Ecce Romani Chapter 1 - Notes

Latin I

A. Word Order in Latin

1. The subject of a Latin sentence usually comes at the beginning of the sentence and the verb at the end.

Ex. Cornelia sub arbore sedet.

2. Adjectives in Latin may precede or follow the nouns they modify.

Ex. Altera puella in villā rusticā est.

B. Verbs

1. A present tense verb in Latin may be translated into English three ways:

Ex. scribit = he/she writes

he/she is writing

he/she does write

2. The subject pronoun (I, you, he, she, it, we, they) is included in the Latin verb.

Ex. sedet = he/she/it sits

3. Do not use a subject pronoun in English if a subject is already present.

Ex. Cornelia scribit. Cornelia writes.

(Not Cornelia she writes.)

4. Do not use est (is) as a helping verb in Latin. It is used only as a linking verb.

Ex. Cornelia is writing. Cornelia scribit.

(helping verb) (Not Cornelia est scribit.)

Cornelia is happy. Cornelia est laeta.

(linking verb)

C. Who

1. Quis? (Who?) is used to introduce a question.

Ex. Quis est sub arbore? Who is under the tree?

2. Quae (who) is used in a statement, not a question. It is a relative pronoun.

Ex. Puella, quae scribit, Flavia est. The girl who is writing is Flavia.

D. Articles

There are no articles (a, an, the) in Latin. You may use them in English as appropriate..