Salvēte, omnēs! This is the third in a basic Latin series for Wikiversity. If you would like to catch up, you can find a directory of lessons, a classified vocabulary list, and Memrise courses at the links on the right.
New grammar this lesson: the accusative case. In Latin, nouns functioning as a direct object are put in the accusative case. Nouns are listed in vocabulary lists with nominative and genitive singular (aqua, aquae (f.) or aqua, -ae = water). To use water as a direct object, the accusative ending will need to be swapped in for the nominative or subject case. We do not notice this with neuter nouns like mālum, -ī = apple, because they are the same in the nominative and accusative. But nouns classified as masculine or feminine will have different endings if they are used as a direct object. This lesson also we will be working on verb conjugations in singular only. And for fun, we introduce some common Latin names to give our sentences some personality.
New vocabulary
| Latin | English | Audio (Classical) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gāius, -ī (m.) | Gaius | common Roman praenomen | |
| Mārcus, -ī (m.) | Marcus | ||
| Lūcia, -ae (f.) | Lucia | feminine form of Lucius; not a lot of variety in Roman names, but it's good practice with masculine and feminine endings) | |
| Paula, -ae (f.) | Paula | ||
| aqua, -ae (f.) | water. | You will need also to learn the accusative singular = aquam for this lesson. | |
| pānis, -is (m.) | bread | This is a 3rd declension noun; note that the genitive singular ending is a marker for which declension a noun belongs to, and each declension has its own set of endings and gender rules which will be learned in a later lesson. You will need to learn the accusative singular = panem for this lesson. | |
| saccharum, -ī (n.) | sugar | A Late Latin construction; of course the Romans would have used mel, mellis (n.) = honey. Accusative singular is also saccharum or mel since both are neuter nouns. |
Review this vocabulary
| Latin | English |
|---|---|
| sum | I am |
| es | you are |
| est | he / she / it is |
| ego | I |
| tū | you |
| is | he |
| ea | she |
Sentences
| Latin | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| bibō | I drink | |
| bibis | you (s.) drink | |
| bibit | he, she, it drinks | |
| edō | I eat | |
| edis | you eat | |
| edit | he, she, it eats | |
| Pānis est. | It is bread. | |
| Aqua est. | It is water. | |
| (Ego) edō. | I eat. | |
| Gāius est puer. | Gaius is a boy. | |
| Gāius aquam bibit. | Gaius drinks water. | |
| Vir aquam bibit. | The man drinks water. | |
| Lūcia est fēmina. | Lucia is a woman. | |
| (Tū) edis. | You eat. | |
| (Ego) saccharum edō. | I eat sugar. | |
| (Ego) bibō. | I drink. | |
| (Tū) pānem edis. | You eat bread. | |
| (Tū) bibis. | You drink. | |
| Aquam bibis. | You drink water. | |
| Mārcus bibit. | Marcus drinks. | |
| (Is) bibit. | He drinks. | |
| (Ea) bibit. | She drinks. | |
| Tū es Paula. | You are Paula. | |
| Gāius sum. | I am Gaius. | |
| Gāius pānem edit. | Gaius eats bread. | |
| Ego mālum edō. | I eat an apple. | |
| (Tū) saccharum edis. | You eat sugar. |
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 the first three lessons | |
You now have enough basic vocabulary to go on creating quite simple sentences for a while. We will add plurals soon, maybe next lesson. Habeātis bonam fortūnam!