CanonLaw.info

Dr. Edward Peters

Tamarack Christian Latin, Overviews & Basics

20 sep 2024

TCL, Home

Overview

Use these notes in preparation for what will be discussed or as a review of what we have covered.

First thoughts toward learning Latin

Question

Answer

0. What is Latin?

Latin is a language.

1. What is a language?

A language is a way to communicate human thoughts.

2. How do languages communicate thoughts?

To communicate thoughts, languages form words (morphology) and then arrange them in certain ways (syntax). Latin and English each form and arrange their words very effectively but they do so very differently.

3. How do Latin and English form their words?

A B C D E F G

H I (J) K L M N O P

Q R S T (U) V

W X (Y & Z)

Latin and English use the same sounds to form words and nearly the same alphabets to spell them.

But, most English words convey only the concept represented by the word (and little, usually nothing, about how the word will function in a given phrase or sentence, i.e., as a subject, object, person marker, etc).

In contrast, most Latin words convey not only the concept represented by the word but also, by varying its spelling in predictable ways, Latin words show what grammatical function the word will serve in a given phrase or sentence.

 • More on Latin word spelling changes, here. On pronouncing Latin vowels, . On pronouncing Latin consonants, .

4. Why is the arrangement of words so important in English but much less so in Latin?

Because most English words convey only the concept represented by the word, the arrangement of words in English phrases or sentences is crucial for determining their function and ultimately what is being communicated. Consider: 'the dog bit the man' vs 'the man bit the dog' vs 'the the bit man dog'.

But, because most Latin words convey both a concept and a grammatical function, the arrangement of Latin words into phrases and sentences can be, and is, quite varied. "Canis momordit virum" and "Virum momordit canis" and "Virum canis momordit" all mean "The dog bit the man".

 • More on the differences in word order between Latin and English, here. See here.

5. How do languages actually achieve the communication of thoughts?

Once words have been duly formed and arranged they still need to be expressed and perceived in order to achieve actual communication. Most languages, including Latin and English, are expressed by speaking and perceived by hearing. Some of these 'oral-audial' languages also have a written form that can be read silently or aloud (as you are doing now in English).

A few languages, e.g., American Sign Language, are expressed on the hands and perceived by the eyes. These 'manual-visual' languages do not have a written form but they are true languages.

6. Where does Latin figure in the family of languages?

Latin belongs to the Italic branch of the Indo-European Languages family. (English belongs to the West Germanic branch of that same family). Latin began to emerge over 2,500 years ago along the Tiber River near modern-day Rome. Passing through many phases (notably Old Latin, Classical, and Medieval), Latin eventually gave rise to the modern Romance languages used today (Italian, Spanish, etc.) and contributed much vocabulary to many other languages. • See ; and Polymathy, here and here.

7. Why is Latin called a "dead language"?

English is called a "living" language and Latin a "dead" but neither term indicates the worth of the language or its sophistication.

The term "living" in regard to language simply means that the morphology and syntax of that language are undergoing changes due to widespread active usage while the designation "dead" means that the forms of the language have become fixed and stable. Living languages are typically acquired in daily life (usually from parents to children) while dead languages must be learned by formal study (typically from teacher to student). The vast majority of languages ever used are now dead but fortunately many of them, such as Latin, can still be studied, learned, and enjoyed.

Languages of Iron Age Italy

Kinds of words

Question

Answer

1. How many kinds of words are there?

There are eight kind of words, or 'parts of speech', in both Latin and English: Nouns, Adjectives, Pronouns, Verbs, Adverbs, Prepositions, Conjunctions, and Interjections.

2. What does each kind of word do?

 • Nouns are words designating things, persons, places, etc.

 • Adjectives are words that modify nouns.

 • Pronouns are words that take place of nouns.

 • Verbs are words that designate action or state of being.

 • Adverbs are words that modify verbs or other adverbs.

 • Prepositions are words that coordinate relations between certain words.

 • Conjunctions are words that unite words or phrases or distinguish between them.

 • Interjections are words that convey emotions.

3. What are the two main parts of most Latin words?

Most Latin words, especially nouns, adjectives, verbs, and adverbs, have two parts, a base that conveys the basic notion of word and an ending that conveys the function of the word in the phrase or sentence. • More on the two parts of most Latin words, here.

Notes on sentences

1. In both Latin and English a sentence expresses a complete thought and consists of a "subject" (basically, an actor) and a "verb" (basically, an action). In the vast majority of English sentences the subject must be expressly stated (e.g., Laura thinks or She thinks). In contrast, because Latin can rely on the finite form of the verb to imply the subject, complete Latin sentences frequently do not contain an express subject (e.g., Laura cogitat, or simply Cogitat).

2. In both Latin and English the subject of a clause or sentence must, with rare exceptions, "agree with" its verb in number. Thus, Laura cogitat but Laura et Maria cogitant. This is known as one of the "Great Agreements" in Latin.

3. In both Latin and English there are four kinds of sentences: declarative (stating what is or is not the situation), interrogative (asking questions), imperative (giving directives or commands), and exclamatory (expressing surprise or emotion).

Noun basics

1. Nouns are words that identify things, persons, places, etc., e.g., God, man, heaven, earth, garden, tree, snake, apple, faith, hope, love.

2. Nearly all Latin nouns, unlike English nouns, have a grammatical "gender" (masculine, feminine, or neuter) but gender usually has nothing to do with sex (male and female). The grammatical gender of most Latin nouns cannot be guessed and so must be learned but it almost never changes so once you know it you know it. A very few Latin nouns have both a masculine and a feminine form, e.g., deus (a god) and dea (a goddess). .

3. Latin and English nouns come in two "numbers" (singular and plural) depending on whether the noun identifies 'one of some thing' or 'more than one of some thing'.

4. When a Latin noun is used in a phrase or sentence it always appears in a "case" indicating the specific grammatical job that the noun is doing in that phrase or sentence. Latin has five major cases (nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, and ablative) and two minor cases (vocative and locative). Most cases can be identified by their spelling though a few of these case endings are identical so context is necessary to identify them accurately. • Latin's case system . Nominative . Genitive . Dative . Accusative . • More on the Latin case system, here.

5. A "declension" is a family of nouns whose members "decline" (are formed) in the same way. There are five declensions of nouns in Latin (called I, II, III, IV, and V) and nearly all nouns in Latin belong to a specific declension. A very few nouns belong to two declensions and a few belong to none. • Notion of Declension . • Charts for Declensions I - V, here.

6. The "lexical form" (dictionary entry) of a Latin noun usually consists of the nominative and genitive singular forms, e.g., "dominus, domini" or "spes, spei", sometimes abbreviated "dominus, -i" or "spes, -ei". Although knowing the nominative singular form of a noun is usually enough to identify the declension of a noun, dictionaries usually give both the nominative and genitive singular forms because knowing both of these forms identifies exactly which declension the noun belongs to and what its base is. Once the base and the declension of a noun are known anyone who knows the paradigms of the five declensions can "decline" (form) any noun in Latin.

7. Nouns that refer to the same thing in a phrase or sentence are in "apposition" to each other and are so indicated by their sharing the same case (and, if possible, the same number and gender). .

Pronoun basics

2. English pronouns often change spelling based on their function in a sentence. If "she wants to eat her pizza" makes sense to you, but "her want to eat she pizza" does not, you see how English pronoun cases work. English pronouns are, in fact, the last remnants of an extensive case system that, several centuries ago, was prominent in English.

3. Latin pronouns can convey emphasis or importance. Because finite Latin verbs always carry an implied subject, expressly stating the subject, even with a pronoun, provides emphasis to that subject. For example, the Latin Vulgate has Jesus saying not "Sum via et veritas and vita" (I'm the way, the truth, and the life), but "Ego sum via et veritas and vita" (something closer to 'I am the way, the truth, and the life').

4. While patterns can be found among Latin pronouns they usually need to be memorized. Among the most important types of pronouns are the "personal pronouns" (ego, tu, is / ea / id), see Latintutorial, here; and the "relative pronouns" (qui, quae, quod), here & here.

Adjective basics

1. Adjectives are words that "modify" (give more information about) nouns, e.g., happy, sad, quick, slow, hot, green, old, tall.

2. Latin adjectives always "agree" (work with) the nouns they modify and, because most Latin nouns come in three genders, two numbers, and five cases, Latin adjectives come in three genders, two numbers, and five cases. Most adjectives are "regular" (because they follow rules) but a few important adjectives are "irregular" and must be learned separately. .

3. Most Latin adjectives fall into two main groups (called "Group I-II" and "Group III") based on whether their endings use the endings of nouns from the first two declensions or from the third. In many instances the ending of a noun and its adjective will match exactly in spelling (because, after all, they agree) but it is crucial that a noun and its adjective must agree in gender, number, and case even if that means that the endings of the two words will not look alike.

4. Adjectives in Latin and English come in three "degrees", namely, positive, comparative, and superlative.

Examples of degrees of an adjective.

 

My father is blessed.

St. Joseph is more blessed.

The Lord Jesus is the most blessed.

positive degree

comparative degree

superlative degree

Pater meus beatus est.

Sanctus Josephus beatius est.

Dominus Iesus beatissimus est.

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5. Participles are a special kind of adjective.

Participle basics

1. In Latin every participle is an adjective but it is a special kind of adjective in that a participle is built on a verbal base yet must use a declension ending so as to agree with the noun it is modifying. Participles are rather more common in Latin than they are in English. . To take an example, in "I fried an egg" the word 'fried' is a verb, but in "I ate a fried egg" the word 'fried' is now an adjective, specifically, a participle. Latin will do the same thing but without the confusion inherent in English participial forms.

2. There are four kinds of participles in Latin: the perfect passive, the present active, the future passive, and the future active.

 • Future active participles, here.

 • Future passive participles (gerundive), here.

Verb basics

1. Verbs are words that indicate actions (e.g., to sing, to pray, to walk, to study, to want, to eat). Most verbs are "regular" (because they follow rules) but a few important verbs are "irregular" and must be learned separately.

2. Most Latin verbs, like English verbs, come in two "numbers" (singular and plural) depending on whether 'one subject is acting' or 'two or more subjects are acting'.

3. Most Latin verbs, like most English verbs, come in three "persons", i.e., first, second, and third person. A very few verbs do not come in three persons and are usually "impersonal" verbs.

4. Many Latin verbs, like many English verbs, come in two "voices", an 'active voice' (wherein the subject of the sentence does the action, as in "I eat the pizza") and a passive voice (wherein the subject of the sentence receives the action, as in "The pizza is eaten by me"). . Some verbs, notably intransitive verbs or verbs being used intransitively, can only appear in the active voice.

5. A "conjugation" is a family of verbs whose members "conjugate" (are formed) in the same way. There are four conjugations of verbs in Latin (called I, II, III, and IV) and nearly all verbs in Latin belong to a specific conjugation. The Third Conjugation has two subgroups in it, called "o" and "io". • Selected starter verbs, here.

6. The "lexical form" (dictionary entry) of a Latin verb usually consists of up to four "principal parts" always listed in a specific order:

 

laudo,	laudare,	laudavi,	laudatus, -a, -um
present active indicative first person singular	present active infinitive	perfect active indicative first person singular	perfect passive participle
I praise	to praise	I praised	(having been) praised
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Once the principal parts of a given verb are identified anyone who knows the paradigms of the four conjugations can form any regular verb in Latin. • Quick chart for regular conjugation verbs, here.

7. The "finite form" of a Latin verb, in contrast to English verbs, always connotes a subject. Even if the subject is not expressly named it can be known implicitly. "Carolus and Robertus ambulant" means "Charles and Robert walk", but even the finite form "ambulant" by itself is a complete Latin sentence meaning "they walk". • See also Notes on sentences, here.

Adverb basics

1. Adverbs are words that "modify" (give more information about) verbs or other adverbs, e.g., 'to sing well', 'serve poorly', 'spoke gently', 'acting roughly', 'will run very quickly', 'was acting less happily'. . Adverbs are sometimes organized into types, e.g., "adverbs of time" and "adverbs of manner", but regardless, they are all still adverbs.

2. Adverbs in Latin and English come in three "degrees", namely positive, comparative, and superlative.

Examples of degrees of an adverb.

 

Julie sings sweetly.

The angels sing more sweetly.

The mother of God sings most sweetly.

positive degree

comparative degree

superlative degree

Julia cantat suaviter.

Angeli cantant suavius.

Mater Dei cantat suavissime.

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Preposition basics

1. Prepositions, taking their name from the fact that in Latin and English they are placed before the words they work with (thus they are 'pre-positioned' before their objects), are words that coordinate certain nouns with other words in a phrase or sentence, e.g., "in the house", "over the moon", "through the day", "under the weather", and so on.

2. Prepositions are small words and never change their spelling. Learn them and what case they 'take' or 'control' and be done with it. • Basic Latin preposition charts here.

Conjunction basics

3. Latin has the same kinds of conjunctions as does English, i.e., coordinating, correlative, and subordinating.

Interjection basics

The vocative case and imperative mood

The vocative case and the imperative mood, being different grammatical topics, are usually taught separately. Because, however, the vocative case and the imperative mood are so often used together I explain them together here.

1. The vocative case is used solely to identify a person or thing being addressed in a statement, e.g., "Paul, come with me" (Paule, veni mecum) or "Are you singing, Mary? (Cantasne, Maria?)". . The interjection "O" is often used to further delineate the vocative but it is also often omitted.

2. The vocative case is identical to the nominative case unless the name of the person or thing being addressed is a second declension, masculine, singular noun ending with "-us" in the nominative (e.g., Eduardus, Paulus, Dominus, Quintus) whereupon that "-us" ending changes to "-e" to form the vocative (e.g., Eduarde, Paule, Domine, Quinte).

3. A very few exceptions to this rule exist, notably: the nominative "Deus" remains "Deus" in the vocative and "Agnus" remains "Agnus"; "Jesus" becomes "Jesu"; "filius" becomes "fili"; "meus" can remain "meus" or become "mi".

4. The imperative mood is the verb form used to express commands. Do not assume that the imperative mood necessarily connotes harshness or authority. The English "Come in, take your coat off, and make yourself comfortable" demonstrates three 'friendly' verbs in the imperative mood. The imperative mood is often used to seek God's favor (Deus, salva nos!) or the saints' intercession (Maria, ora pro nobis peccatoribus). .

5. The imperative mood is used in two voices (active and passive) and in the present or (rarely) future tense. It is much more common the second person (both singular and plural) but it can appear in a third person sense. A very few verbs (e.g., posse) do not have an imperative form. A few imperatives (such as esse, ducere, and ire) are irregular.

6. The singular, active, present imperative (the most common form actually used in Latin or English) is easily found: simply drop the "-re" from the (active) infinitive form of the verb. Thus, "laudare" becomes "lauda", "monere" becomes "mone", and so on. For three verbs (dicere, ducere, facere) even the remaining stem vowel "e" is dropped resulting in "dic, duc, fac" as imperatives.

7. The plural, active, present imperative is also easily found: simply add "-te" to the singular imperative form, so "lauda" becomes "laudate", "mone" becomes "monete", and so on. In third conjugation verbs the singular imperative changes its stem vowel from "e" to "i" before adding the "-te", thus, e.g., "cape" becomes not 'capete' but rather "capite".

8. The singular, passive, present imperative is identical with the present, active infinitive form. To form the plural, passive, present imperative, simply take the plural active imperative, drop the "-te" and add "-mini".

Roman Numerals

Latin and English have two kinds of numerals, namely, "cardinal" and "ordinal". Cardinal numbers are used for counting things (one, two, three, etc.). Ordinal numbers are used for ordering things in a series (first, second, third, etc.).

Cardinal numbers.

 • I. unus, una, unum • II. duo, duae, duo • III. tres, tres, tria

 • undecim, duodecim, tredecim, quattuordecim, quindecim, sedecim, septendecim, duodeviginti, undeviginti, viginti

 • decem, viginti, triginta, quadraginta, quinquaginta, sexaginta, septuaginta, octoginta, nonaginta, centum

Ordinal numbers

 • primus, -a, -um; secundus, -a, -um; tertius, -a, -um; quartus, -a, -um; etc.

Res Latinae.

I have organized this vast and unwieldy topic as follows: Society. People. Institutions. Culture. There are few bright lines distinguishing one category from another and some matters do not neatly fall under any of these headings. Further subdivisions of topics will be evident below. Society and People are presented generally chronologically, with People usually being included in Society where feasible. Institutions and Culture are less amenable to a chronological approach yet it serves here as a default arrangement of topics. For each of these topics and subtopics I have tried to identify presentations geared to beginners (tirones, say, junior highschoolers), intermediate students (discipuli, senior highschoolers), and advanced students (scholares, college students or above). These assignments are subjective and, though generally reasonable, by no means mandatory.

 • Society. Roman society passed through three great phases with generally recognized periods: Monarchy, Republic, and Empire. The Monarchy was preceded by a culturally important Pre-Foundation (of the city of Rome) phase, the Republic and Empire each experienced major sub-phases, and the Empire in the West was followed by an important Eastern expression known as Byzantium.

Society. Pre-Foundation.	The history of Roman civilization before the date traditionally given for the founding of the City of Rome (April 21st, 753 BC) is enveloped in mythology and epitomized in Virgil's Aeneid. While some of this history doubtless has factual foundations there are certainly many omissions, inconsistencies, and additions to each of its parts and to its wonderful whole.
Tirones	Discipuli	Scholares
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Society. Monarchy.
Tirones	Discipuli	Scholares
		Line of kings . Mythic kings .
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Society. Republic. First century.	From the ouster of the kings (505 BC) to the Gallic sack of Rome (387 BC) and the refounding of the City under Camillus.
Tirones	Discipuli	Scholares
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Society. Republic. Refounding.
Tirones	Discipuli	Scholares
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Society. Empire. Principiate.
Tirones	Discipuli	Scholares
		Principiate emperors .
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Society. Empire. Dominate.
Tirones	Discipuli	Scholares
		Dominate emperors .
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Society. Empire. Byzantium.
Tirones	Discipuli	Scholares
		Byzantine emperors .
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People.
Tirones	Discipuli	Scholares
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Institutions.
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Culture.
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Tirones	Discipuli	Scholares
	Carthage .	Carthage .
Hannibal .	Hannibal .
		Pantheon .
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 • Names. Latintutorial, here.

 • Time. Latintutorial, here.

Hannibal

 • Accent or stress. Latintutorial, here. Polymathy, 14m, here.

Tis, was Caesar considered divine?, here.

Resources

Below are links to some internet resources that I think are helpful for Latin learners (even if some materials in them are presented in ways other than I would present them), including:

Mostly language and literature

 • Latinperdiem, 5 to 20 min.

 • Latintutorial, 5 to 10 min.

 • Polymathy, 10 to 40 min.

 • Found in Antiquity: Latin, 10 to 90 min.

 • Latinitium, 10 to 20 min.

 • Scorpiomartianus, 10 to 40 min.

The above language and literature sites use almost entirely

'restored classical' pronunciation not ecclesiastical.

Other areas

Ancient & Medieval Adventures Online

Mostly history and culture

 • Biographics, 20 to 40 min.

 • Captivating History, 10 to 30 min.

 • Epimetheus, 10 to 40 min.

 • Fall of Civilizations, 45 to 240 min.

 • Fire of Learning, 10 to 80 min.

 • Hadrian, 10 to 20 min.

 • Kings and Generals, 10 to 90 min.

 • The Legends of History, 10 to 20 min.

 • Mythology Unleashed, 10 to 60 min.

 • The People Profiles, 60 to 90 min.

 • See U in History, 5 to 45 min.

 • Simple History, 5 to 15 min.

 • Timeaus, 30 to 90 min.

 • Toldinstone, 10 to 40 min.

 • Usefulcharts, 25 to 35 min.

Parents determine their children's internet usage and can, as they see fit, disable or block any of the channels and/or sites listed here. I never require a learner to use these linked materials.