Clifford A. Hull

To get a handle on Latin, you have to study the normal language things like verb conjugations, including those irregular verbs and verb endings. You need to pay attention to noun cases as well, and learn the basic question words and the short words that help you connect your thoughts.As you discover more Latin, you come to realize that its contributions to English are evident in words you use every day, so, even though there are no native Latin speakers anymore, the language lives on.

In Latin, what form a noun takes depends on how it’s being used. You use different forms of a noun if it’s a subject, another if it’s an indirect object. The following table lists noun cases and uses. Basic Noun Case Uses Nominative subject Genitive possession Dative indirect object Accusative direct object,

They say that old Latin teachers never die — they just decline. Whether this is true of teachers, declining and declension are facts of life that all Latin nouns must face. A declension is a group of nouns that form their cases the same way — that is, use the same suffixes. To decline a noun means to list all possible case forms for that noun.

As one of the first great multicultural societies, the Roman Empire understood something about entertainment. From cathartic tragedies to bawdy comedies to the sands of the arena, the Romans knew how to put on a good show. Juvenal was a first century A.D. Roman satirist who enjoyed poking fun at his own society.

Ablatives are to Latin grammar what black holes are to space: They suck in all matter and energy. Well, sort of. Actually, the ablative case is the case for all sorts of time and space-related uses. In other words, this case shows the following: The time when something happens or the time frame within which it happens.

Most lawyers love to throw around Latin phrases. The reason for this is that ancient Rome's legal system has had a strong influence on the legal systems of most western countries. After all, at one time, the Romans had conquered most of Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. The Roman motto was divide et impera (dee-vee-deh eht im-peh-rah) — "divide and conquer.

In Latin, as in other languages, little words can mean a lot. How can you make a point without being able to say, “I see your point, but . . .?” The short Latin words in the following table provide some crucial transition words: Word Meaning et (eht), atque (uht-kweh), ac (ahk), que (kweh) and sed (sehd) but autem (ow-tehm) however aut (owt) or sive .

Like any language, Latin has regular and irregular verbs. Regular verbs follow common rules when you conjugate them; irregular verbs follow their own rules. The following table shows some of the most used irregular verbs, their conjugations, and pronunciations: Verb Meaning fero, ferre, tuli, latus (feh-ro, f