AP Latin flashcards
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- Ablative absolute
- A noun or pronoun plus a participle in the ablative case, grammatically independent of the main clause, translated 'with/after/when/since' plus a clause.
- Indirect statement
- Accusative subject plus infinitive after verbs of saying, thinking, or knowing; the infinitive's tense is relative to the main verb.
- Purpose clause
- A subordinate clause introduced by ut (negative ne) with a subjunctive verb, expressing the goal of the main action, translated 'in order to' or 'so that'.
- Result clause
- A subordinate clause introduced by ut (negative ut non) with a subjunctive verb, signaling a consequence, often preceded by tam, ita, or tantus in the main clause.
- Cum-clause
- A clause with cum plus a subjunctive verb, translated 'when', 'since', or 'although' depending on context; cum with indicative usually means 'when' in simple narration.
- Indirect question
- A subordinate clause with an interrogative word (quis, quid, cur, ubi) and a subjunctive verb, reported after verbs of asking or knowing.
- Dactylic hexameter
- The epic meter of the Aeneid: six feet of dactyls (long-short-short) or spondees (long-long), with the fifth foot usually a dactyl.
- Chiasmus
- An ABBA arrangement of parallel words or phrases, reversing the order of the first half in the second half for emphasis.
- Anaphora
- Repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses, a device common in Vergil and Caesar for emphasis.
- Asyndeton
- Omission of conjunctions between words or clauses in a series, producing a rapid, clipped effect.
- Polysyndeton
- Repetition of conjunctions (often -que or et) between successive words or clauses, creating a piled-up, weighty effect.
- Hyperbaton
- Separation of words that naturally belong together, such as an adjective placed far from its noun, often for emphasis or meter.
- Synchesis
- Interlocking word order in which adjective-noun pairs alternate (adjective A, adjective B, noun A, noun B), also called golden line arrangement in some cases.
- Ablative of means
- An ablative without a preposition naming the instrument or means by which an action is done, translated 'by' or 'with'.
- Ablative of agent
- An ablative with the preposition a/ab naming the person who performs a passive action, translated 'by'.
- Dative of indirect object
- A dative naming the person to or for whom an action is done, used with verbs of giving, showing, telling, and similar.
- Genitive of possession
- A genitive noun indicating the owner or possessor of another noun, translated with 'of' or an apostrophe-s.
- Partitive genitive
- A genitive naming the whole of which a quantity word (pars, satis, plus, quidam) expresses a part.
- Caesar's third-person narration
- Caesar writes about himself as 'Caesar' in the third person, a rhetorical choice that lends objectivity and authority to his account.
- Caesar's ethnography
- Passages describing Gallic and German customs (Druids, human sacrifice, German war bands) serve to characterize peoples and justify Roman intervention.
- Caesar's justification of campaigns
- Caesar repeatedly frames his actions as defensive responses to Gallic aggression or threats to Roman allies, shaping the narrative to justify conquest.
- AP Latin essay scale
- Free-response essays are scored holistically 0–6: 6 excellent and well supported, 3 adequate but thin, 0 off-task or blank.
- Translation scoring priority
- Translation is scored for grammatical accuracy and correct vocabulary; a literal, grammatically sound rendering scores better than a loose paraphrase.
- Supporting with Latin citations
- Strong essays quote short Latin words or phrases and explain how each supports the thesis, rather than inserting long untranslated blocks.
- Vergilian epic simile
- An extended comparison, often introduced by qualis or velut, that expands beyond the immediate scene to frame a character or action in larger terms.
- Enjambment in Vergil
- A sentence or phrase running past the end of the hexameter line into the next, often used to create momentum or surprise.
- Epithet
- A recurring descriptive phrase attached to a character or thing (pius Aeneas, saevus Achilles) that conveys character or theme.
- Furor in the Aeneid
- A key Vergilian theme of uncontrolled rage or passion, associated with Juno, Dido, and Turnus, and opposed to pietas.
- Pietas in the Aeneid
- Aeneas's defining virtue: duty toward gods, family, and destiny, frequently contrasted with furor and personal desire.
- Aeneid Book 4
- The Dido episode, in which Dido's love and Aeneas's departure lead to her suicide, exploring furor, duty, and the cost of empire.
- Aeneid Book 6
- Aeneas's descent to the underworld, where Anchises shows him the future Romans, grounding the epic in Roman destiny.
- Gallic War Book 1
- Opens with the ethnography of Gaul and the Helvetian campaign, culminating in the defeat of Ariovistus and the Germans.