain, and manus gives manual and manuscript.

Altissimus means tallest or very tall, and pulcherrimus, from pulcher, shows the pattern for adjectives in -er.

Pater altior est quam filius and Pater altior est filio both mean The father is taller than the son.

Amavisse, habuisse, duxisse, cepisse and audivisse mean to have loved, to have had, to have led, to have taken and to have heard.

Dicit Marcum venire, venisse, venturum esse: he says that Marcus is coming, came, will come.

Errare humanum est means To err is human.

Dico, puto, credo, scio, spero, audio, video and nego all start a report: Negat Marcum venire.

Marcus Iuliae credit means Marcus trusts Iulia, and Puer magistro paret means The boy obeys the teacher.

Amor is masculine, civitas is feminine, and nomen is neuter.

Et Marcus et Iulia means both Marcus and Iulia, and neque Marcus neque Iulia means neither Marcus nor Iulia.

Actor (doer) and actio (action) come from agere, libertas (freedom) from liber, and filiolus (little son) from filius.

Alii pueri (other boys) and alter frater (the other brother) both have -ius in the genitive.

Domus (house, home) has domi for at home, domum for toward home and domo for from home.

Duo, duae, duo and tres, tria are declined: cum duobus amicis (with two friends), in tribus villis (in three houses).

Is qui adest (the one who is here), ea quae vides (the things you see) and quod video (what I see).

Mihi licet ire means I am allowed to go, and Te venire oportet means You ought to come.

Nisi venis, discedo (Unless you come, I leave) and Quamquam fessus erat, ridebat (Although he was tired, he laughed).

Cuius (whose), cui (to whom), quem (whom) and quo (by what): Cuius est liber? means Whose book is it?

Marcus dicit se venire means Marcus says that he himself is coming.

Ubi primum Marcus Iuliam vidit, risit means As soon as Marcus saw Iulia, he laughed.

Utrum Romam an Athenas it? and Romamne an Athenas it? both ask Is he going to Rome or to Athens?

Vir magnae virtutis (a man of great courage), puella pulchra facie (a girl with a beautiful face).

Quamvis fessus sit, laborat (Although he is tired, he works), Dummodo veniat (as long as he comes).

Ut dixi means as I said, and ut Romam venit means when he came to Rome.

Fio, fis, fit, fimus, fitis, fiunt (I become); the infinitive is fieri, and the perfect is factus sum.

Multo maior (much bigger), paulo post (a little later), tribus annis post (three years later).

Auxilio venit (he came to help), Hoc mihi cordi est (This is dear to me, literally this is a heart to me).

Vidimus enim stellam eius in oriente, et venimus adorare eum (For we have seen his star in the east, and have come to worship him).

Memento mori (Remember that you must die), Salus populi suprema lex esto (Let the safety of the people be the highest law).

Sequere (follow), loquere (speak), conare (try); plural sequimini. Miserere mei, Deus (Have mercy on me, O God).

Ne timeas, Maria (Do not be afraid, Maria); the classical form is ne with the perfect subjunctive, Ne timueris.

Celeriter (quickly) becomes celerius (more quickly) and celerrime (most quickly). Bene (well) becomes melius (better) and optime (best).

Timeo ne veniat (I fear that he will come), Timeo ut veniat (I fear that he will not come).

Ad urbem delendam (to destroy the city), pacis petendae causa (for the sake of asking for peace).

Plenus vini (full of wine), memor beneficii (mindful of a kindness).

Aeneas has Aeneae in the genitive and dative, and Aenean or Aeneam in the accusative. Penelope has Penelopes in the genitive and Penelopen in the accusative.

Audeo, audere, ausus sum (I dare); gaudeo, gavisus sum (I rejoice); soleo, solitus sum (I am accustomed); fido, fisus sum (I trust).

Ait means he says, inquit means he said, inquam means I say: Venio, inquit Marcus (I am coming, said Marcus).

Haec tibi facienda sunt (These things must be done by you), Mihi eundum est (I must go).

Si Marcus venerit, Iulia ridebit (If Marcus comes, Iulia will laugh).

Si Marcus venisset, Iulia risisset (If Marcus had come, Iulia would have laughed).

Si Marcus veniat, Iulia rideat (If Marcus should come, Iulia would laugh).

Si Marcus adesset, Iulia rideret (If Marcus were here, Iulia would be laughing).

Utinam Marcus veniat! Utinam adesset! Utinam venisset! The tense shows how real the wish is.

Amarem, haberem, ducerem, caperem, audirem and essem: Si pecuniam haberem, villam emerem means If I had money, I would buy a villa.

Vis (force) has vim in the accusative and vi in the ablative, with the plural vires. Bos (ox) has bovis and boum. Senex (old man) has senis and senum.

Sanctificetur nomen tuum, Adveniat regnum tuum, Fiat voluntas tua (Hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done).

Eamus! (Let us go!) and Oremus (Let us pray); in the third person it means let him or let it: Fiat lux (Let there be light).

Ne Marcus quidem hoc scit (Not even Marcus knows this), ne hoc quidem (not even this).

Memor mei (mindful of me), amor tui (love for you), pars nostrum (one of us).

Marcus, domum rediens, Iuliam vidit (As Marcus was returning home, he saw Iulia). Caesar, hoc locutus, discessit (After saying this, Caesar left).

Amer, ameris, ametur (present) and amarer, amareris, amaretur (imperfect) are passive; the perfect and the pluperfect are amatus sim and amatus essem.

Itur (one goes), curritur (there is running), ventum est (people came), pugnatum est (there was fighting).

Amaverim, amaveris, amaverit: this form reports an earlier act after a present or future main verb, as in Nescio quis haec fecerit (I do not know who did this).

Amavissem, amavisses, amavisset: this form reports an act that came before a past main verb, as in Marcus rogavit quis haec fecisset (Marcus asked who had done this).

Amem, ames, amet, amemus, ametis, ament: Oremus means Let us pray.

Habeam, ducam, capiam and audiam: Adveniat regnum tuum means Your kingdom come.

Utinam laetus sis means If only you would be happy, and Rogo quis sit means I ask who he is.

Altior can mean rather tall, senior rather old, pulchrior rather beautiful.

Marcus Iuliam rogat ut veniat (Marcus asks Iulia to come), Moneo te ne curras (I warn you not to run).

Rogo quid facias (I ask what you are doing), Nescio ubi sit Marcus (I do not know where Marcus is).

The Kalends were the 1st, the Nones the 5th or 7th and the Ides the 13th or 15th. Idus Martiae is the Ides of March, 15 March.

Et respondens Iesus dixit ad illum: Simon, habeo tibi aliquid dicere (And Jesus answering said to him: Simon, I have something to say to you).

Scimus quia verax es (We know that you are truthful), Dico vobis quod ita gaudium erit in caelo (I tell you that there will be joy like this in heaven).

Marcus Iuliae salutem dicit (Marcus sends greetings to Iulia) is cut to S.D. or S.P.D., and the letter ends with Vale or Cura ut valeas.

The present forms are possim, velim, nolim, malim, eam and feram, and the imperfect forms are possem, vellem, nollem, mallem, irem and ferrem.

Iste, ista, istud points to something near the listener and often sounds scornful in speeches: ista res (that matter of yours).

Ars amandi (the art of loving), ad discendum (for learning), legendo discimus (we learn by reading), in scribendo (in writing).

Liber legendus (a book to be read), Carthago delenda est (Carthage must be destroyed).

Amor patris (the father's love, or love for the father), timor hostium (the enemy's fear, or fear of the enemy).

Caesar venit, videt, vincit: Caesar comes, sees, wins. When the story is in the past, translate it in the past.

Idem puer (the same boy), eadem puella, idem donum; Marcus idem dicit (Marcus says the same thing); idem qui and idem atque mean the same as.

Marcus pueros grammaticam docet (Marcus teaches the boys grammar), Rogo te sententiam (I ask you your opinion).

Utor (use), fruor (enjoy), fungor (perform), potior (gain), vescor (feed on): Marcus libro utitur (Marcus uses the book).

Adesse amicis (to be near friends), praeesse exercitui (to be in charge of the army).

Quid faciam? (What am I to do?), Quo eamus? (Where are we to go?).

Cum Marcus Romam venisset, Iulia laeta erat (When Marcus had come to Rome, Iulia was happy).

After a present or future main verb the subjunctive is present or perfect, and after a past main verb it is imperfect or pluperfect: Rogo quid facias, Rogavi quid faceres.

S.P.Q.R. stands for senatus populusque Romanus, D.M. for dis manibus, R.I.P. for requiescat in pace, A.D. for anno Domini and I.N.R.I. for Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum.

Dignus honore (worthy of honor), contentus sorte (satisfied with his lot), plenus gratia (full of grace).

Marcus dicitur venire (Marcus is said to be coming), Iulia videtur esse laeta (Iulia seems happy).

Exspectavi dum veniret (I waited until he came).

Memini means I remember, odi means I hate and novi means I know. Coepi means I began and works as a past tense.

Me pudet (I am ashamed), Me paenitet peccati (I regret my sin), Marcum taedet laboris (Marcus is tired of the work).

Marcus loquitur quasi sapiens sit (Marcus speaks as if he were wise).

Legatos mittit qui pacem petant (He sends ambassadors to ask for peace): qui with the subjunctive means who is to.

Quidam puer (a certain boy), aliquis venit (someone comes), nemo quisquam (no one at all).

Quo plus habet, eo plus cupit (The more he has, the more he wants).

Confitemini Domino quoniam bonus (Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good): quoniam is common in the psalms.

In saecula saeculorum (for ever and ever), Rex regum (King of kings), Canticum canticorum (Song of Songs).

Si quis venit (If anyone comes), ne quis hoc dicat (that no one say this), quicumque venit (whoever comes).

Tam magna est villa quam hortus (The house is as big as the garden). Tantus ... quantus means as great as, talis ... qualis means such as and tot ... quot means as many as.

Accidit ut Marcus aegrotaret (It happened that Marcus fell ill), Efficiam ut venias (I will bring it about that you come).

Tam fessus erat ut statim dormiret (He was so tired that he slept at once): look for tam, ita, adeo, tantus or talis in the main clause.

Marcus venit ut Iuliam videat (Marcus comes to see Iulia), Puer tacet ne magistrum offendat (The boy is quiet so as not to offend the teacher).

Velim hoc legas (I would like you to read this): the second verb is in the present subjunctive, and ut can be left out.

Quae cum Iulia audivisset, domum rediit means And when Iulia had heard this, she went home.

Ut iuravi in ira mea: Si introibunt in requiem meam (As I swore in my anger: They shall not enter into my rest).

Keep the opening in mind until the closing verb arrives.

Dixit se, si posset, venturum esse means He said that he would come if he could.

It clamor caelo means the shout goes up to the sky. The prose version is clamor ad caelum it.

Elegy, as Ovid and Catullus wrote it, pairs a hexameter with a pentameter. The hexameter opens the thought, and the pentameter closes it.

Multum ille et terris iactatus et alto reads mult' ill' et terris iactatus et alto.

Deum (of the gods), virum (of the men), nummum (of the coins), and poets write Danaum for Danaorum.

Magno emit means he bought it dear, and Hoc magni aestimo means I think much of this.

Os umerosque deo similis means like a god in face and shoulders, and nuda genu means bare as to the knee.

Asyndeton is the bare list in veni, vidi, vici. Polysyndeton is the repeated et in et terra et mari (on land and on sea).

Caesar and other historians report whole speeches in this way, with one verb of saying at the start.

The letter x counts as two consonants. Scanning a line means marking each syllable long or short.

Catullus wrote in hendecasyllables (Vivamus, mea Lesbia, atque amemus), and Horace wrote in sapphic and alcaic stanzas. The church hymn Ut queant laxis is a sapphic hymn.

Dicat aliquis (Someone may say), quis dubitet? (Who could doubt?), hoc dixerim (I would say this).

Amaverunt or amavere, viderunt or videre, fuerunt or fuere: they loved, they saw, they were.

Tecta (roofs) can mean one house, pectora (breasts) can mean one heart, and ora (mouths) can mean one face.

Italiam contra means opposite Italy, and maria omnia circum means all around the seas. Quibuscum (with whom) follows the same habit.

Dies irae, dies illa has eight syllables with a stress on every second one, and the next lines end in words that rhyme with illa.

Amasti stands for amavisti, amarunt for amaverunt, audisse for audivisse and nosti for novisti.

The line of Virgil and Ovid has six feet. A dactyl is long, short, short, and a spondee is long, long. Arma virumque cano, Troiae qui primus ab oris means I sing of arms and the man who first came from the shores of Troy.

Illi ridere, hic flere means They laughed, he cried.

In Arma virumque cano | Troiae qui primus ab oris, the word cano ends inside the third foot.

Omnipotens sempiterne Deus, qui ... da nobis, ut ... Per Dominum nostrum Iesum Christum.

Marcus dixit se, quia fessus esset, domum redire (Marcus said that, because he was tired, he was going home).

Legatos misit pacem petitum means He sent ambassadors to ask for peace, and facile dictu means easy to say.

Sunt qui dicant means There are those who say. Nemo est qui hoc non sciat means There is no one who does not know this.

Et factum est (and it came to pass), et ecce (and behold), in principio erat Verbum (in the beginning was the Word).

In sic erunt novissimi primi, et primi novissimi, the words cross like an X. In veni, vidi, vici, all three words begin with v.

At regina gravi iamdudum saucia cura (But the queen, wounded long since by heavy care) puts gravi apart from cura.

Non dubito quin Marcus venturus sit means I do not doubt that Marcus will come.

Venit quo melius videat means He comes so that he may see better.

Marcus laudatus est quod fortiter pugnavisset means Marcus was praised because, it was said, he had fought bravely.

Semel (once), bis (twice), ter (three times), quater (four times); singuli (one each), bini (two each), terni (three each).