The New Latin Primer

THE NEW LATIN PRIMER

edited by

J. P. POSTGATE, MA, Litt.D,

FELLOW AND CLASSICAL LECTURER OF TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE;

PROFESSOR OF COMPARATIVE PHILOLOGY IN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE, LONDON.

with the cooperation of

C. A. VINCE, M.A.,

HEAD MASTER OF MILL HILL GRAMMAR SCHOOL; LATE FELLOW OF CHRIST’S COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE.

———

CASSELL & COMPANY, Limited

LONDON, PARIS, NEW YORK & MELBOURNE.

1888.

revised 1890
[reprint of 1916; slightly edited by Informal, 2011]

Preface

The object of this Grammar is to provide in a concise and readily comprehensible form all the information that can be required by all but advanced students of Latin.  Much trouble has been expended in verifying the statements which it contains, and selecting suitable illustrations; and it is hoped that those who use it will have little afterwards to unlearn.
The best foreign authorities have been consulted, and amongst Grammars in English, those of Roby and Gildersleeve have been found of service, while some hints, chiefly in points of arrangement, have been taken from elementary grammars in current use.  Notwithstanding this, it is believed that the books sufficiently original, as a whole, to justify its title of the New Latin Primer.
Among special points may be mentioned the careful marking of the quantity, both in closed and open syllables, in such a way as should make false quantities impossible.  The Reformed Pronunciation, as used in the University of Cambridge, has been fully explained, but the book can be used without disadvantage by all who adhere to the old.  Considerable simplifications have been introduced into the Syntax, as in the treatment of the Tenses, the Subjunctive Mood, Conditional Statements, Indirect Discourse, and elsewhere.  The standard of the best Classical Prose has been followed throughout, and deviations from it, whether in forms or usages, have been marked as such.
Besides his obligations to Mr. Vince, who has contributed the larger part of the Accidence—his contributions including a shortening of the Gender rules and a simpler presentation of the Third Declension—the Editor is indebted to the Rev. Dr. Moulton, Head Master of the Leys School, for some suggestions, and to Dr. Gow, Head Master of Nottingham High School, for an instructive revision of the proof sheets.

Trinity College, Cambridge,

August, 1888.

Contents

Part One

ELEMENTARY

INTRODUCTORY AND ACCIDENCE

The Latin Language

Latin Alphabet and Pronunciation

Parts of Speech

Inflections

Declension of Nouns, 17
First Declension, 18, 19

Second Declension, 20

Third Declension

Fourth Declension

Fifth Declension

Adjectives of the First Class

Adjectives of the Second Class

Comparison of Adjectives

Adverbs formed from Adjectives

Numeral Adjectives

Pronouns

Verbs

Inflections of Verbs, 54
Inflections of Person, 55

Inflections of Number, 56
Conjugation of esse

First Conjugation, Active Voice

Second Conjugation, Active Voice

Third Conjugation, Active Voice

Fourth Conjugation, Active Voice

First Conjugation, Passive Voice

Second Conjugation, Passive Voice

Third Conjugation, Passive Voice

Fourth Conjugation, Passive Voice

Paradigm of the Four Conjugations

Verbs in -to of the Third Conjugation

Conjugation of Deponent Verbs.

Remarks on the Conjugations

Conjugation of Irregular Verbs

Adverbs

Prepositions, Conjunctions, Interjections

SYNTAX

On Sentences

The Simple Sentence

Construction

Agreement

Government

Use of the Cases

Nominative, Vocative

Accusative

Dative

Genitive

Ablative

Locative

Adjectives

Degrees of Comparison

Pronouns

The Finite Verb

Persons

The Passive Voice

The Tenses

The Moods

Verbals

The Infinitive

Negatives

Questions

The Complex Sentence

Principal and Dependent Clauses

Moods in Dependent Clauses

Tenses in Dependent Clauses

Negatives in Dependent Clauses 

The Conditional Statement

Principles of Indirect Quotation

Part Two

SUPPLEMENTARY

Pronunciation and Spelling of Latin

Gender of Nouns

Declension of Nouns and Adjectives

First Declension, 266, 267 Greek nouns
Second Declension 
Third Declension
Fourth Declension
Fifth Declension

Irregular Nouns, 279

Numerals

Pronouns and Pronominal Adverbs

Principal Parts of Verbs

Remarks on the Conjugations

Derivative Verbs

Prepositions

Supplementary Syntax

Subject and Predicate

Peculiarities of Agreement

The Accusative

The Dative

The Genitive

The Ablative

The Locative

Translation of English Prepositions

Construction of opus est, usus est

Construction of Interjections

Adjectives

Use of the Pronouns

Co-ordinate Conjunctions and Adverbs

The Verb

Gerund and Gerundive

Participles

Infinitive

Subjunctive in Principal Sentences

Dependent Clauses

The Sequence of Tenses

The Subjunctive Mood

Subjunctive and Indicative

Construction of Certain Conjunctions

Notes on the Conditional Statement

The Oratio Obliqua

ARRANGEMENT OF WORDS

PROSODY

MISCELLANEOUS

Verbs Governing a Dative

Construction of Impersonal and Quasi-Impersonal Verbs

Verbs Governing ut with the Subjunctive

Parsing

Roman Calendar

Roman Weights and Money

Abbreviations
Addendum on the Supine in -u
On Distributive Numerals

Declension of Nouns

17

Nouns are distributed into Five Declensions.  In Latin dictionaries the Declension to which a Noun belongs is shown by giving the inflexion of the Genitive Singular.

The Genitive Singular of the First Declension ends in ae.

The Genitive Singular of the Second Declension ends in î.

The Genitive Singular of the Third Declension ends in ĭs.
The Genitive Singular of the Fourth Declension ends in ûs.
The Genitive Singular of the Fifth Declension ends in êî.

General Rules of Declension.—In Neuter Nouns the Nominative, Vocative, and Accusative are always alike, and the Nominative, Vocative, and Accusative always end in -ă.
The Nominative and Vocative of all Genders are alike, except in the Masculine Singular of the Second Declension.
The Dative and Ablative Plurals are always alike.

First Declension I

18

The Nominative Singular, ends in -ă, except certain Greek nouns.  See § 267.

GENDER.—Feminine, except a few Nouns denoting male persons, as pŏêtă poet.

Ex. hastă spear, base hast-.

	singular	plural
Nom.	hastă	hastae
Voc.	hastă	hastae
Acc.	hastam	hastâs
Gen.	hastae	hastârum
Dat.	hastae	hastîs
Abl.	hastâ	hastîs

The Locative Singular, when used, ends in -ae, as Rômae, at Rome.

Dĕă goddess has Dative and Ablative Plural dĕâbŭs.  See also § 266.

First Declension II

19

The following is a Noun of the First Declension declined throughout, with the ordinary translations of the cases added.  Nouns of other Declensions may be declined after the same model.

	singular	plural
Nom.	mênsă, A table	mênsae, tables
Voc.	mênsă, table!	mênsae, tables!
Acc.	mênsam, a table	mênsâs, tables
Gen.	mênsae, of a table	mênsârum, of tables
Dat.	mênsae, to or for a table	mênsîs, to or for tables
Abl.	mênsâ, with or from a table	mênsîs, with or from tables

The student should observe that the translation of the Nominative is distinguished from the translation of the Accusative by a capital letter:  A table. Tables.  The reason of this is that the Nominative is the case of the Subject, which usually begins the sentence in English.

Second Declension I

20

The Nominative Singular ends in -ŭs, -ĕr, or -ŭm.
GENDER.—Nouns in -ŭs and -ĕr are generally Masculine; nouns in -ŭm are Neuter.

Nouns in -ŭs.  haed-ŭs, goat, base haed-

	singular	plural
Nom.	haedŭs	haedî
Voc.	haedĕ	haedî
Acc.	haedŭm	haedôs
Gen.	haedî	haedôrum
Dat.	haedô	haedîs
Abl.	haedô	haedîs

Nouns in -ŭm.  bell-ŭm, war, base bell-

	singular	plural
Nom.	bellŭm	bellă
Voc.	bellŭm	bellă
Acc.	bellŭm	bellă
Gen.	bellî	bellôrum
Dat.	bellô	bellîs
Abl.	bellô	bellîs

The Locative Singular, when used, ends in -î, as Corinthî, at Corinth.

Nouns in -ĕr.—These originally ended in -ĕr-ŭs (the Base ending in -er), and have lost the inflexion of the Nominative and Vocative Singular.  The majority also drop e before r, except in the same cases.

Exx.  pŭĕr, boy, base pŭĕr-; ăgĕr, field, base ăgr-

	singular	plural
Nom.	pŭĕr	pŭĕrî
Voc.	pŭĕr	pŭĕrî
Acc.	pŭĕrŭm	pŭĕrôs
Gen.	pŭĕrî	pŭĕrôrum
Dat.	pŭĕrô	pŭĕrîs
Abl.	pŭĕrô	pŭĕrîs

	singular	plural
Nom.	ăgĕr	ăgrî
Voc.	ăgĕr	ăgrî
Acc.	ăgrŭm	ăgrôs
Gen.	ăgrî	ăgrôrum
Dat.	ăgrô	ăgrîs
Abl.	ăgrô	ăgrîs

The following Nouns are declined like pŭĕr: socĕr, father-in-law, gĕnĕr, son-in-law, vespĕr, evening, ădultĕr, adulterer, Lîbĕr, Liber.

In Nouns the base of which ends in -î-, the Genitive Singular is usually contracted.  The Vocative Singular Roman Proper names in -ĭŭs, and of fîlĭŭs son, is also contracted.  Thus, nĕgôtî (for nĕgôtĭî) of-business, fîlî (for fîlĭĕ) my son!

	singular	plural
Nom.	fîlĭŭs	fîlĭî
Voc.	fîlî	fîlĭî
Acc.	fîlĭŭm	fîlĭôs
Gen.	fîlî or fîlĭî	fîlĭôrum
Dat.	fîlĭô	fîlĭîs
Abl.	fîlĭô	fîlĭîs

dĕŭs, god, and vĭr, man, are irregular.

	singular	plural		singular	plural
Nom.	dĕŭs	dî (dĕî)		vĭr	vĭrî
Voc.	dĕŭs	dî (dĕî)		vĭr	vĭrî
Acc.	dĕŭm	dĕôs		vĭrum	vĭrôs
Gen.	dĕî	dĕôrum or dĕum		vĭrî	vĭrôrum or vĭrum
Dat.	dĕô	dĕîs		vĭrô	vĭrîs
Abl.	dĕô	dĕîs		vĭrô	vĭrîs

For other irregularities see § 268–270.

Inflections of Verbs

54

Verbs have inflections to denote Person, Number, Tense, Mood, and Voice.

Inflections of Person

55

The Inflections of Person are three:  First Person ăm-ô I love; Second Person, ăm-âs thou lovest; Third Person ăm-ăt he loves.

Inflections of Number

56

The inflections of a Verb vary according as the Number is Singular or Plural; as Singular hŏmŏ ăm-ăt the man loves, Plural hŏmĭnês ăm-ant the men love.

First Declension III

266

Genitive Singular.—An old form in -âî is sometimes found in poetry; as ăquă water, Genitive ăquai.  fămĭlîă household has an old Genitive fămĭli-âs, used only in composition with păter, mâter, fîlius.  See § 279.

Genitive Plural.—A form in -um instead of ârum is sometimes used in poetry from words of Greek origin, especially Patronymics, as Aenĕădae descendants of Aeneas, Genitive Aenĕădum, and words ending in -gĕnă, -cŏlă, as caelĭcŏlă, dweller in heaven, Genitive Plural, caelicolum.  drâchmum of drachmæ, amphŏrum of amphoræ occur in prose.

Dative and Ablative Plural in -ăbŭs.—Three words only in classical authors use this form:  dĕă goddess, fîliă daughter, lîbertă freed-woman.

First Declension IV

267

GREEK NOUNS.—Proper names ending in -ê (Feminine) and -âs (Masculine), and many in -ês (Masculine), especially Patronymics in -dês, belong to this declension.    They often retain the Greek inflexions, thus:

Nom.	Circê	Aenêâs	Alcîdês
Voc.	Circê	Aenêâ	Alcîdê*
Acc.	Circên	Aenêân or -âm	Alcîdên
Gen.	Circês or -ae	Aenêae	Alcîdae
Dat.	Circae	Aenêae	Alcîdae
Abl.	Circê (rarely -â)	Aenêâs	Alcîdê (rarely -â)

So a few common nouns, as sŏphistês sophist.  Many Greek names in -ê have two forms, one Greek and one Latin:  as Ătălantê,  -ês, or Ătălantă, -ae.

*  Other names in -ês often have the Vocative in -â or -ă.

Irregular Nouns

279

Nouns often written as One Word but declined as two.—păterfămĭliâs head of a household (lit. father of the family). Accusative pătremfămĭliâs, and so on.  In the Plural pătrêsfămĭliâs or pătrêsfămĭliârum.  So also mâterfămĭliâs f., fîliusfămĭliâs m.

jûsjûrandum n. oath; Genitive jûrisjûrandi, and so on.