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GrammarGrammatica

The constructions the notes point to. Each page explains one, and lists every sentence in the texts where it is used.

  1. Accusative and infinitive (indirect statement)After verbs of saying, thinking, knowing and perceiving, Latin reports a statement as an accusative subject with an infinitive verb; translate it as a "that" clause.255 in the text
  2. The infinitive as a noun (subject, object, complement)An infinitive can act as a neuter noun: the subject of est, or the object or complement of verbs like possum, desino and memini; translate "to do" or "doing".230 in the text
  3. Words left out: esse, sum and others understoodLatin often leaves out a word the reader can supply, especially est, sunt and esse, or a verb already used in the same sentence.374 in the text
  4. Commands: imperative, memento, ne with the perfect subjunctiveDirect commands use the imperative (mitte, considera, memento), the passive or deponent imperative in -re (distrahere), and, for "do not", ne with the perfect subjunctive (ne siveris).252 in the text
  5. Jussive and hortatory subjunctive ("let him…", "you should…")A present subjunctive that is the main verb of its sentence, with no ut, cum, si or the like governing it, gives an order or a wish: "let him …", "let us …", "you should …".181 in the text
  6. Potential and deliberative subjunctive in questionsA subjunctive as the main verb, often in a question, can mean "would, could, might" (potential) or "should, am I to" (deliberative).83 in the text
  7. Purpose clauses (ut, ne, quo)A clause with ut ("so that"), ne ("so that … not") or quo and the subjunctive says what an action is for.51 in the text
  8. Result clauses (ut after ita, tam, sic)After a signal word such as ita, sic, tam, tantus, talis or adeo, a clause with ut and the subjunctive says what follows as a result: "so … that".73 in the text
  9. Noun clauses with ut and ne (after oportet, incumbit, necesse est…)A clause with ut or ne and the subjunctive can be the subject or object of a verb, or explain a noun: "it happens that …", "take care that …", "you must …".148 in the text
  10. Quo minus and quin after verbs of hinderingAfter verbs of preventing, quo minus (also written quominus) with the subjunctive means "from doing"; after a negative, quin can do the same job.25 in the text
  11. Indirect questionsA question reported after a verb of asking, knowing, seeing or considering: a question word with a subjunctive verb, translated as an ordinary English statement.183 in the text
  12. Clauses with cum: when, since, althoughcum with the indicative means "when"; with the subjunctive it means "when", "since" or "although, whereas", and only the sense decides which.84 in the text
  13. Causal clauses: quod, quia, siquidem, cum, quippeClauses that give a reason: quod, quia "because", quoniam, siquidem "since, for", cum + subjunctive "since", quippe "for, of course".74 in the text
  14. Conditional sentences (si, nisi, siquis)si "if", nisi "unless, if not", siquis "if anyone": the moods and tenses show whether the condition is real, imagined or contrary to fact.255 in the text
  15. Concessive clauses: etiamsi, quamvis, cumClauses meaning "although" or "even if": etiamsi, etsi, tametsi, quamquam, quamvis, licet, and cum with the subjunctive; the main clause often has tamen.54 in the text
  16. Temporal clauses: dum, ubi, quando, quoties, quamdiuClauses of time: dum "while, until", ubi and quando "when", quoties "whenever", quamdiu "as long as", and postquam, antequam, priusquam.110 in the text
  17. Relative clauses and the relative pronoun qui, quae, quodA clause beginning with qui, quae, quod describes a noun (its antecedent); the pronoun takes its gender and number from the antecedent but its case from its own clause.673 in the text
  18. Relative clauses with the subjunctive (characteristic, ut qui)A relative clause with its verb in the subjunctive describes a kind of person or thing ("the sort who would …"), or gives a reason or a purpose.178 in the text
  19. Subjunctive in clauses inside reported speech or thoughtA clause inside reported speech or thought, or inside another subjunctive clause, takes the subjunctive even when it states a plain fact; translate it as an indicative.127 in the text
  20. Sequence of tensesIn a subordinate clause with the subjunctive, the tense depends on whether the main verb is present or past and on whether the action is at the same time, earlier or later.20 in the text
  21. The future perfect ("if you will have done…")The future perfect (fecero "I shall have done") marks an action finished before another future action; English usually translates it with a present or a perfect.188 in the text
  22. Future participle with sum (moriturus sis, victurus esses)The future active participle (-urus, -ura, -urum) with a form of sum means "be about to, be going to", and supplies a future tense in the subjunctive and the infinitive.86 in the text
  23. Gerundive of obligation (cavenda est, agenda sunt)The gerundive (-ndus, -nda, -ndum) with a form of sum means "must be done, is to be done"; the person who must do it is in the dative.65 in the text
  24. The gerund (agendo, laedendi)The gerund is a verbal noun, "doing", in -ndi, -ndo, -ndum; it has no nominative (the infinitive does that job) and does not agree with any noun.87 in the text
  25. The gerundive with ad, in and the genitiveInstead of a gerund with an object, Latin usually puts the noun in the needed case and makes the gerundive agree with it: ad animum serenandum "for calming the mind".64 in the text
  26. Participles: present, perfect, future, and as nounsParticiples are verbal adjectives: present -ns "doing", perfect passive -tus "(having been) done", future -urus "about to do"; standing alone, they act as nouns.401 in the text
  27. Ablative absoluteA noun and a participle together in the ablative, standing apart from the rest of the sentence, set the scene: "with X done", "when, since, although X …".52 in the text
  28. Ablative of means, cause and mannerThe ablative without a preposition answers "by what?", "why?" and "how?": means or instrument, cause, and manner.254 in the text
  29. Ablative of separation (a, ab, absque, liber, immunis, alienus)The ablative of separation means "from": after verbs of freeing, lacking and departing and after adjectives such as liber, immunis, alienus, with or without a, ab, e, ex.82 in the text
  30. Comparison: comparatives, superlatives, quamComparatives (-ior, -ius) and superlatives (-issimus) compare; "than" is quam or a plain ablative.123 in the text
  31. Agent with the passive: a, ab with the ablativeWith a passive verb, the person by whom the action is done is a or ab with the ablative: "by".59 in the text
  32. Partitive genitive (aliquid boni, nihil…)The genitive of the whole names what a part is taken from: aliquid boni "something good", horum ullus "any of these".133 in the text
  33. Genitive of characteristic: "it belongs to…, it is the mark of…"est with a genitive and an infinitive means "it is the mark (task, duty) of … to …": adversantis est … succensere "it is the mark of an opponent to be angry".63 in the text
  34. Objective genitive (reverentia tui, cura rerum)With a noun of feeling or action, a genitive can stand for the object of that feeling or action: reverentia tui "respect for you", cura rerum "care for things".105 in the text
  35. Dative with special and compound verbs (succensere, obsequi)Many verbs take a dative where English has a direct object, especially verbs of favouring, obeying, resisting and being angry, and compounds with ad-, in-, ob-, sub- and similar prefixes.193 in the text
  36. Dative of reference, possession and advantageThe dative names the person or thing concerned ("for", "to", "in the eyes of"), and with est it names the owner.148 in the text
  37. Deponent verbs: passive forms, active meaningDeponent verbs have passive endings but active meaning: irascitur "he is angry", largiuntur "they bestow".422 in the text
  38. The passive with a reflexive sense ("be carried away", "let yourself be…")A Latin passive often has a reflexive or intransitive sense, saying what the subject does to itself or what simply happens to it: ferri "to be carried, to rush", distrahere "let yourself be distracted".70 in the text
  39. Impersonal verbs and phrases (oportet, decet, constat, attinet, detur)Impersonal verbs have only an "it" form and an infinitive; their real subject is an infinitive or a clause: oportet, decet, constat, attinet, interest, and passives like detur.164 in the text
  40. Reflexive pronouns: se, sibi, sui, suusse (acc. and abl.), sibi (dat.), sui (gen.) and the possessive suus refer back to the subject: "himself, herself, itself, themselves; his, their own".342 in the text
  41. Demonstratives: hic, ille, iste, is, ipse, idemThe pointing words: hic "this", ille "that", iste "that (of yours)", is "he, that", ipse "himself, the very", idem "the same".794 in the text
  42. Indefinite pronouns: aliquis, quis, quisquam, ullus, quisque, quicunqueIndefinite pronouns mean "some(one), any(one), each, whoever"; which one Latin uses depends on whether the sentence is positive, negative or conditional.446 in the text
  43. Paired words: et…et, nec…nec, vel…vel, cum…tum, non tam…quam, sive…sivePairs of words that work together across a clause: et … et "both … and", nec … nec "neither … nor", vel … vel, aut … aut "either … or", sive … sive "whether … or", cum … tum "both … and especially", non tam … quam "not so much … as".326 in the text
  44. Enclitics: -que, -ve, -ne-que "and", -ve "or" and the question marker -ne are attached to the end of a word.111 in the text
  45. The vocativeThe vocative is the case of direct address ("O soul"), set off by commas and often preceded by o.18 in the text
  46. Neuter plurals and adjectives used as nouns (bona, mala, omnia)Neuter plurals end in -a in the nominative and accusative, and a neuter plural adjective with no noun means "things": bona "good things", omnia "everything".257 in the text
  47. Perfect stems and short forms (norim, posuere)The perfect active is built on its own stem (the third principal part), has a short 3rd plural in -ere for -erunt, and often drops v in shortened forms: posuere = posuerunt, norim = noverim.81 in the text
  48. Gataker's spelling: j, caeterum, quenquam, -cunqueThis is a 17th-century Latin text (1652), and its spelling differs from the classical spelling under which dictionaries usually list words.205 in the text