Latin 112 Spring 2005 – Review Suggestions (written by Paul Moran, UVA)

Disclaimer – this is meant to be an aid to your studies for the final exam. It should complement
rather than replace your own avenues of study. It is not comprehensive and does not in any way
represent the limits of what material you’re responsible for on the exam. Feel free to email me if
you feel I’ve left out something really important, or if you find an error. Feel free to share your
study tips if you’ve found useful ways to retain all or some particular part of our material. Really
this handout is nothing you can’t do on your own, but it can provide a guide for systematically
going over the material you’re supposed to know, the doing of which can both solidify the
knowledge you already have and identify weak spots that require further study. Feel free to
ignore this handout if you have a method of reviewing the material you prefer.
Introductory notes:
• Page numbers refer to Wheelock. Remember there is an index in Wheelock - if you don’t
recognize one of the topics below, start by looking it up there.
• I have tried to identify some points in the forms section that are very important and that
tend to go awry for people– these points are marked at the very least. There could
probably be more of them, since really you need to be able to do everything mentioned in
this document, and more.
• I have also attempted to note, via a potential difficulty signal, areas where students often
confuse the item at hand with something similar.
• Finally, I have occasionally included some of the goofy verbal cues I’ve used to
remember stuff.

Forms

You must have instantaneous and accurate knowledge of word forms and their significance to be
successful in translating continuous Latin. If you cannot rattle off these forms correctly and
without much delay you need to study them until you can. To use a time-honored metaphor, you
cannot build up a building that coheres if your individual bricks are flawed. Faulty forms ->
collapsing Latin.

1. Nouns
Make use of the noun forms template –fill it out with a noun from each declension, along with the
sub-varieties (major divisions: 1st, 2nd m., 2nd n., 3rd m/f, 3rd n., 3rd i-stem m/f, 3rd i-stem n., 4th m/f,
4th n., 5th). At the very least you should pick a third declension noun and decline it fully, since that
very commonly met declension tends to cause more problems than the others.
potential difficulty: remember that the case signified by the ending on a noun (or pronoun, or
adjective) varies by declension, so words can end in the same letter but be in different cases.
Thus so doni must be genitive singular (second declension) but arti must be dative singular (third
declension). Especially watch with adjectives next to nouns – even without a complete sentence,
you know that boni arti cannot be “good skill” since boni agrees in neither gender nor case.
Noticing this distinction depends on your vocabulary knowledge, since you must simply know a
nouns or adj.’s declension ahead of time.
potential difficulty: remember, especially for the 3rd decl., neuter nouns have the same form in
nom. and acc. (so “corpus” could be either nom. or acc.)
note: you may find it helpful to combine the noun and adj. declining exercises – e.g. decline fortis
vir, or magna ars, to see two sets of permutations side by side, and also to drill in the “same
ending does not equal same case” lesson.

2. Adjectives
Start with the positive degree of the adjectives. It will probably be helpful, although tedious, to
decline an –us, -a, -um adjective (a.k.a a 1st/2nd declension adjective) in every form – e.g.
magnus/a/um. At the very least you should decline a 3rd declension adjective such as fortis/e. (p.
447)

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Next, create the nominative comparatives of longus, -a, -um. Now decline that comparative.
Note the ways in these forms (which are third declension forms) are slightly different than the
forms of a normal third declension adjective.
Do the same for fortis, forte.
note: among other things this exercise will have reminded you that an adjective simply is
whatever declension it is in the positive degree, but the comparative forms of adjectives, whether
1st/2nd adj’s or 3rd adj’s in the positive, are 3rd declension forms.

Now create the nominative superlatives of longus, -a, -um. If you are comfortable with –us, -a,
-um adj’s you need not decline it.
Do likewise with fortis, forte.
note: again you will have been reminded that the superlative forms of any adj. will be -us –a –um
endings.

Finally, double-check the irregular comparatives and superlatives on p. 180-1 – do you know
them?

At the very least create the nominative comparative and superlative forms of a regular adjective
like longus or fortis, and read through the irregular list once.

potential difficulty: the comparative neuter nom. and acc. ends in –ius – it is easy to confuse this
with the positive degree of an –us, -a, -um adjective or with a 2nd decl. noun.

4. Adverbs
Create the adverbial form of longus, -a, -um.
Do the same for fortis, -e.

Create the comparative and superlative adverbs from longus.

Do the same for fortis.

At the very least create the positive, comp., and superl. adv’s from longus, and create the positive
from fortis.

potential difficulty: the comparative adv. is identical in form to the comparative neuter acc. adj. So
when you see longius you don’t know from the form whether it’s an adj. or an adv.

5. Pronouns
Demonstratives - decline hic, haec, hoc; is, ea, id; and/or ille, illa, illud.
Relatives – decline qui, quae, quod.
Personal – decline ego, tu, nos, vos, and is/ea/id.
Intensive – decline ipse, ipsa, ipsum.
Reflexive – the reflexives for I, you, we, and you (pl) are identical to the personal pronouns, so
refresh yourself about -, sui, sibi, se, se.

At the very least list the different types of pronouns, decline the relative pronoun, and remind
yourself of the distinction between intensive and reflexive pronouns.

potential difficulty: don’t confuse the pronouns “us” and “you” (nos, vos) with the adjectives “ours”
and “yours” (noster/stra/strum and vester/stra/strum). It may help to think of the beginning of the
Lord’s Prayer “Pater noster” “Our Father” not “We the father.”
potential difficulty: the difference between intensives and reflexives. Remember intensive
pronoun = ipse. Two possible ways to help with remembering how these two pronouns are used:
• memorize a short example of each: Cato se necavit (Cato slew himself). Cato ipse
Caesarem necavit (Cato himself slew Caesar). nb: no Cato did not actually kill Caesar.
• think Replace and Eyebrows.

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 o Replace: For reflexives you can always figure out who is doing what to whom by
replacing (in your mind) the reflexive pronoun with the noun it’s standing in for:
Cato se necavit = Cato slew himself. But if you find “-self’ stuff confusing,
remember the reflexive pronoun is simply a way to repeat Cato without using the
same word, so replace se with Catonem: Cato Catonem necavit – Cato slew
Cato (i.e. slew himself).
o Eyebrows: intensive pronouns simply add emphasis to a noun. We can show the
same thing in English by using the words “-self” or “the very” but as often as not
we just get across the extra emphasis with tone of voice and facial expression,
so: Cato ipse Caesarem necavit (Cato himself killed Caesar), the point of the
ipse is that Cato did it and not someone else, and we might say Cato (raise
voice, lift eyebrows {hence “eyebrows” as the memory tag}, bug out your eyes)
killed Caesar – the effect is the same, emphasizing that it was Cato, by golly, that
struck the blow.
potential difficulty: don’t confuse qui, quae, quod with other qu- words.
• interrogative pronoun = quis, quid (who, what), obviously similar to the relative pronoun
qui, quae, quod.
• interrogative adjective (Which ____, what _____) has forms identical to the relative
pronoun qui, quae, quod.
• all those other qu- words
o quisque, quidque (each one – remember quisqueach)
o quidam, quaedam, quiddam (someone, a certain person/thing – remember
{PG13 warning} “some damn squid stole my wallet” -> quidam = some
unspecified individual or group {sorry for the profanity before your delicate
untainted eyes, but it’s helped me remember this qu- word for years.}
o quisquam, quidquam (anyone, anything – run together the Eng. and Lat. like
quisqueach for “quisquamany”)
o quisquis, quidquid (whoever, whatever – the phrase “double whatever” has
always stuck due to senseless parallel with film noir “Double Indemnity” –
“double” obviously because this is simply quis or quid repeated – quisquis)
potential difficulty: the relative pronoun quod (the thing which) is identical to the interrogative
adjective quod (which thing?) as noted above, and also identical to the conjunction quod =
because.
potential difficulty: quoque “also” looks like quōque the abl. of quisque, or the able of the relative
qui + -que “and.” The short o is the only distinguisher.

6. Verbs
Make use of the verb forms template – fill it out with a verb of every conjugation. Don’t forget
infinitives and participles.

Recall deponent verbs – what are they and how do they work? Do you remember the
irregularities involved in their participles and infinitives?

Recall irregular verbs – they happen all the time, you need to know their forms (see pp. 457ff –
sum, possum, volo, malo, nolo, eo, fero, fio). Conjugate sum, volo, eo, fero, and fio.

At the very least conjugate capio, capere in every form, recall deponent verbs, conjugate sum.

Grammar and Syntax

1. Genitive – do you know how the following uses of this case work?
Possessive Partitive Genitive of description

2. Dative – do you know how the following uses of this case work?

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Indirect object Dative of reference Dative with special verbs
Dative of possession Dative with some adjectives Dative with compound verbs

3. Accusative – do you know how the following uses of this case work?
Direct object
Accusative of duration of time Accusative as object of a preposition
Accusative of place to which Acc as subject of an infinitive in indirect
statement

4. Ablative – do you know how the following uses of this case work?
Ablative of Accompaniment of Time when or of Description with special deponent
w/in which verbs
of Manner of Comparison of Place from Ablative Absolute
which
of Means of Personal of Place where
Agent

5. Locative
Just remember that it exists, and how it’s formed
potential difficulty: remember that the *names* of cities, towns, “small” islands, and the words
domus, humus, and rus all show place where / place to which / place from which without the
usual prepositions. (e.g. “in the city” in urbe but “in Rome” Romae).

6. Relative Clauses
Do you remember how a relative clause works? These are straightforward but often trip up the
unwary student; they are also very common and therefore you must be comfortable with them.
Keep in mind that the relative pronoun agrees with its antecedent in number and gender but not
necessarily in case, it’s case comes from its grammatical function in its own clause.
potential difficulty: students often confuse the rules of agreement for adjs and rel. pronouns – for
adj. with its noun 3 for 3 (must agree in number, gender and case), for rel. pronoun and its
antecedent 2 for 3 (must agree in number and gender).
potential difficulty : remember the distinction between a relative clause (indicative) and a rel. cl. of
characteristic (subjunctive).

7. Participles
Present active, perfect passive, future active, future passive. Be sure to watch voice and tense.
Examples (keep track of who is capturing whom and when the capturing is happening in relation
to the seeing of the omens):
1. Caesar capiens Gallos omina vidit = {While} capturing the Gauls, Caesar saw omens.
2. Caesar captus a Gallis omina vidit = {After} having been captured by the Gauls, Caesar
saw omens.
3. Caesare capto a Gallis omina vidimus = After Caesar had been captured by the Gauls (or
With Caesar having been captured by the Gauls) we saw omens. Note this is an ablative
absolute, and note that the only difference between this and 2 is that here Caesar has no
grammatical function (subject, object, etc.) in the main sentence – he is grammatically
“absolute” from the main sentence, and is therefore essentially an appendage just stuck
on to provide more information.
note: remember verbs make some passive forms by adding a participle + form of sum – Caesar
captus est (Caesar has been captured.) – the participle is a verbal adj. and as adj. must agree
with it’s noun in #, gender, case, hence Caesar captus est but Cleopatra capta est or dico Gallos
captos esse.
note: the Passive Periphrastic is simply the future passive participle (a.k.a. the gerundive) + form
of est – the sense of futurity in the participle (Caesar capiendus in fluvium se iacuit = {when}
about to be captured, Caesar threw himself into the river) takes on a sense of necessity when
used in this construction – Caesar capiendus est = Caesar must be captured.

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8. Indirections
Take three happy creatures in your mind and put them side by side – very cute. Now build a wall
between each of them, an insuperable wall of adamant towering higher than the skies – sounds
like a fairy tale, but not quite gruesome enough. Anyway, you should keep the following concepts
in a similar part of your mind but do not let them commingle!
• Indirect Statement = verb of the head + THAT + accusative subject and infinitive verb: I
say that Caesar is the greatest = dico Caesarem esse maximum.
o note: the infinitive shows relative time (pres. = same time, perf. = time prior, fut.
= time after), dico Caesarem fuisse maximum = I say that Caesar was the
greatest. Don’t confuse this relativity with the Sequence of Tenses – the S. of T.
only applies to subjunctive verbs in subordinate clauses.
• Indirect Question = verb of the head + question word + nominative subject and
subjunctive verb. I’m telling you what Caesar is doing = dico tibi quid Caesar faciat.
o note the tense of the verb in the indirect question is governed by the Sequence
of Tenses.
• Indirect Command = verb of commanding, exhorting, suggesting, etc. (but not iubeo or
volo) + ut or ne + nominative subject and subjucntive verb. Impero militibus ut
Caesarem necent. I’m commanding the troops to kill Caesar.
o again, the verb in the command is governed by S. of T.
potential difficulty: don’t confuse the indirections! Especially don’t confuse Indirect Statement – it
happens all the time and it’s consistent – know it, love it, be it!!

9. Independent subjunctives (they are the main verb in the sentence)

Jussive (let us, let him do x)
Deliberative (ought I to do x?)

10. Dependent subjunctives (they are subjunctive verbs in subordinate clauses)

• Sequence of Tenses– if you don’t have the S. of T. down cold go study it until you and it
are one being. It may help to remember the following
o S. of T. only applies to subjunctive verbs in subordinate clauses, and all it does is
indicate the time of the verb in that clause relative to the time of the main verb.
o To find the right tense for a subjunctive in a subordinate clause you have to ask
two sets of questions
 first, what sequence am I in (primary -> will choose between present or
perfect subjunctive, or secondary -> will choose between imperfect or
pluperfect subjunctive, decide whether primary or secondary by looking
at the tense of the main verb).
 second, what is the relative time of my subord. clause and the main
clause (before, or same time/after)
• some important subordinate clauses with subjunctive verbs
o purpose clauses
o result clauses
o indirect questions
o cum clauses
o proviso clauses
o some conditions: contrary to fact present or past, future less vivid
o relative clauses of characteristic
o jussive noun clauses
o fear clauses

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11. Conditions

If…then statements, you can divide the types in various ways, I find the following helpful
(remember to look up the English equivalents in your book or notes):

Present General – si + pres. Future More Vivid – si + fut. Contrary to Fact Present – si +
ind., pres. ind. ind., fut. ind. impf. subj., impf. subj.
Past General – si + past ind., Future Less Vivid – si + pres. Contrary to Fact Past – si +
past ind. subj., pres. subj. plupf. subj., plupf. subj.

12. Cum clauses

Not to be confused with preposition cum + ablative noun = “with.”
Four types: temporal (indicative); causal, adversative, circumstantial (all subjunctive).

13. Gerund/Gerundive
Gerundive Gerund
verbal adjective verbal noun
-us, -a, -um endings -> can be any number, only occurs in the genitive, dative, accusative,
gender, and case and ablative masculine singular

Remember that Latin can say something like “for the sake of killing the Gauls” (killing Gauls =
gerund + object in English) in two ways: parallel to English with a gerund + object = necandi
Gallos causā >or< with a gerundive switch – object of gerund takes over case of gerund, gerund
becomes gerundive and agrees with former object in #, gender, and case) = necandorum
Gallorum causā. Both of these can be translated “for the sake of killing the Gauls.”
Remember you can use a gerund like any noun (by means of the stick (noun) ~ by means of
hitting (verbal noun) the wall), and also that you can show purpose with ad + gerund or gerundive
and gerund/ive + causā.

14. Supine – remember this? If not, look it up.

15. Questions beginning with –ne (no lead), num (expects “no”), nonne (expects “yes”).

Readings
How do you study for the translating portions of the final? Knowing your forms and grammar cold
is the huge first step. You also need to practice reading continuous Latin without any helps
(vocab, translation, etc.), to help train your mind in the mental gymnastics required to follow a
Latin train of thought. That’s what we’ve been doing in class for the last few weeks, that’s what
you’ll continue to do in Latin 231. Therefore:

Re-read the L.A. and L.I. passages we covered in class. You can simulate the exam by
translating the passages without looking at your notes or the footnotes in Wheelock, which will not
appear on the exam (exception, sort of – as I said there are a couple of words in the readings that
you’ve never had and that don’t appear in the footnotes to that reading or in the glossary, b/c they
were used earlier in a reading we haven’t read – such words I will gloss). After you re-read each
one, write a brief summary of what it’s about (e.g. “Pliny writes a letter to a friend upon the death
of a young girl, and praises her virtues”).

All of the above will help you prepare for the sight passages. In addition, you should practice the
art of sight-translation on some of the LI or LA passages we didn’t do in class (I am happy to go
over such exercises with you, by email or in person).

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