Latin Grammar, Syntax, and Vocabulary
The core systems
You must command the five declensions, the four conjugations plus irregulars (esse, posse, ire, ferre, velle, nolle, malle), and the six tenses in both voices. Know the subjunctive uses: purpose, result, indirect question, indirect command, fear clause, cum clauses, conditional sentences, and dum/antequam constructions.
Syntax to master
- Indirect statement: accusative + infinitive, with tense of infinitive reflecting the original statement.
- Indirect question: subjunctive after quaero, rogo, nescio, miror.
- Conditionals: si + indicative (open), si + present/perfect subjunctive (future less vivid), si + imperfect/pluperfect subjunctive (contrary to fact).
- Gerunds and gerundives: gerundive expresses obligation (delenda est) or purpose with ad.
- Supine: accusative supine after verbs of motion (ad omitted), ablative supine after adjectives.
- Ablative absolute: noun + participle, both ablative, functioning as a subordinate clause.
Vocabulary strategy
Learn words in families: duco, ducere, duxi, ductus with derivatives (duct, conduct, induce). Learn prepositions with their cases - in + accusative (motion) vs ablative (location); sub likewise. Note that some verbs take unexpected cases: utor, fruor, fungor, potior, vescor take the ablative; impero, pareo, persuadeo, noceo take the dative.
Common traps
- Confusing cum + ablative (with) and cum + subjunctive (when/since/although).
- Misreading the tense of a subjunctive in indirect statement.
- Forgetting deponent verbs are passive in form, active in meaning.
- Mixing up hic/haec/hoc and is/ea/id.
Rule of thumb
Parse every unfamiliar word: part of speech, case/tense, number, and function. A parsed word is a translated word.
Worked example
Rogavit quid facere vellet.
- Rogavit: perfect, 'he asked'.
- quid: interrogative, 'what'.
- facere: infinitive, 'to do'.
- vellet: imperfect subjunctive of velle, 'he wanted'.
- The subjunctive after rogavit marks an indirect question. Result: 'He asked what he wanted to do.'