Salvēte! This continues the elementary Latin series on Wikiversity. If you are interested in previous lessons, see the directory of lessons, a classified vocabulary list, and Memrise courses at the links on the right.
New Grammar
In previous lessons we learned nominative (subject) pronouns and some verbs in the singular, along with a few basic nouns in nominative and accusative. This lesson will complete the conjugation of the "to be" verb (sum) in the plural, and add plural nominatives:
| Latin | English |
|---|---|
| sum | I am |
| es | you (s.) are |
| est | he/she/it is |
| sumus | we are |
| estis | you (pl.) are |
| sunt | they are |
The grammar concept you need to know is that subject nouns, pronouns (and eventually adjectives) are all put in the nominative case. And so are predicate nouns (and adjectives). The being verb acts as an equal sign in the sentence, forming an equation and equating like with like (subject is the same thing as the predicate). This is different from the brief taste of the accusative for direct objects we had last lesson, and will be an important point of contrast in future lessons. For now, let's concentrate on mastering basic nominative use with the being verb.
New Vocabulary
| Latin | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| nōs | we | |
| vōs | you (pl.) | |
| eī (m., pl) | they, those men | Or mixed group |
| eae (f., pl.) | they, those women |
(n.b. subject pronouns are not used all that frequently in Latin but if they are they must be used with the appropriate verb endings).
| Latin | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| fēminae | (the) women | |
| virī (OR) hominēs | (the) men | |
| puerī | boys | |
| puellae | girls | |
| et | and |
| Latin | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Klingon, Klingōnis (m. or f.) Klingōnēs (pl.) | Klingon/ Klingons | |
| bellātor, bellātōris (m. s.) | warrior | bellātrix, bellātrīcis would be the fem. |
| bellātōrēs | warriors |
Personally I believe the Romans would have respected and admired the Klingon race as fierce barbarian warriors. They would have been highly valued in gladiatorial exhibitions and would have been invited to train elite cohorts in the use of the bat'leth. Eventually there would have been a Klingon emperor. But this is, of course, all speculative. So is my assumption that "Klingon" would be a third declension noun, but it seemed to fit.
Sentences
| Latin | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Nōs sumus hominēs. | We are men. | |
| Sumus puellae. | We are girls. | |
| (Nōs) fēminae sumus. | We are women. | |
| Puerī sumus. | We are boys. | |
| Vōs estis virī. | You are men. | |
| Vōs puellae estis. | You are girls. | |
| Lūcia et Mārcus estis. | You are Lucia and Marcus. | |
| Estis puerī. | You are boys. | |
| (Eī) sunt puerī. | They are boys. | |
| (Eae) sunt fēminae. | They are women. | |
| Puellae sunt. | They are girls. | |
| Virī et fēminae sunt. | They are men and women. | |
| Sunt Klingōnēs. | They are Klingons. | |
| Gāius et Mārcus sunt hominēs. | Gaius and Marcus are men. | |
| Lūcia et Paula puellae sunt. | Lucia and Paula are girls. | |
| Klingon est bellātor. | The Klingon is a warrior. | |
| Klingōnēs sunt bellātōrēs. | The Klingons are warriors. |
Practice
| Practice and learn the words and phrases in this lesson | |
|---|---|
| Step one | First learn the words using this lesson: |
| Step two | Next try learning and writing the sentencing using this: |
| Note that the Memrise stage covers the content for all the basics 2 lessons. If you are skipping previous stages you may need to manually "ignore" the words (use the 'select all' function) | |
And that should be enough for now. Grātiās vōbīs agō = Thank you for following along, and we hope you are enjoying Latin as much as we do!