Grammatik-Nachschlagewerk

Classical Latin pronunciation is the reconstructed way educated Romans spoke in the age of Cicero and Caesar.

Can recognize Classical Latin pronunciation in a short Latin prompt

The Latin alphabet is the ancestor of our own, so the letters look familiar, but a few behave differently and one small mark, the macron, carries real

Can recognize Latin alphabet and macrons in a short Latin prompt

The nominative case is the form a noun takes when it is the subject of the sentence, the person or thing doing the action.

Can recognize Nominative case in a short Latin prompt

The accusative case marks the direct object, the person or thing that receives the action of the verb.

Can recognize Accusative case in a short Latin prompt

The dative case marks the indirect object, the person to whom or for whom something is done.

Can recognize Dative case in a short Latin prompt

The ablative case is the Latin "everything else" case.

Can recognize Ablative case in a short Latin prompt

The vocative case is the form used to address someone directly, to call or name the person you are speaking to.

Can recognize Vocative case in a short Latin prompt

First-declension nouns are the first family of Latin nouns you learn, and the friendliest.

Can recognize First declension nouns in a short Latin prompt

Second-declension nouns are the second big noun family, marked by the genitive ending -ī.

Can recognize Second declension nouns in a short Latin prompt

Third-declension nouns are the largest and most varied noun family in Latin, and they include some of the commonest words: rēx (king), mīles (soldier)

Can recognize Third declension nouns in a short Latin prompt

Neuter nouns are Latin's third gender, alongside masculine and feminine.

Can recognize Neuter nouns in a short Latin prompt

Grammatical gender sorts every Latin noun into one of three groups: masculine, feminine, or neuter.

Can recognize Noun gender in a short Latin prompt

Number in Latin means whether a word refers to one thing (singular) or more than one (plural).

Can recognize Singular and plural in a short Latin prompt

Adjective agreement is the rule that a Latin adjective must match the noun it describes in three ways at once: gender, number, and case.

Can recognize Adjective agreement in a short Latin prompt

First-and-second declension adjectives are the first and commonest group of Latin adjectives.

Can recognize First and second declension adjectives in a short Latin prompt

Demonstratives are the pointing words "this" and "that".

Can recognize Demonstratives hic and ille in a short Latin prompt

Relative pronouns are the joining words that in English are "who", "which", and "that".

Can recognize Relative pronouns recognition in a short Latin prompt

To show that something belongs to someone, Latin uses a special case called the genitive.

Can recognize Possession with genitive in a short Latin prompt

The verb sum (to be) is the single most frequent verb in Latin, and it is irregular, so it pays to memorize it early.

Can recognize Sum in present tense in a short Latin prompt

The first conjugation is the largest and most regular family of Latin verbs, so learning it hands you a key that unlocks hundreds of words.

Can recognize First conjugation present in a short Latin prompt

The second conjugation covers many everyday verbs of the senses and the mind - seeing, warning, holding, fearing.

Can recognize Second conjugation present in a short Latin prompt

The third conjugation is home to many of the most common Latin verbs - regere (to rule), legere (to read, to choose), ducere (to lead), dicere (to say

Can recognize Third conjugation present in a short Latin prompt

The fourth conjugation is small but includes verbs you meet constantly - audire (to hear), venire (to come), dormire (to sleep), scire (to know).

Can recognize Fourth conjugation present in a short Latin prompt

A handful of very common Latin verbs are irregular, and two you meet early are eo (to go) and fero (to carry, to bring, to bear).

Can recognize Irregular verbs eo and fero in a short Latin prompt

The singular imperative is how Latin gives a command to one person: "Look!", "Come!", "Read this!".

Can recognize Imperatives singular in a short Latin prompt

When you give a command to more than one person - a class, a crowd, a group of soldiers - Latin uses the plural imperative.

Can recognize Imperatives plural in a short Latin prompt

Two of the first question words you need in Latin are quis (who?) and quid (what?).

Can recognize Questions with quis and quid in a short Latin prompt

Once you can ask "who?" and "what?", the next useful question words are ubi (where?) and cur (why?).

Can recognize Questions with ubi and cur in a short Latin prompt

To say that something is not the case, Latin uses the little word non.

Can recognize Negation with non in a short Latin prompt

Prepositions are the little words that show relationships - "into", "through", "toward".

Can recognize Prepositions with accusative in a short Latin prompt

A second group of Latin prepositions takes the ablative case rather than the accusative.

Can recognize Prepositions with ablative in a short Latin prompt

One of the first surprises in Latin is that word order is flexible.

Can recognize Word order basics in a short Latin prompt

Subject omission means Latin often drops the "I", "you", "he", or "she" that English insists on.

Can recognize Subject omission in a short Latin prompt

A direct object is the person or thing that receives the action of the verb: in "the girl sees the house", "the house" is what gets seen.

Can recognize Direct objects in a short Latin prompt

An indirect object is the person to whom or for whom something is done: in "the slave gives water to the master", the master is the indirect object.

Can recognize Indirect objects in a short Latin prompt

The numbers one to ten are among the most useful words you can carry into a Latin text or inscription: dates, ages, legion numbers, and prices all res

Can recognize Numbers one to ten in a short Latin prompt

Adverbs of time tell you when something happens: yesterday, today, tomorrow, often, now.

Can recognize Adverbs of time in a short Latin prompt

Connectors are the small joining words that stitch a sentence together: "and", "but", "because".

Can recognize Connectors et sed quod in a short Latin prompt

The perfect tense reports a completed action in the past: "I loved", "he came", "they built".

Can recognize Perfect tense recognition in a short Latin prompt

The imperfect tense describes the past as it was unfolding: "I was loving", "she used to walk", "they were building".

Can recognize Imperfect tense recognition in a short Latin prompt

The perfect passive participle is a verb form acting as an adjective, describing something that has been done: "loved", "seen", "captured", "sent".

Can recognize Past participle recognition in a short Latin prompt

The infinitive is the "to ..." form of a verb: "to love", "to see", "to be".

Can recognize Infinitives in a short Latin prompt

An indirect statement reports what someone says, thinks, or knows: "I think that Marcus is here", "she knows that the boys are sleeping".

Can recognize Simple indirect statement recognition in a short Latin prompt

A comparative adjective says that one thing has more of a quality than another: "taller", "higher", "braver".

Can recognize Comparatives recognition in a short Latin prompt

A superlative adjective marks the top of the scale: "tallest", "highest", "bravest", or with emphasis "very high", "most brave".

Can recognize Superlatives recognition in a short Latin prompt

Reading inscriptions is a practical skill: the Latin on tombstones, arches, coins, and public monuments is real Latin, but written in a compressed, st

Can recognize Reading inscriptions in a short Latin prompt

Knowing how to read a dictionary headword is what makes a Latin dictionary usable.

Can recognize Dictionary headwords in a short Latin prompt

A good translation strategy is the single most important thing a beginner can carry into a Latin sentence.

Can recognize Translation strategy in a short Latin prompt