Grammar, Syntax and Vocabulary in Context
What you must know
This section tests identification and explanation, not just translation. You must be able to parse any form in the set text or an unseen passage: tense, mood, voice, person, number, case, gender, and function. Know the uses of each case (nominative subject and predicate; genitive possession, partitive, comparison, separation, absolute; dative indirect object, means, manner, respect, agent with a perfect passive; accusative direct object, extent, respect, subject of indirect statement). Know the moods: indicative, imperative, subjunctive and optative in purpose, condition, and indefinite clauses; infinitive as complement, purpose, and in indirect statement; participle as attributive, circumstantial, and in the genitive absolute.
Traps
- Naming a form without its function; questions often ask 'why is this case used?'
- Confusing subjunctive and optative endings in the same paradigm.
- Missing that a participle's tense is relative to the main verb, not absolute.
- Forgetting that the aorist infinitive can express purpose after verbs of motion.
- Explaining a form by its translation rather than its syntax.
Worked rule of thumb
Parse in a fixed order: part of speech, then for verbs tense-mood-voice-person-number, for nouns case-number-gender, then function in the clause. Say 'dative of means' rather than 'dative'. For example, a dative with no preposition governing an instrument is means; with a perfect passive verb it is agent. Practise on your set text: every form there is fair game.