How to Study

1. How to Study Honors Latin I 2004-05

2. Why? • Failure to study, or to study well, is not always a failure of the will. That is, some students might be willing to study, but not know exactly how to do so. • This ignorance is not shameful, but understandable and correctable. • You must learn to study well, both for Latin and for the rest of your life as a student.

3. Studying Vocabulary How to Do It

4. Keep these vocabulary cards together. Don’t lose them or have them scattered. Review the vocabulary cards at least once daily. As you master the words, you need to attend only to those words you do not know. Write all new vocabulary words on index cards.

5. What exactly should I include on the vocabulary cards?

6. What to include for nouns • Nominative singular form (entire word) • Genitive singular ending, e.g., -ae, -ī • If you prefer, you can write out the entire genitive singular form, e.g., feminae, virī • gender(s) of the noun: m., f., n. • at least one gloss (with or w/o quotes) • āra, -ae, f., “altar”

7. What to include for verbs • At least the first two principal parts • 1st principal part = first-person singular present indicative active, e.g., amō • 2nd principal part = infinitive, e.g., amāre • 3rd principal part = first-person singular perfect indicative active, e.g., amāvī • 4th = perfect passive participal, e.g., amātus • amō, amāre, amāvī, amātus

8. What to include for verbs • If you can figure out the full form of the second and third principal parts, you can include only the last three letters of those forms • If you can figure out the full form of the fourth principal part, you can include only the last four letters of that form, e.g., amō, amāre, amāvī, amātus amō, -āre, -avī, -ātus

9. What to include for verbs • In addition to at least the first two principal parts, provide at least one gloss, e.g., • amō, amāre, amāvī, amātus, “love” • moneō, monēre, monuī, monitus, “warn” • deleo, delēre, delēvī, delētus, “destroy” •  moneō, -ēre, -uī, -itus, “warn” •  deleo, -ēre, -ēvī, -ētus, “destroy”

10. What to include for adjectives • This description will be supplemented when we get to third-declension adjectives. • Include the nominative singular masculine form, as well as the nom. sg. feminine and neuter forms. • You may include only the ending of the feminine and neuter, e.g., • validus, -a, -um

11. What to include for adjectives • You may write out the entire form of the feminine and neuter, e.g., validus, valida, validum, if it is easier for you to understand.

12. What to include for adjectives • You must include more than the ending for some adjectives*, e.g., pulcher, pulchra, pulchrum could be written as pulcher, -chra, -chrum * Adjectives that end in –er in the nom. sg. masc., or otherwise have nom. sg. masc. forms from which it’s difficult to determine the adjective base

13. What to include for adjectives • As for verbs and nouns, include at least one gloss for adjectives, e.g., • pulcher, -chra, -chrum,“beautiful” • latus, -a, -um, “wide” • The three nominative singular forms (or at least endings) are you clue that the word is an adjective.

14. What to include for adverbs • Include the adverb and at least one gloss. • semper, “always” • subitō, “suddenly” • deinde, “finally”

15. What to include for prepositions • Include the preposition, the case(s) it governs, and glosses • For prepositions that govern the accusative and ablative, distinguish the glosses for each case, e.g., in, acc. with motion, e.g., “into,” “onto,”; abl., no motion, e.g., “in,” “on” • in, “into,” “onto” (acc. for motion); “in,” “on” (abl., no motion)

16. What to include for conjunctions • Include the conjunction and its major glosses • et, “and” • sed, “but” • aut … aut: “either … or” • nec … nec: “neither … nor” • neque … necque “neither … nor”

17. Studying VocabularyReiteration and Comment • Review your cards at least once daily. • Daily review will not take long, especially as you come to master the vocabulary. • The challenge is disciplining yourself to get in the habit of this daily studying. • As you master the words, you need to attend only to those words you do not know.

18. Studying Verb Forms How to Do It

19. Studying Verb Forms • Given the principal parts of a verb, you must learn how to put the verb into its various tenses, voices, moods, persons, and numbers. • For now, all verbs will be in the indicative mood and active voice. Tense, person, and number are the focus.

20. 1st and 2nd-Conjugation Verbs in the Present Tense • With the first and second principal parts of the verb, you can form the present tense forms. • For the first-person singular present indicative active, just copy the first principal part of the verb.

21. 1st and 2nd-Conjugation Verbs in the Present Tense • Go to the second principal part of the verb, i.e., the infinitive. • Drop the final re from the infinitive. • Tack on the personal endings: s, t, mus, tis, nt.

22. The Verb sum, esse, “to be” • The verb “to be,” sum, esse, fui, futurus, is hopelessly irregular, as in other languages. • Consequently, you must just memorize the forms. You do not construct them as you do regular verbs. • Rote memorization—saying it over and over—is the way to memorize the forms of the verb “to be”

23. The Verb sum, esse, “to be” Present Tense • Sum, “I am” • Es, “you are” • Est, “s/he is,” “it is” • Sumus, “we are” • Estis, “you (pl.) are” • Sunt, “they are”

24. The Verb sum, esse, “to be” Imperfect Tense eram, “I was” eras, “you were” erat, “s/he was,” “it was” eramus, “we were” eratis, “y’all were” erant, “they were”

25. The Verb sum, esse, “to be” Future Tense ero, “I will be” Note:oanduon eris, “you will be” the ends;iin erit, “s/he will be,” “it will be” the middle erimus, “we will be” eritis, “y’all will be” erunt, “they will be”

26. Studying Noun Forms How to Do It

27. 1st and 2nd-Declension Nouns • Memorize the nominative and genitive singular forms of nouns. • On a test, you’ll usually be given the nominative and genitive singular forms of nouns to decline. • To decline a noun is to put the noun into its singular and plural forms in the five cases: nom., gen., dat., acc., and abl.

28. Declining 1st & 2nd-Declension Nouns • Write down the memorized or given nominative singular form. • From the genitive singular, drop the ending, e.g, -ae, -ī, to get the base • ara, arae  arae  ar • puer, puerī puerī puer • ager, agrī agrī agr

29. Declining 1st & 2nd-Declension Nouns • To the base, add the standard case endings, singular and plural: • First declension • N. –a (memorized) –ae • G. –ae (memorized) –ārum • D. –ae –īs • Acc. –am –as • Abl. –ā –īs

30. You must memorize the first-declension case endings

31. Declining 1st & 2nd-Declension Nouns • To the base, add the standard case endings, singular and plural: • Second declension, masculine • N. – (memorized) –ī • G. –ī (memorized) –ōrum • D. –ō –īs • Acc. –um –ōs • Abl. –ō–īs

32. You must memorize the second-declension masculine case endings

33. Declining 1st & 2nd-Declension Nouns • To the base, add the standard case endings, singular and plural: • Second declension, neuter • N. –um(memorized) –a • G. –ī (memorized) –ōrum • D. –ō –īs • Acc. –um –a • Abl. –ō –īs

34. You must memorize the second-declension neuter case endings

35. Declining 1st & 2nd-Declension Nouns • Note: the dative and ablative plural endings are -īs in the first and second declension. • In the second declension, the dative and ablative singular are identical, –ō • In the neuter of any declension, the nominative and accusative forms are identical.