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Sachsen-Anhalt Abitur Latin study materials
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Sachsen-Anhalt Abitur Latin practice questions

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Question 1Latin morphology and syntax

In the phrase "multitudo urbium" ("a multitude of cities"), what is the case and number of "urbium" (from urbs, urbis, f.)?

  1. Genitive plural Correct answer.
  2. Dative plural
  3. Accusative plural
  4. Ablative singular

Explanation

Urbs is a 3rd-declension i-stem noun, so its genitive plural is urbium (not urbum). After a word of quantity such as multitudo, Latin requires the partitive genitive: multitudo urbium = "a multitude of cities".

Question 2Latin morphology and syntax

In the phrase "salus rei publicae", meaning "the safety of the state", what case is "rei publicae"?

  1. Genitive singular Correct answer.
  2. Dative singular
  3. Nominative plural
  4. Ablative singular

Explanation

Res is a 5th-declension noun (res, rei, rei, rem, re). The form "rei" serves as both genitive and dative singular, but the sense "the safety OF the state" fixes it as a genitive dependent on salus.

Question 3Latin morphology and syntax

"Dux milites hortatur." What does "hortatur" mean, and why?

  1. "he encourages" - hortor is a deponent verb: passive in form, active in meaning Correct answer.
  2. "he is encouraged" - the ending -tur is always passive in meaning
  3. "he will encourage" - -tur is a future marker
  4. "he had encouraged" - -tur marks the pluperfect

Explanation

Hortor, hortari, hortatus sum is a deponent verb (Deponens). It has only passive endings but is translated actively. Hortatur is 3rd person singular present, so the sentence means "The leader encourages the soldiers" - milites is the accusative object.

Question 4Latin morphology and syntax

Which of these verbs is a SEMI-deponent (Semideponens) - active forms in the present system, passive forms in the perfect system?

  1. audeo, audere, ausus sum Correct answer.
  2. hortor, hortari, hortatus sum
  3. moneo, monere, monui, monitum
  4. sequor, sequi, secutus sum

Explanation

Audeo ("dare") is a semi-deponent: its present system is fully active (audeo, audebam, audebo) but its perfect system is passive in form with active meaning (ausus sum = "I dared"). Gaudeo, soleo and fido behave the same way.

Question 5Latin morphology and syntax

What is "fieri"?

  1. The present infinitive of fio: "to become", "to be made", "to happen" Correct answer.
  2. The perfect active infinitive of facio
  3. The gerundive of fero
  4. The present infinitive of fero

Explanation

Fio, fieri, factus sum is an irregular verb that supplies the passive of facio in the present system. Its present infinitive fieri is passive in form although fio itself has active endings. Depending on context it means "become", "be made", or "happen". The Sachsen-Anhalt Fachlehrplan lists fieri explicitly among the required Qualifikationsphase verb forms.

Question 6Latin reading and translation

Suetonius reports that after his rapid victory at Zela, Caesar wrote to Rome: "Veni, vidi, vici." What makes this phrase rhetorically effective in Latin?

  1. Three parallel perfect-tense verbs of near-identical, escalating brevity are placed asyndetically (without a conjunction), creating a rapid rhythm: "I came, I saw, I conquered." Correct answer.
  2. The verbs are all in the historical present, giving a vivid ongoing sense
  3. The phrase uses anaphora, repeating the same word three times
  4. Vici is a passive form meaning "I was conquered"

Explanation

Veni, vidi, vici are three 1st-person singular perfect indicative verbs (venio, video, vinco), placed without a connecting conjunction and in escalating brevity, producing a famously terse, forceful rhythm that mirrors the speed of Caesar's victory - a textbook example of parallelism and asyndeton.

Question 7Latin reading and translation

Cicero opens his First Catilinarian: "Quo usque tandem abutere, Catilina, patientia nostra?" What is the rhetorical effect of this opening?

  1. A direct rhetorical question addressed to Catiline in the vocative, using the indignant "quo usque tandem" ("how long, pray") to frame the whole speech as an outraged accusation Correct answer.
  2. It is a genuine information-seeking question expecting a factual answer about dates
  3. It is an indirect question dependent on an implied "dico"
  4. Abutere is a passive form meaning "you are being abused"

Explanation

This is the opening of Cicero's speech against Catiline in the Senate. Catilina is vocative (direct address), and the rhetorical question "how long, then, will you abuse our patience?" is not a genuine request for information but an indignant accusation designed to put Catiline immediately on the defensive - a hallmark of Cicero's political rhetoric that fits the Fachlehrplan's "Wort als Waffe" theme.

Question 8Latin reading and translation

Cicero exclaims elsewhere in the same speech: "O tempora, o mores!" What case are "tempora" and "mores" in, and what does the phrase mean?

  1. The accusative of exclamation: "Oh, the times! Oh, the customs!" - expressing outrage at moral and political decline Correct answer.
  2. Nominative subjects of an implied verb "sunt"
  3. Genitive plural, meaning "of the times, of the customs"
  4. Ablative of time, meaning "in these times and customs"

Explanation

O plus the accusative (accusativus exclamationis) expresses strong emotion: "Oh, what times! Oh, what customs/morals!" Cicero uses it to voice outrage at the Senate's failure to act against Catiline despite the obvious danger.

Question 9Latin reading and translation

Cicero writes in De Amicitia: "Amicitia nisi inter bonos esse non potest." Translate this and identify the construction with "nisi."

  1. "Friendship cannot exist except among the good" - nisi introduces an exceptive/conditional clause limiting under what condition friendship is possible Correct answer.
  2. "Friendship exists between good men because it must" - nisi means "because"
  3. "Friendship is not possible without evil men" - bonos is mistranslated as "evil"
  4. "Friendship, unless it exists, is among the good" - potest is the subject of the sentence

Explanation

Nisi ("unless", "except if") introduces a negative conditional restricting the main statement: "Friendship cannot exist, unless [it is] among good people" = "Friendship can only exist among the good." Inter bonos ("among the good [men]") uses bonos as a substantivized adjective, a common Latin technique for "good people."

Question 10Latin reading and translation

Vergil begins the Aeneid: "Arma virumque cano, Troiae qui primus ab oris..." What does this opening announce about the poem's subject, and what case is "virumque"?

  1. "I sing of arms and the man..." - cano governs two accusative objects, arma and virum(que), announcing both a war epic and a hero's personal journey Correct answer.
  2. Virumque is genitive, meaning "of the man"
  3. Cano is passive, meaning "I am sung"
  4. Arma is the subject of cano

Explanation

Cano ("I sing/tell of") is 1st-person singular present active, governing the accusative objects arma ("arms/warfare") and virum ("the man", i.e. Aeneas) joined by the enclitic -que ("and"). This double accusative object programmatically signals the epic's twin themes: war and a hero's wanderings.

Question 11Latin vocabulary and etymology

What does the phrase "bellum gerere" mean?

  1. To end a war
  2. To declare peace
  3. To carry weapons
  4. To wage war Correct answer.

Explanation

"Bellum gerere" is the standard idiom 'to wage/carry on war', frequent in historical narrative. Related idioms: bellum indicere ('declare war'), bellum conficere ('finish a war').

Question 12Latin vocabulary and etymology

What does "iter facere" mean in military and travel narratives?

  1. To travel or march Correct answer.
  2. To build a road
  3. To make a mistake
  4. To do business

Explanation

"Iter facere" = 'to make a journey, to march': exercitus magnum iter fecit ('the army made a long march'). It is one of the most common idioms in Roman historical prose.

Question 13Latin vocabulary and etymology

What does "poenas dare" mean?

  1. To give thanks
  2. To pay the penalty, be punished Correct answer.
  3. To make a demand
  4. To offer a reward

Explanation

"Poenas dare" (literally 'to give penalties') is the idiom for 'to pay the penalty, be punished': scelesti poenas dederunt ('the criminals were punished'). The person exacting punishment poenas repetit or sumit.

Question 14Latin vocabulary and etymology

What does "in animo habere" mean, as in "in animo habet proficisci"?

  1. To be angry
  2. To forget
  3. To intend, have in mind Correct answer.
  4. To doubt

Explanation

"In animo habere" + infinitive means 'to intend, have in mind': in animo habet proficisci = 'he intends to set out'. Animus here is the mind's purpose, not emotion.

Question 15Latin vocabulary and etymology

In a military context, what does "castra ponere" mean?

  1. To break camp
  2. To pitch camp Correct answer.
  3. To storm the camp
  4. To guard the camp

Explanation

"Castra ponere" is the standard phrase for 'to pitch camp' - what a Roman army did at the end of each day's march. The opposite, striking camp to depart, is castra movere.

Question 16Latin literature and interpretation

What is "Anapher" (anaphora) as a Latin stylistic device?

  1. The repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or lines, used for emphasis Correct answer.
  2. The placement of a verb at the very end of a sentence
  3. A figure in which word order is reversed in a mirrored (ABBA) pattern
  4. The omission of an expected conjunction between clauses

Explanation

Anaphora (from Greek, "carrying back") is the deliberate repetition of a word or phrase at the start of successive clauses, sentences, or verse lines, used to build rhythm and emphasis. Latin orators and poets use it constantly for rhetorical intensity.

Question 17Latin literature and interpretation

What is "Chiasmus" as a Latin stylistic device, and what pattern does it follow?

  1. A crossed (ABBA) arrangement of corresponding words or ideas across two parallel phrases, creating a mirror-image structure that highlights a contrast or balance Correct answer.
  2. The repetition of the same word at the start of successive clauses
  3. A rhetorical question that expects no answer
  4. The substitution of a mild expression for a harsh one

Explanation

Chiasmus (from the Greek letter chi, shaped like an X) arranges two parallel phrases so that corresponding elements appear in inverted order - schematically A-B / B-A - producing a mirror-image effect that draws attention to a contrast, balance, or connection between the two halves. It is a favorite device of Cicero and other Latin prose stylists.

Question 18Latin literature and interpretation

What is "Parallelismus" as a stylistic device, and how does it differ from chiasmus?

  1. Parallelismus arranges corresponding elements in the SAME order across two phrases (A-B / A-B), rather than chiasmus's inverted, mirrored order (A-B / B-A) Correct answer.
  2. Parallelismus and chiasmus are two names for the identical crossed word-order pattern
  3. Parallelismus refers only to parallel lines in a geometric diagram used to scan Latin verse
  4. Parallelismus means repeating an entire sentence word-for-word twice in immediate succession

Explanation

Parallelismus places grammatically and semantically corresponding elements in matching, non-inverted order across two or more phrases or clauses (A-B / A-B), reinforcing a comparison or building rhythmic balance - the structural opposite of chiasmus's crossed A-B/B-A pattern, even though both devices rely on repeated structure.

Question 19Latin literature and interpretation

The Fachlehrplan lists "Ironie" among the additional Stilmittel to be studied at Qualifikationsphase level. What defines irony as a rhetorical device?

  1. Saying the opposite of, or something markedly different from, what is literally meant, relying on tone or context for the audience to grasp the real, often critical intent Correct answer.
  2. Stating a fact directly and literally with no hidden meaning at all
  3. Using deliberately obscure, invented vocabulary unknown to the audience
  4. Repeating the same word at the end of consecutive clauses

Explanation

Irony (ironia) involves saying something that departs from, or reverses, the speaker's literal words to communicate a different, often critical or mocking, real meaning - understood through context and tone rather than the literal sense of the words. Cicero frequently uses irony in his speeches to undercut an opponent while appearing outwardly polite, and correctly identifying it requires weighing contextual evidence rather than the words alone.

Question 20Latin literature and interpretation

What distinguishes an "Allegorie" (allegory) from a simple metaphor, both of which the Fachlehrplan lists among advanced Stilmittel?

  1. An allegory is an EXTENDED, sustained system of related metaphorical images developed across a whole passage or work, where each element consistently maps onto a further meaning, rather than a single isolated figurative comparison Correct answer.
  2. An allegory is any statement that is factually false
  3. A metaphor requires an explicit "like" or "as" comparison, while allegory never uses comparison at all
  4. Allegory and metaphor are entirely unrelated terms with no conceptual overlap

Explanation

A metaphor is typically a single, local figurative substitution (e.g. calling a fierce warrior "a lion"), while an allegory extends and sustains a whole network of such correspondences across an extended passage or entire work, so that a continuous "surface" story consistently represents a deeper, parallel meaning throughout - allegory can be understood as an extended, systematic metaphor.

Question 21Roman culture, thought and reception

The Fachlehrplan names Stoa and Epikureismus as the two philosophical schools studied under "Philosophie als Lebensorientierung." What is the key ethical difference between them?

  1. Stoics taught that virtue alone is sufficient for a good life and that one should accept fate with equanimity; Epicureans taught that a life free of pain and disturbance, achieved through moderate pleasure, is the highest good Correct answer.
  2. Stoics pursued unlimited sensual pleasure; Epicureans practiced strict asceticism and denied all pleasure
  3. Both schools taught identical doctrines and differed only in geography
  4. Stoics rejected reason entirely in favor of pure emotion; Epicureans rejected emotion entirely in favor of pure reason

Explanation

Stoicism held that virtue (virtus) is the sole good and taught rational acceptance of fate, aiming at freedom from disturbing passions. Epicureanism held that pleasure, understood as the absence of pain and mental disturbance rather than indulgence, is the highest good - a frequently misunderstood distinction, since "Epicurean" today wrongly suggests hedonistic excess.

Question 22Roman culture, thought and reception

What does the Roman concept of "bellum iustum" ("just war"), named in the Fachlehrplan under Philosophie als Lebensorientierung, require for a war to be considered justified?

  1. A formally declared war with a legitimate cause (such as self-defense or breach of treaty) and proper authority, typically through the fetial priests' ritual declaration - not simply any war Rome happened to win Correct answer.
  2. Any war that ends in a Roman victory, regardless of cause
  3. Only wars fought exclusively by professional soldiers rather than citizen-levies
  4. Wars declared by a foreign power against Rome, never wars Rome itself initiates

Explanation

Bellum iustum required both a just cause (iusta causa, e.g. repelling aggression or punishing a treaty violation) and correct legal/religious procedure, historically overseen by the fetiales, a priestly college responsible for the formal rites of declaring war and peace. The concept let Romans frame their wars as defensive or righteous even when initiating conflict.

Question 23Roman culture, thought and reception

The Fachlehrplan lists "mens sana in corpore sano" under the concept of "salus." What does this phrase literally mean?

  1. "A sound mind in a sound body" Correct answer.
  2. "A healthy state without any body"
  3. "Save the mind, save the body"
  4. "Neither mind nor body is sound"

Explanation

Mens sana in corpore sano literally means "a sound mind in a sound body" - an ideal balancing intellectual and physical well-being, still used today as a proverb about holistic health, and tied to the broader Fachlehrplan concept of salus (health/well-being/safety).

Question 24Roman culture, thought and reception

The Fachlehrplan lists "Theorie zur Konsumkritik, Enthaltsamkeit und Askese" under Philosophie als Lebensorientierung. Which philosophical stance is most associated with criticizing excessive material consumption in Roman thought?

  1. Stoic-influenced writers (such as Seneca) who argued that true happiness does not depend on wealth or luxury, and that simplicity (frugalitas) frees a person from anxiety Correct answer.
  2. Roman law required all citizens to spend a fixed minimum on luxury goods each year
  3. Epicureans specifically demanded the total renunciation of all food and shelter
  4. Consumption critique is a purely modern concept with no ancient Roman parallel

Explanation

Seneca and other Stoic-influenced Roman moralists frequently criticized luxuria (excessive wealth and indulgence), arguing that dependence on external goods creates anxiety and enslaves the soul, while frugalitas (simple living) supports genuine freedom and virtue - directly matching the Fachlehrplan's named theme of Konsumkritik, Enthaltsamkeit and Askese.

Question 25Roman culture, thought and reception

The Fachlehrplan names "Hybris und Pietas" as a key concept pair describing the human-god relationship in Roman myth. What do these two terms mean?

  1. Hybris is arrogant overstepping of human limits that provokes divine punishment; pietas is dutiful respect toward the gods, family, and state that maintains the proper order Correct answer.
  2. Hybris means "sacrifice" and pietas means "punishment"
  3. Both words describe the same virtue, differing only by which Greek or Latin root is used
  4. Hybris is a Roman legal term for property inheritance; pietas describes military strategy

Explanation

Hybris describes overweening pride or transgression against the natural or divine order, typically punished by the gods. Pietas is the specifically Roman virtue of proper devotion - to gods, family, and country - embodied above all by Vergil's Aeneas ("pius Aeneas"), whose piety contrasts with the hybris of figures who defy the gods.

Question 26Latin morphology and syntax

"Morituri" is which form of morior, mori, mortuus sum?

  1. Future active participle, nominative plural masculine - "those about to die" Correct answer.
  2. Perfect participle, nominative plural masculine - "those who have died"
  3. Gerundive, nominative plural masculine - "those who must die"
  4. Present active participle, nominative plural masculine - "those dying"

Explanation

Morior forms an irregular future active participle moriturus, -a, -um ("about to die", "destined to die"), whose nominative plural masculine is morituri. The future participle expresses posteriority (Nachzeitigkeit), a form the Fachlehrplan explicitly requires.

Question 27Latin morphology and syntax

In "cupidus discendi" ("eager to learn"), what is "discendi"?

  1. The genitive of the gerund, governed by the adjective cupidus Correct answer.
  2. A gerundive in the genitive plural agreeing with an understood noun
  3. The perfect passive participle of disco
  4. The present active participle of disco in the genitive singular

Explanation

The gerund is a neuter verbal noun formed with the -nd- suffix: disco (3rd conjugation) → discendum, genitive discendi. Adjectives of desire and knowledge (cupidus, studiosus, peritus, memor) govern the genitive, so cupidus discendi = "eager for learning / eager to learn".

Question 28Latin morphology and syntax

"Liber legendus est." What does the form "legendus" contribute to the sentence?

  1. It is a gerundive; with est it forms the passive periphrastic, so the sentence means "The book must be read" Correct answer.
  2. It is a gerund; with est it means "The book is reading"
  3. It is a future active participle, so the sentence means "The book is about to read"
  4. It is a present passive participle, so the sentence means "The book is being read"

Explanation

Legendus, -a, -um is the gerundive of lego. A gerundive combined with a form of esse (coniugatio periphrastica passiva) expresses necessity or obligation in a passive sense: liber legendus est = "The book must be read / has to be read".

Question 29Latin morphology and syntax

"Locutus" (from loquor, loqui, locutus sum) is best rendered as:

  1. "having spoken" - a deponent perfect participle with active meaning Correct answer.
  2. "having been spoken" - perfect participles in -tus are always passive
  3. "speaking" - it is the present participle
  4. "about to speak" - it is the future participle

Explanation

Loquor is deponent, so its perfect participle locutus, -a, -um is passive in form but ACTIVE in meaning: "having spoken". This is one of the few ways Latin can express an active perfect participle, and it is a standard translation trap.

Question 30Latin morphology and syntax

Which statement about the forms of "corpus, corporis, n." is correct?

  1. As a 3rd-declension neuter, its nominative and accusative singular are both corpus, and its nominative and accusative plural are both corpora Correct answer.
  2. It is a 2nd-declension neuter with accusative singular corpum
  3. Its genitive singular is corpi and its nominative plural corpa
  4. Its nominative plural is corpi, following the masculine pattern

Explanation

Corpus is a 3rd-declension neuter with the stem corpor- (visible in the genitive corporis). The neuter rule applies: nominative and accusative are always identical, and the plural of both ends in -a (corpora).

Question 31Latin morphology and syntax

What are the comparative and superlative of the adjective "bonus, -a, -um"?

  1. melior, melius - optimus, -a, -um Correct answer.
  2. bonior, bonius - bonissimus, -a, -um
  3. maior, maius - maximus, -a, -um
  4. peior, peius - pessimus, -a, -um

Explanation

Bonus is one of a small group of adjectives with suppletive (irregular) comparison: bonus – melior, melius – optimus, -a, -um ("good – better – best").

Question 32Latin morphology and syntax

What are the comparative and superlative of the adverb "bene" ("well")?

  1. melius - optime Correct answer.
  2. benius - benissime
  3. melior - optimus
  4. magis bene - maxime bene

Explanation

Bene is the adverb of bonus and shares its irregular comparison. The comparative adverb is the neuter comparative of the adjective (melius), and the superlative adverb ends in -e: optime ("best", "very well").

Question 33Latin morphology and syntax

"Legatus litteras attulit." From which verb does "attulit" come, and what form is it?

  1. affero, afferre, attuli, allatum ("bring to") - 3rd person singular perfect indicative active Correct answer.
  2. aufero, auferre, abstuli, ablatum ("carry away") - 3rd person singular perfect
  3. attingo, attingere, attigi, attactum ("touch") - 3rd person singular perfect
  4. affero, afferre, attuli, allatum ("bring to") - 3rd person singular present indicative

Explanation

Affero is a compound of ad + fero, with assimilation of the prefix (ad- → af-). Because the perfect of fero is tuli, the compound perfect is ad + tuli → attuli, whose 3rd person singular is attulit: "The envoy brought a letter."

Question 34Latin morphology and syntax

"Consul in urbem rediit." What form is "rediit"?

  1. 3rd person singular perfect indicative active of redeo, redire, redii, reditum Correct answer.
  2. 3rd person singular present indicative of redeo
  3. 3rd person plural perfect indicative of redeo
  4. 3rd person singular imperfect indicative of redeo

Explanation

Redeo is a compound of red- + eo ("go"). Its perfect stem is redi-, so the 3rd person singular perfect is redi + it = rediit (two i's): "The consul returned to the city."

Question 35Latin morphology and syntax

"Nec quisquam respondit." Why is "quisquam" used here rather than "aliquis"?

  1. Quisquam ("anyone at all") is the indefinite pronoun regularly used after a negative, so nec quisquam means "and no one" Correct answer.
  2. Quisquam is the interrogative pronoun, so the sentence must be a question
  3. Quisquam is a relative pronoun introducing a relative clause
  4. Quisquam is the plural of quis and therefore requires a plural verb

Explanation

Latin distributes its indefinites by context: aliquis is used in positive statements, but after negations (non, nec, sine, vix) and in conditional or comparative clauses Latin prefers quisquam / quicquam. Nec quisquam respondit = "And no one answered."

Question 36Latin morphology and syntax

What is the genitive singular of "totus, -a, -um" ("whole, entire")?

  1. totius Correct answer.
  2. toti
  3. totae for the feminine and toti for the masculine
  4. totorum

Explanation

Totus belongs to the group of pronominal adjectives (Pronominaladjektive: unus, solus, totus, ullus, nullus, alius, alter, uter, neuter). These take -ius in the genitive singular for ALL three genders and -i in the dative singular.

Question 37Latin morphology and syntax

How is the future ACTIVE infinitive (Infinitiv der Nachzeitigkeit) formed in Latin?

  1. Future active participle + esse, e.g. amaturum esse Correct answer.
  2. Present stem + -turus, e.g. amaturus
  3. Supine + iri, e.g. amatum iri
  4. Perfect stem + -isse, e.g. amavisse

Explanation

The future active infinitive is periphrastic: the future active participle (agreeing in gender, number and case with the subject accusative in an AcI) plus esse - amaturum/amaturam/amaturos esse ("to be going to love"). This is the standard way Latin expresses posteriority in indirect statement.

Question 38Latin morphology and syntax

"Nuntius iam venerat." What tense is "venerat"?

  1. Pluperfect - "the messenger had already come" Correct answer.
  2. Perfect - "the messenger has come"
  3. Imperfect - "the messenger was coming"
  4. Future perfect - "the messenger will have come"

Explanation

Venerat is built on the perfect stem ven- plus the pluperfect marker -era- and the personal ending -t. The pluperfect expresses an action completed before another past action: "The messenger had already arrived."

Question 39Latin morphology and syntax

To which declension does "senatus" belong, and what is its genitive singular?

  1. 4th declension (u-Deklination); genitive singular senatus, with a long u Correct answer.
  2. 2nd declension; genitive singular senati
  3. 3rd declension; genitive singular senatis
  4. 5th declension; genitive singular senatei

Explanation

Senatus, -us, m. is a 4th-declension (u-Deklination) noun. Nominative and genitive singular look identical in ordinary spelling but differ in vowel quantity: senatūs (genitive, long u) versus senatūs written with a short u in the nominative. Other common members are exercitus, magistratus, manus and domus.

Question 40Latin morphology and syntax

What is the 1st person singular perfect indicative of "fio"?

  1. factus sum Correct answer.
  2. fivi
  3. feci
  4. fii

Explanation

Fio, fieri, factus sum borrows its entire perfect system from the passive of facio. So "I became / I was made" is factus sum (feminine facta sum), formed periphrastically from the perfect participle plus sum.

Question 41Latin morphology and syntax

"Scio te epistulam scripsisse." What construction is this, and what does "scripsisse" express relative to "scio"?

  1. AcI (Akkusativ mit Infinitiv): te is the accusative subject, and the perfect infinitive scripsisse marks an action prior to scio - "I know that you wrote/have written a letter." Correct answer.
  2. A relative clause in which te is the antecedent and epistulam scripsisse is a relative pronoun
  3. An ablativus absolutus formed from te and epistulam
  4. An AcI in which scripsisse is a present infinitive expressing simultaneity

Explanation

Verbs of knowing, saying and perceiving (verba sentiendi et dicendi) such as scio introduce an AcI: the subject of the indirect statement stands in the accusative (te) and its verb becomes an infinitive. Scripsisse is a perfect active infinitive marking Vorzeitigkeit, an action completed before the time of scio: "I know that you wrote/have written a letter."

Question 42Latin morphology and syntax

"Caesar dixit se copias ducturum esse." If the sentence instead used "eum copias ducturum esse", how would the reference change?

  1. Se refers back to the subject of dixit (Caesar himself); eum would instead refer to some other male person already mentioned in context Correct answer.
  2. Se and eum are interchangeable stylistic variants with no difference in reference
  3. Se marks a passive infinitive, while eum marks an active infinitive
  4. Se is required only in questions, eum only in statements

Explanation

Inside an AcI dependent on a verb of saying, the indirect reflexive pronoun se refers back to the subject of the governing verb - here Caesar. A non-reflexive pronoun such as eum instead points to some third party different from the speaker of dixit. This se/eum distinction, which English "he" does not mark, is a classic source of translation errors.

Question 43Latin morphology and syntax

"Urbe capta, milites praedam quaerebant." What does "urbe capta" express?

  1. A participial ablative absolute expressing a circumstance prior to the main clause: "After/when the city had been captured..." Correct answer.
  2. A dative of possession showing that the city belonged to the soldiers
  3. An accusative of respect limiting quaerebant
  4. A genitive of description modifying milites

Explanation

Urbe capta is a noun (urbe) plus a perfect passive participle (capta), both in the ablative, forming a satzwertige Konstruktion detached from the main clause's own grammar - the ablativus absolutus. Because capta is a perfect participle, it marks Vorzeitigkeit: "With the city having been captured / after the city had been captured, the soldiers looked for plunder."

Question 44Latin morphology and syntax

"Cicerone consule, coniuratio Catilinae detecta est." What kind of ablative absolute is "Cicerone consule"?

  1. A nominal ablative absolute: two nouns (here noun + noun in apposition) in the ablative with no participle, because Latin has no present participle of esse Correct answer.
  2. An ordinary ablative absolute using the present participle of esse
  3. An ablative of price
  4. An ablative of comparison

Explanation

Latin lacks a present participle for esse ("being"), so when the copula's sense is needed in an ablative absolute, Latin simply juxtaposes two ablative nouns (or a noun and adjective), leaving "being" understood: Cicerone consule = "with Cicero (being) consul", i.e. "in the consulship of Cicero." This nominal type is explicitly listed in the Fachlehrplan as an autorenspezifische syntax phenomenon.

Question 45Latin morphology and syntax

"Cum Caesar in Galliam venisset, bellum gerere coepit." What does the cum-clause express here, and why is the verb subjunctive?

  1. Cum historicum/causale: narrative "when/since" - the pluperfect subjunctive venisset marks a circumstance leading into the main action, the standard pattern after a historical narrative cum Correct answer.
  2. Cum temporale with the indicative, simply meaning "whenever"
  3. Cum concessivum meaning "although", requiring the indicative
  4. A causal clause introduced by quod, requiring the indicative

Explanation

Cum with the subjunctive introducing narrative background is called cum historicum (or narrativum/causale): it frames the circumstances under which the main action occurs - "when/since Caesar had come into Gaul, he began to wage war." The pluperfect subjunctive venisset shows the action is prior (Vorzeitigkeit) to coepit.

Question 46Latin morphology and syntax

"Milites pugnant ut patriam servent." What kind of clause is "ut patriam servent"?

  1. A final (purpose) clause: "so that / in order that they may save the fatherland" Correct answer.
  2. A consecutive (result) clause
  3. An indirect question
  4. A relative clause

Explanation

Ut plus the present subjunctive after a main verb expressing an action undertaken with a goal introduces a final clause (Finalsatz): "The soldiers fight in order to save their homeland." Negation would be ut ne / ne rather than ut...non, which is one way to tell final clauses apart from consecutive ones.

Question 47Latin morphology and syntax

"Tanta erat multitudo hostium ut Romani fugerent." Identify the clause type and the signal that reveals it.

  1. A consecutive (result) clause: the correlative tanta ("so great") in the main clause signals that ut fugerent states the actual result, not a purpose Correct answer.
  2. A final (purpose) clause, because ut + subjunctive always marks purpose
  3. A causal clause meaning "because"
  4. A concessive clause meaning "although"

Explanation

Correlative words like tantus, tam, ita, sic in the main clause regularly announce a following consecutive clause: "The multitude of the enemy was so great that the Romans fled." Ut alone is ambiguous between final and consecutive; the correlative plus the sense of an actual outcome (rather than an intended goal) resolve it here as consecutive.

Question 48Latin morphology and syntax

"Rogo quid facias." Why is "facias" present subjunctive rather than imperfect subjunctive?

  1. Consecutio temporum: rogo is a primary-sequence (present-tense) main verb, so the dependent subjunctive must also be primary (present, expressing simultaneity) - "I ask what you are doing." Correct answer.
  2. Facias is present subjunctive because indirect questions never use past tenses
  3. Facias must agree in case with quid
  4. The subjunctive here signals a wish, unrelated to sequence of tenses

Explanation

Consecutio temporum links the tense of a subordinate subjunctive to whether the governing verb is primary (present/future/present perfect with present force) or historic (past). Rogo is present (primary), so the simultaneous action in the indirect question takes the present subjunctive: facias, "what you are doing."

Question 49Latin morphology and syntax

"Rogavi quid fecisset." Explain the tense of "fecisset" relative to "rogavi."

  1. Historic sequence (rogavi is past): since the questioned action happened BEFORE the asking, Latin uses the pluperfect subjunctive fecisset to mark anteriority - "I asked what he had done." Correct answer.
  2. Fecisset is imperfect subjunctive, marking an action simultaneous with rogavi
  3. Fecisset is present subjunctive with an irregular -isset spelling
  4. The tense of fecisset is free variation with no fixed rule

Explanation

After a historic-sequence main verb, a subordinate subjunctive that is prior in time to the main verb must be pluperfect subjunctive rather than imperfect, which would mark mere simultaneity. Fecisset ("he had done") shows the questioned action was completed before the asking, matching the classic four-part consecutio grid: historic sequence splits into imperfect subjunctive (simultaneous) and pluperfect subjunctive (prior).

Question 50Latin morphology and syntax

"Nescio cur Marcus abierit." Identify the construction and translate it.

  1. An indirect question introduced by cur, with the perfect subjunctive abierit expressing an action prior to nescio in primary sequence: "I don't know why Marcus has left/left." Correct answer.
  2. A direct question, since cur always introduces a question that stands independently
  3. A relative clause meaning "the reason Marcus left" with qui omitted
  4. A result clause meaning "so that Marcus left"

Explanation

A dependent clause introduced by an interrogative word (cur, quis, ubi, num, utrum...an) after a verb of asking, knowing or doubting is an indirect question and regularly takes the subjunctive in classical Latin, unlike English, which keeps the indicative. Nescio is primary sequence, so the prior action is expressed with the perfect subjunctive abierit.