latin grammar
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Latin Grammar
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Latin Grammar
If you're trying to learn the most essential topics about
Latin you will find some useful resources including a course
about adjectives, adverbs, articles, gender (feminine,
masculine...), negation, nouns, numbers, phrases, plural, prepositions, pronouns, questions, verbs,
vocabulary, excercises... to help you with your Latin grammar Enjoy our courses!
Latin LessonsLearning Latin can help you communicate with other people who speak Latin. The following courses will
provide you with some help based on the lessons you choose. Here is a list of what we offer:
1- Cases Lesson
a) Introduction, Nominative and Accusative:
In English, a noun’s role in a sentence is determined by its position in that sentence, and/or by any
prepositions immediately before it. For example, the subject of a sentence (the person performing the
action) usually goes at the start of the sentence, while the object (the person to whom the action is
done) goes at the end:
The boy [subject] loves the girl [object].
In Latin, a noun’s role is determined by its case. The subject of a sentence is always in the Nominative
case, and the object in the Accusative case:
puer puellam amat*.
(The boy [subject] loves the girl [object].)
In contrast to English, word order is unimportant, so you could reverse the words and the meaning would
stay the same:
puellam puer amat.
(The boy loves the girl)
The accusative can also indicate extent of space or time:
puer quinque pedes altus est
(The boy is five feet tall)
puer puellam duos annos amavit
(The boy loved the girl for two years)
b) Vocative:
The Vocative case is used when calling or addressing someone, and is the same as the nominative except
for 1st Declension masculine singular nouns ending in -us or –ius. Examples:
Nominative Vocative
puer (boy) puer! (“Boy!”)
puella (girl) puella! (“Girl!”)
servus (slave) serve! (“Slave!”)
Julius Juli! (“Julius!”)
c) Genitive:
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The Genitive case denotes ownership, and has the same meaning as (-‘s) in English:
pueri liber
(The boy’s book)
puellae liber
(The girl’s book)
d) Dative:
In an English sentence, the recipient of an item is preceded by “to” or “for”. In Latin they are put in the
Dative case, for example:
puella dat librum puero
(The girl gives the book to the boy)
puer dat librum puellae
(The boy gives the book to the girl)
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e) Ablative:
The Ablative case has several uses. Used on its own, it can denote authorship, use of something as a tool
(like “with” in English), the time when or the time within which something happens:
puella amatur puero
(The girl is loved by the boy)
puella pulsat puerum libro
(The girl hits the boy with the book)
esurientes implevit bonis
(He has filled the hungry with good things)
resurrexit tertia die
(On the third day He rose again)
puer librum tribus diebus legit
(The boy read the book in three days)
2- Declensions Lesson
In Latin a noun’s ending is determined both by its case and by its declension. There are five declensions,
of which 1-3 are by far the most common. Here are examples of words from each declension, showing
the endings for all cases in the singular and plural:
Singular
Case 1st declension
(almost all
feminine)
2nd declension 3rd
declension
(masc/fem
/neut)
4th
declension
(usually
masculine)
5th
declension
(feminine)Masculine Neuter
Nom
/Voc.
puella (girl) servus/
serve
(slave)
puer
(boy)
templum
(temple)
mercator
(merchant)
gradus
(step)
dies (day)
Acc. puellam servum puerum templum mercatorem gradum diem
Gen. puellae servi pueri templi mercatoris gradūs diei
Dat. puellae servo puero templo mercatori gradui diei
Abl. puellā servo puero templo mercatore gruadu die
Plural
Case 1st decl.
2nd declension 3rd decl. 4th decl. 5th
decl.
Masculine Neuter
Nom
/Voc.
puellae servi pueri templa mercatores gradūs dies
Acc. puellas servos pueros templa mercatores gradūs dies
Gen. puellarum servorum puerorum templorum mercatorum graduum dierum
Dat. puellis servis pueris templis mercatoribus gradibus diebus
Abl. puellis servis pueris templis mercatoribus gruadibus diebus
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Three general rules about case endings:
· For all neuter nouns, the accusative singular ending is the same as the nominative singular, and the
accusative plural is identical to the nominative plural.
· For second declension nouns, the ablative singular ending is the same as the dative singular (-o)
· With all nouns, the ablative plural is identical to the dative plural (‘-is’ for declensions 1 and 2,
‘-ibus’ for declensions 3-5)
3- Adjectives Lesson
While in English an adjective doesn’t change when the noun changes, in Latin an adjective should agree
in gender, number and case with the noun. For example:
a) Masculine to feminine example:
hic est filius parvus meus (this is my little son) becomes: haec est filia parva mea (this is my little
daughter)
b) Singular to plural example:
hic est servus novus meus (this is my new slave) becomes: hi sunt servi novi mei (these are my new
slaves)
c) Nominative to accusative example:
haec pulchra puella me amat (this beautiful girl loves me) becomes ego amo hanc pulchram puellam (I
love this beautiful girl)
As you can see from the first two examples, the adjective usually (but not necessarily) comes after the
noun.
As with nouns, an adjective’s ending is determined by its gender, number, case and declension. Most
adjectives either belong to both the first and second declension, or to the third declension:
1st/2nd Declension Adjectives - Singular
Nominative in –us/-a/-um Nominative in –er/-a/-um
Case Masc. Fem. Neut. Masc. Fem. Neut
Nom./Voc. bonus/
bone (good)
bona bonum pulcher
(beautiful)
pulchra pulchrum
Acc. bonum bonam bonum pulchrum pulchram pulchrum
Gen. boni bonae boni pulchri pulchrae pulchri
Dat. bono bonae bono pulchro pulchrae pulchro
Abl. bono bonā bono pulchro pulchrā pulchro
Plural
Nominative in –us/-a/-um Nominative in –er/-a/-um
Case Masc. Fem. Neut. Masc. Fem. Neut
Nom./Voc. boni bonae bona pulchri
pulchrae pulchra
Acc. bonos bonas bona pulchros pulchras pulchra
Gen. bonorum bonarum bonorum pulchrorum pulchrarum pulchrorum
Dat. bonis bonis bonis pulchris pulchris pulchris
Abl. bonis bonis bonis pulchris pulchris pulchris
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3rd Declension Adjectives – Singular
Nominative in -ns Nom. in -x Nom. in -is/-e Nom. in –er/-is/-e
M/F Neut M/F Neut M/F Neut Masc. Fem Neut
N/V amans
(loving)
amans felix
(lucky)
felix levis
(light)
leve acer
(sharp)
acris acre
Acc amantem amans felicem felix levem leve acrem acrem acre
Gen amantis amantis felicis felicis levis levis acris acris acre
Dat. amanti amanti felici felici levi levi acri acri acri
Abl. amanti/e amanti/e felici/e felici/e levi/e levi/e acri/e acri/e acri/e
3rd Declension Adjectives – Plural
Nominative in -ns Nom. in -x Nom. in -is/-e Nom. in –er/-is/-e
M/F Neut M/F Neut M/F Neut M/F Neut
N/V amantes amantia felices felicia leves levia acres acria
Acc amantes amantia felices feliia leves levia acres acria
Gen amantium amantium felicium felicium levium levium acrium acrium
Dat. amantibus amantibus felicibus felicibus levibus levibus acribus acribus
Abl. amantibus amantibus felicibus felicibus levibus levibus acribus acribus
General rules:
· 1st/2nd declension adjectives decline like puella, servus or templum, depending on whether they
are respectively feminine, masculine or neuter.
· Masculine and feminine 3rd declension adjectives decline like mercator.
· For neuter 3rd declension adjectives the accusative singular ending is the same as the nominative
singular (‘-e’) and the accusative plural the same as the nominative plural (‘-ia’).
In Latin there are five Possessive Adjectives, which denote ownership:
meus My/mine
tuus Your/yours (sing.)
suus His/her/hers or Their/theirs
noster Our/ours
vester Your/yours (pl.)
meus, tuus and suus decline like bonus, except that the vocative singular of meus is mi, and that tuus
and suus do not require vocative endings. noster and vester decline like pulcher. (See 1st/2nd Declension
Adjectives, above).
4- Adverbs Lesson
In English adverbs are usually formed by adding (-ly) to adjectives. In Latin too many adverbs are formed
from adjectives. With 1st/2nd declension adjectives this is done by changing the ending to ‘-e’.
Examples:
tardus (slow) becomes tarde (slowly)
verus (true) becomes vere (truly)
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With 3rd declension adjectives, the ending is ‘-(i)ter’:
prudens (wise) becomes prudenter (wisely)
felix (lucky) becomes feliciter (luckily)
levis (light) becomes leviter (lightly)
However, that’s not always the case, as miser (wretched) is 3rd declension but takes the ‘-e’ ending
when it becomes an adverb:
misere (wretchedly)
Adjectives of extent take their singular neuter form when used as adverbs, e.g.:
multum (much)
paulum (a liitle)
primum (first, firstly)
nimium (too much)
Some words are adverbs by nature, and thus do not need a special ending, such as
nunc (now), saepe (often), sic (thus) and mox (soon).
Adverbs come before the verb that they modify, with adjectives of time coming at the beginning of a
sentence:
vehementer errabas, Verres.
(You were erring grievously, Verres)
bis consul
(twice consul)
cras mane se putat venturum esse
(He thinks he will come early tomorrow morning)
5- Numbers Lesson
In Latin numbers from 1 to 10 are unique and therefore need to be memorized individually. Numbers
from 11 to 17 are formed by using 1 + 10 while connecting them: 11 = undecim. 18 and 19 are formed by
using 2 from 20 and 1 from 20 respectively: duodeviginti and undeviginti. These patterns repeat
themselves, but with numbers above 20 putting the tens before the units, so that 21 is vigintiunus and
31 trigintaunus. Similarly, 28 is duodetriginta (‘2 from 30’) and 29 undetriginta (‘1 from 30’).
unus (one), duo (two), and tres (three) all agree with the noun that they describe. unus and duo decline like
a 1st/2nd declension adjective (e.g. bonus) and tres declines like a 3rd declension adjective (e.g. amans):
Singular
Masc. Fem. Neut.
Nom./
Voc.
unus/
une
una unum
Acc. unum unam unum
Gen. uni unae uni
Dat. uno unae uno
Abl. uno unā uno
Plural
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Masc. Fem. Neut. Masc. Fem. Neut. Masc./Fem. Neut.
Nom./Voc. uni unae una duo duae dua tres tria
Acc. unos unas una duos duas dua tres tria
Gen. unorum unarum unorum duorum duarum duorum trium trium
Dat. unis unis unis duis duis duis tribus tribus
Abl. unis unis unis duis duis duis tribus tribus
You can see from the above tables that duo and tres do not exist in the singular, as they are only needed
to describe plural nouns. unus, surprisingly, does exist in the plural when describing nouns such as
epistolae (letter) and castra (camp). Although these nouns refer to singular objects, they have plural
endings (epistolae is 1st declension feminine and castra is 2nd declension neuter) and thus require their
number to be in the plural.
6- Articles Lesson
There are no articles in Latin. For example, domus (house) can mean ‘the house’ or ‘a house’,
depending on context.
7- Verbs Lessons
Present Tense
In Latin, most verbs exist in the Active voice, where the subject of the sentence is performing an
action, and in the Passive voice, where the subject is having an action performed on them. An example
of a sentence in the Active voice would be:
puer puellam amat
The boy [subject] loves the girl [object].
Here the boy is the subject, and is thus in the nominative case (puer). The girl is the object, and is in
the accusative (puellam). ‘Loves’ takes the present active ending (amat). If you wanted to express the
same idea using the Passive voice, you would write:
puella puero amatur
The girl [subject] is loved by the boy
The girl is now the subject, and thus now takes the nominative (puella). The verb takes the passive
ending (amatur = ‘is loved’), and the boy is now in the ablative (see Cases Lesson).
The endings that a verb takes depend on its conjugation. There are four conjugations plus a few
irregular verbs. The table below shows the present tense endings for the four conjugations and for two
of the most common irregular verbs:
Present tense – Active voice
1st conj 2nd conj 3rd conj 4th conj Irregular
Singular
1st person amo*
(I love)
moneo
(I warn)
sumo
(I take)
audio
(I hear/listen)
sum
(I am)
eo
(I go)
2nd person amas mones sumis audis es is
3rd person amat monet sumit audit est it
Plural
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1st person amamus monemus sumimus audimus sumus imus
2nd person amatis monetis sumitis auditis estis itis
3rd person amant monent sumunt audiunt sunt eunt
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Present tense – Passive voice
1st conj 2nd conj 3rd conj 4th conj
Singular
1st person amor
(I am loved)
moneor
(I am warned)
sumor
(I am taken)
audior
(I am heard)
2nd person amaris moneris sumeris audiris
3rd person amatur monetur sumitur auditur
Plural
1st person amamur monemur sumimur audimur
2nd person amamini monemini sumimini audimini
3rd person amantur monentur sumuntur audiuntur
· Verbs such as possum (I am able) and absum (I am absent) are derived from sum and take the same
endings. Similarly, verbs like ineo (I enter), take the same endings as eo.
· sum and eo do not exist in the passive voice.
Future Tense
As in English, the future tense denotes actions that are going to happen:
cras ibo Romam
(I shall go to Rome tomorrow)
diceris in carminibus poetarum
(You will be celebrated in the songs of poets)
Future tense endings – Active voice
1st conj 2nd conj 3rd conj 4th conj Irregular
Singular
1st person amabo
(I shall love)
monebo
(I shall warn)
sumam
(I shall take)
audiam
(I shall hear)
ero
(I shall be)
ibo
(I shall
go)
2nd person amabis monebis sumes audies eris ibis
3rd person amabit monebit sumet audiet erit ibit
Plural
1st person amabimus monebimus sumemus audimus erimus ibimus
2nd person amabitis monebitis sumetis audietis eritis ibitis
3rd person amabunt monebunt sument audient erunt ibunt
Future tense – Passive voice
1st conj 2nd conj 3rd conj 4th conj
Singular
1st person amabor
(I shall be
loved)
moneor
(I shall be
warned)
sumar
(I shall be
taken)
audiar
(I shall be
heard)
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2nd person amaberis moneris sumeris audieris
3rd person amabitur monetur sumetur audietur
Plural
1st person amabimur monemur sumemur audiemur
2nd person amabimini monemini sumemini audiemini
3rd person amabuntur monentur sumentur audientur
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Past Tenses
There are three main types of past tense in Latin – the Imperfect, the Perfect and the Pluperfect:
a) Imperfect:
As in English, the imperfect tense describes an action that happened over a length of time or repeatedly.
It can also describe an action that was interrupted as it was happening or about to happen. Examples:
cantores audiebam
(I was listening to the singers)
Roma Gallis obsedebatur
(Rome was being besieged by the Gauls)
Romani fortiter pugnabant
(The Romans used to fight bravely/kept fighting bravely)
Romam intrabam
(I was about to enter Rome)
Imperfect tense – Active voice
1st conj 2nd conj 3rd conj 4th conj Irregular
Singular
1st person amabam
(I was loving)
monebam
(I was
warning)
sumebam
(I was taking)
audiebam
(I was
hearing)
eram
(I was)
ibam
(I was
going)
2nd person amabas monebas sumebas audiebas eras ibas
3rd person amabat monebat sumebant audiebat erat ibat
Plural
1st person amabamus monebamus sumebamus audiebamus eramus ibamus
2nd person amabatis monebatis sumebatis audiebatis eratis ibatis
3rd person amabant monebant sumebant audiebant erant ibant
Imperfect tense – Passive voice
1st conj 2nd conj 3rd conj 4th conj
Singular
1st person amabar
(I was being
loved)
monebar
(I was being
warned)
sumebar
(I was being
taken)
audiebar
(I was being
heard)
2nd person amabaris monebaris sumebaris audiebaris
3rd person amabatur monebatur sumebantur audiebatur
Plural
1st person amabamur monebamur sumebamur audiebamur
2nd person amabamini monebamini sumebamini audiebamini
3rd person amabant monebantur sumebantur audiebantur
b) Perfect:
The perfect tense in Latin corresponds to the simple past tense in English (‘-ed’) in that it describes a
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single completed past action. It can also correspond to the English perfect tense (‘have/has -ed’) by
describing a past action that has been completed but which still has an effect in the present. Examples:
puella puerum in via conspexit
(The girl glimpsed the boy in the street)
Caesar monitus est de Bruto et Cassio
(Caesar was warned about Brutus and Cassius)
nunc puella puerum nupsit
(The girl has now married the boy)
Perfect tense – Active voice
1st conj 2nd conj 3rd conj 4th conj Irregular
Singular
1st person amavi
I (have)
loved
monui
I (have)
warned
sumpsi
I (have) taken
audivi
I (have)
heard
fui
(I was,
have been)
i(v)i
(I went,
have
gone)
2nd person amavisti monuisti sumpsisti audivisti fuistis iisti
3rd person amavit monuit sumpsit audivit fuerit iit
Plural
1st person amavimus monuimus sumpsimus audivimus fuimus iimus
2nd person amavistis monuistis sumpsistis audivistis fuistis iistis
3rd person amaverunt monerunt sumpserunt audiverunt fuerunt ierunt
Perfect tense – Passive voice
1st conj 2nd conj 3rd conj 4th conj
Singular
1st pers amatus sum
(I was/have been
loved)
monitus sum
(I was/have been
warned)
sumptus sum
(I was/have been
taken)
auditus sum
(I was/have been
heard)
2nd pers amatus es monitus es sumptus es auditus es
3rd pers amatus est monitus est sumptus est auditus est
Plural
1st pers amati sumus moniti sumus sumpti sumus auditi sumus
2nd pers amati estis moniti estis sumpti estis auditi estis
3rd pers amati sunt moniti sunt sumpti sunt auditi sunt
Perfect Passive and Pluperfect Passive verb endings match the subject of the sentence in gender, number
and case and decline like 1st/2nd declension adjectives such as bonus/bona/bonum (see Adjectives
Lesson).
c) Pluperfect:
The pluperfect tense corresponds to the English pluperfect, ‘had -ed’. It denotes an action that was
completed before another action happened (the later action is usually in the perfect or imperfect). It
can also denote an action that was completed but has since been negated and thus no longer has an
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effect in the present. For example:
cibum edebam quem servi paraverant
(I was eating the food that the slaves had prepared)
iam Hanibal fugerat cum Romani advenerunt
(Hanibal had already fled when the Romans arrived)
Romani civitates liberaverunt quae captae erant Hanibale
(The Romans freed the cities that had been captured by Hanibal)
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Pluperfect tense – Active voice
1st conj 2nd conj 3rd conj 4th conj Irregular
Singular
1st pers amaveram
(I had loved)
monueram
(I had warned)
sumpseram
(I had taken)
audieram
(I had heard)
fueram
(I had
been)
iveram
(I had
gone)
2nd pers amaveras monueras sumpseras audieras fueras iveras
3rd pers amaverat monuerat sumpserat audierat fuerat iverat
Plural
1st pers amaveramus monueramus sumpseramus audieramus fueramus iveramus
2nd pers amaveratis monueratis sumpseratis audieratis fueratis iveratis
3rd pers amaverant monuerant sumpserant audierant fuerant iverant
Pluperfect tense – Passive voice
1st conj 2nd conj 3rd conj 4th conj
Singular
1st pers amatus eram
(I had been
loved)
monitus erm
(I had been
warned)
sumptus eram
(I had been taken)
auditus eram
(I had been
heard)
2nd pers amatus eras monitus eras sumptus eras auditus eras
3rd pers amatus erat monitus erat sumptus erat auditus erat
Plural
1st pers amati eramus moniti eramus sumpti eramus auditi eramus
2nd pers amati eratis moniti eratis sumpti eratis auditi eratis
3rd pers amati erant moniti erant sumpti erant auditi erant
8- Direct and Indirect Speech/Infinitives
In English there are two ways of reporting speech, thought or perception. Direct Speech is when you
directly quote the speaker’s words within quotation marks, e.g.:
My teacher says: “People who learn Latin are very clever.”
Indirect Speech does not use quotation marks and need not quote the speaker word for word, although
it may do. An indirect speech clause is normally introduced by a verb of telling, perceiving or thinking,
followed by ‘that’. For example, in indirect speech the above sentence would be expressed as:
My teacher says that people who learn Latin are very clever.
In Latin, indirect speech does not use ‘that’, but instead puts the subject of the clause (e.g. ‘people’) in
the accusative case, followed by the infinitive form of the verb (‘to be’):
magister meus dicit homines qui Latinam discunt callidissimos esse
[Literally]: My teacher says people [acc.] who learn Latin to be very clever
There are three types of infinitive in Latin: The Present Infinitive (reporting a current or ongoing
action), the Perfect Infinitive (reporting a past action) and the Future Infinitive (reporting a future
action). For example:
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Present Infinitive: dico te errare I say that you are making a mistake
[Lit]: I say you [acc.] to make a mistake
Perfect Infinitive: dico te erravisse I say that you (have) made a mistake
Future Infinitive: dico te erraturum esse I say that you will make a mistake
When the main verb of the sentence is in a past tense, the infinitive is translated slightly differently:
Present Infinitive: dixi te errare I said that you were making a mistake
Perfect Infinitive: dixi te erravisse I said that you had made a mistake
Future Infinitive: dixi te erraturum esse I said that you would make a mistake
Notice how English translates putavi te errare as ‘I said you were making a mistake’, but in the Latin
errare remains in the present. This is because the original direct statement would have been in the
present tense - “You are making a mistake” - and in Latin indirect speech clauses always keep the tense
in which the statement was originally made.
Here are the active infinitives for the four regular verb conjugations, sum and eo:
Infinitives - Active voice
1st conj. 2nd conj. 3rd conj. 4th conj. Irregular
Present amare
(to love)
monere
(to warn)
sumere
(to take)
audire
(to hear)
esse
(to be)
ire
(to go)
Perfect amavisse
(to have
loved)
monuisse
(to have
warned)
sumpsisse
(to have
taken)
audivisse
(to have
heard)
fuisse
(to have
been)
i(v)isse
(to have
gone)
Future amaturus
esse
(to be about
to love)
moniturus
esse (to
be about to
warn)
sumpturus
esse (to
be about to
take)
auditurus
esse (to
be about to
hear)
futurus
esse
(to be
about to
be)
iturus esse
(to be
about to
go)
Future infinitive endings agree with their subjects in gender, number and case (the case always being
accusative). They decline like 1st/2nd declension adjectives:
puto virum Romam iturum esse
(I think that the man will go to Rome)
putavi puellas Romam ituras esse
(I thought that the girls would go to Rome)
imperator promisit templum aedificaturum esse
(The emperor promised that a temple would be built)
The Passive Infinitive is used for indirect statements where the verb is passive, e.g.:
audio Romam obsideri
(I hear that Rome is being besieged)
audivi Romam obsideri
(I heard that Rome was being besieged)
Infinitives - Passive voice
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1st conj. 2nd conj. 3rd conj. 4th conj.
Present amari
(to be loved)
moneri
(to be warned)
sumeri
(to be taken)
audiri
(to be heard)
Perfect amatus esse
(to have been
loved)
monitus esse
(to have been
warned)
sumptus esse
(to have been
taken)
auditus esse
(to have been
heard)
Future amatus iri
(to be about to
be loved)
monitus iri
(to be about to
be warned)
sumptus iri
(to be about to be
taken)
auditus iri (to
be about to be
heard)
Passive perfect and future infinitive endings agree with their subjects, and decline like 1st/2nd
declension adjectives:
Plutarchus scribit Antonium amatum esse Cleopatrā
(Plutarch writes that Antony was loved by Cleopatra)
nuntius dicit barbaros victos esse
(The messenger says that the barbarians have been defeated)
spero carmina mea audita iri
(I hope that my songs will be heard)
As in English, the infinitive can also be used to express a wish to perform an action, or to have an action
performed on oneself, e.g.:
volo carmina pulchra audire
(I wish to hear beautiful songs)
Caesar voluit amari populo
(Caesar wished to be loved by the people)
9- Asking a Question Lesson
Latin has three ways of turning a statement into a question. The first way is to place the key word at the
start of the sentence and add –ne, so that:
Marcus in civitate habitat
(Marcus lives in the city)
becomes:
habitatne Marcus in civitate?
(Does Marcus live in the city?)
If you want to alter the emphasis of the question, simply attach -ne to a different word and place that
at the beginning of the sentence, for example:
Marcusne habitat in civitate?
(Is it Marcus who lives in the city?)
The second way is used when a ‘yes’ answer is expected. Simply place nonne at the start of the
sentence:
nonne Roma optima civitas est in mundo?
(Surely Rome is the best city in the world? / Rome is the best city in the world, isn’t it?)
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Thirdly, if you expect a ‘no’ answer, begin the sentence with num:
num putas barbaros victuros esse?
(Surely you don’t think the barbarians will win? / You don’t think the barbarians will win, do you?)
The main interrogatives (question words) in Latin are quis (who?), quantus (how much?), quails (of
what kind?), cur (why?), quando (when?), ubi (where?), quo (to where?) and unde (from where?).
quantus declines like bonus, and quails declines like levis (see Adjectives Lesson). The endings for quis
are shown opposite. All the other interrogatives do not decline but keep the same endings.
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quis - Singular
Masculine Feminine Neuter
N/V quis (who?)
quem (whom?)
cuius (whose?/of whom?)
cui (to whom?)
quo (by/from whom?)
quis/quae (who?)
quam (whom?)
cuius (whose?/of whom?)
cui (to whom?)
quo (by/from whom?)
quid (what?)
quid (what?)
cuius (of what?)
cui (to what?)
quo (by/from what?)
Acc
Gen
Dat.
Abl.
quis - Plural
Masculine Feminine Neuter
N/V
AccGenDat.
Abl
qui (who?)
quos (whom?)
quorum (whose?/of whom?)
quibus (to whom?)
quibus (by/from whom?)
quae (who?)
quas (whom?)
quarum (whose?/of whom?)
quibus (to whom?)
quibus (by/from whom?)
quae (what?)
quae (what?)
quorum (of what?)
quibus (to what?)
quibus (by/from what?)
10- Negation Lesson
In Latin, negation can be made simply by placing "non" before the main verb:
non possum hoc facere.
(I can't do this)
mihi illud non placet.
(I don't like it)
(Literally: “It is not pleasing to me”).
As in standard English, but unlike, say, Spanish, Russian or colloquial English, a double negative makes a
positive:
qui non numquam Baias vidit
(He who has indeed seen Baiae)
(Lit: “He who has not never seen Baiae”)
Other common negatives are nullus (no…), nemo (nobody), nil (nothing), nihil (nothing) neque…neque…
(neither…nor…), nec…nec…(neither..nor..) and numquam (never). The endings for nullus and nemo are
shown below, nullus matching the noun that it describes. The other negatives do not decline.
nullus - Singular
Case Masc. Fem. Neut.
Nom./Voc. nullus/
nulla nullum
Acc. nullum nullam nullum
Gen. nullius nullius nulli
Dat. nulli nulli nullo
Abl. nullo nullā nullo
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nullus - Plural
Case Masc. Fem. Neut.
Nom./Voc. nulli
nullae nulla
Acc. nullos nullas nulla
Gen. nullorum nullarum nullorum
Dat. nullis nullis nullis
Abl. nullis nullis nullis
nulla in mundo pax sincera
(There is no true peace in the world)
voluntas testium nullo negotio flecti et detorqueri potest
(The testimony of witnesses can be bent and distorted with no difficulty)
nemo - Singular
Masc./Fem.
Nom/Voc. nemo
Acc. neminem
Gen. neminis
Dat. nemini
Abl nemini/e
nemo does not exist in the plural.
nemo me impune laecessit
(No-one provokes me with impunity)
fabula mea nemini narravi
(I told my story to no-one)
Cyclops dixit neminem fugisse
(The Cyclops said that no-one [accusative] had escaped)
11- Pronouns Lesson
There are ten pronouns In Latin:
ego… (I), tu… (you [singular]), is… (he), ea… (she), id...(it).
nos… (we), vos…(you [plural]), ei… (they [masc.]), eae… (they [fem.]) and ea (they [neut.])
All the personal pronouns decline, and their endings are shown below:
Personal Pronouns - Singular
Masc/Fem Masc/Fem Masc Fem Neut
N/V ego (I) tu (you) is(he) ea (she) id (it)
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Acc me (me) te (you) eum (him) eam (her) id (it)
Gen mei (of me) tui (of you) eius (of him) eius (of her) eius (of it)
Dat mihi (to me) tibi (to you) ei (to him) ei (to her) ei (to it)
Abl me (by/with/
from me)
te (by/with/
from you)
eo (by/with/
from him)
eā (by/with/
from her)
eo (by/with/
from it)
Personal Pronouns - Plural
Masc/Fem Masc/Fem Masc Fem Neut
N/V nos (we) vos (you) ei (they) eae (they) ea (they)
Acc nos (us) vos (you) eos (them) eas (them) ea (them)
Gen nostri/nostrum
(of us)
vestri/vestrum
(of you)
eorum (of
them)
earum (of
them)
eorum (of
them)
Dat nobis (to us) vobis (to you) eis (to them) eis (to them) eis (to them)
Abl nobis (by/with/
from us)
vobis (by/with/
from you)
eis (by/with/
from them)
eis (by/with/
from them)
eis (by/with/
from them)
Personal pronouns are seldom used in the nominative, as the verb ending by itself is enough to indicate
who is performing an action (see Verbs Lessons). The genitive forms, mei, tui, nostri and vestri, are
often substituted by the possessive adjectives meus (my/mine), tuus (your/yours [sing.]), noster
(our/ours) and vester (your/yours [pl.]).
Further Reading
Carrol, P.J., Collins Latin Dictionary Plus Grammar (Collins 2001) ISBN 0-00-472092-X
Kennedy, B.H., Revised Latin Primer, (Routledge 2008) ISBN: 0-582-36240-7
* Latin does not use capital letters to begin sentences, but only for proper nouns and for adjectivesderived from them, e.g. Caesar, Roma, Romanus.
* Whereas in English the dictionary form of a verb is its infinitive (e.g. ‘to love’), in Latin it is the firstperson singular present active. For example, ‘love’ would be listed as ‘amo’ (‘I love’) rather than‘amare’.
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