LC Latin flashcards

33 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Ablative absolute

A noun or pronoun plus a participle (or noun plus noun) in the ablative, grammatically independent of the main clause. Translate as a subordinate clause: 'his dictis' = 'after these things were said'.

Indirect statement

Accusative subject plus infinitive after verbs of saying, thinking, or perceiving: 'dicit Caesarem venisse' = 'he says Caesar came'. The subject is accusative and the verb is infinitive, never a finite verb with 'that'.

Indirect question

A question reported with a subjunctive verb, often introduced by 'quid', 'cur', 'ubi', or 'num': 'rogat quid faciat' = 'he asks what he is doing'. Do not translate the subjunctive as a plain indicative.

Purpose clause

'ut' or 'ne' plus subjunctive expressing an aim: 'venit ut videat' = 'he comes to see'. Negative purpose uses 'ne'. If the main clause has 'tam' or 'ita', check for a result clause instead.

Result clause

'ut' plus subjunctive after a main clause containing 'tam', 'tantus', 'ita', 'adeo', or 'sic': 'tam fortis erat ut omnes mirarentur' = 'he was so brave that everyone wondered'. Translate 'so...that'.

Historical infinitive

A present infinitive used as the narrative verb in prose, standing for an imperfect: 'milites pugnare' = 'the soldiers fought'. Common in Sallust and Livy for vivid, rapid narrative.

Dactylic hexameter

Six-foot line of dactyls (- ◡ ◡) and spondees (- -). The fifth foot is nearly always a dactyl; a spondaic fifth foot is a rare, marked effect used for weight.

Elegiac couplet

A hexameter followed by a pentameter. The pentameter is - ◡ ◡ | - ◡ ◡ | - ‖ - ◡ ◡ | - ◡ ◡ | -, with two halves each ending in one long syllable. Used by Ovid, Propertius, Tibullus.

Elision

Suppression of a final vowel or vowel plus m before a following vowel or h, so the syllable is not counted in scansion: 'monstrum horrendum' scans as 'monstr' horrendum'. Mark it when scanning.

Caesura

A word break inside a metrical foot, most importantly in the third foot of the hexameter. A strong caesura shapes the line's rhythm and often sets off an emphatic word or clause.

Hyperbaton

Interlocked or displaced word order, such as adjective–noun–verb–adjective. It creates suspense or emphasis; restore natural English order first, then decide whether to preserve any delay.

Enjambment

Running a clause or phrase past the end of the line so that the sense completes in the next line. The postponed word is usually emphatic, and the effect should be preserved where English allows.

Vowel quantity by position

A vowel followed by two consonants, or by x or z, scans long by position. Exception: before a mute (b, c, d, g, p, t) plus liquid (l, r), the vowel may be short.

Spondaic fifth foot

A spondee replacing the usual dactyl in the fifth foot of a hexameter. Rare and deliberate, it slows the line and often marks solemnity, grief, or a heavy subject.

Narrator versus speaker

In a set prose text, distinguish the narrator's own comments from words spoken by characters. Questions about the author's stance require attributing the view to the narrator, not to a speaker.

Connectives as argument markers

'Itaque' and 'igitur' mark consequence, 'tamen' and 'autem' contrast, 'enim' and 'quod' explanation or cause. Marking them in the margin exposes the structure of a prose passage quickly.

Rhetorical figures in prose

Name and explain figures: tricolon (three-part phrase), anaphora (repeated opening), chiasmus (ABBA order), asyndeton (no conjunctions), polysyndeton (many conjunctions), praeteritio (saying one passes over something).

Plot tenses in narrative

Imperfect sets the scene or describes ongoing action, perfect advances the plot, pluperfect supplies earlier background. Matching them in translation earns credit for nuance that a flat past tense loses.

Direct versus indirect speech

Direct speech uses 'inquit' or 'dixit' with quoted indicative words. Indirect speech uses accusative plus infinitive for statements and subjunctive for questions and commands.

Simile tenor and vehicle

The tenor is what is being described, the vehicle is the image used, and the point of comparison is the single quality they share. Explaining the shared quality, not every detail, is what earns marks.

Ekphrasis

An extended descriptive passage, often of a work of art such as a shield or temple. In set verse it usually mirrors or foreshadows the main narrative's themes.

Servitium amoris

The elegiac motif of the lover as slave to his beloved, alongside militia amoris (love as warfare) and the exclusus amator (locked-out lover). Note where the poet inverts or ironises these tropes.

Pietas versus furor

The organising opposition in Virgil's Aeneid: dutiful respect for gods, family, and mission against destructive rage. Track which characters embody each and where the boundary blurs, as with Turnus and Dido.

Metrical effect

Spondaic lines convey weight or slowness, dactylic runs speed, elision smoothness, and hiatus or a strong caesura emphasis. Cite the specific foot or word affected, not just the device's name.

Relative clause with subjunctive

A relative clause in the subjunctive may be causal, concessive, or characteristic: 'qui hoc diceret' can mean 'since he said this' or 'the sort of man to say this'. Context decides.

Thesis with criterion

A contestable claim plus the standard by which it is judged, e.g. 'Virgil presents pietas as costly rather than triumphant'. A thesis without a criterion invites plot summary instead of argument.

Counter-consideration

The strongest opposing evidence, stated explicitly and then answered. In 'to what extent' essays it demonstrates command of the text and prevents a one-sided, unsupported reading.

Technique to meaning link

Each body paragraph should connect a named technique (simile, ring composition, apostrophe, word position) to an interpretative claim. Paragraphs that only retell plot earn little credit.

Critical vocabulary

Terms such as characterisation, focalisation, intertextuality, ring composition, and pathetic fallacy. Define each through the specific passage rather than abstractly, so the term does analytical work.

Finding the declension

Use the genitive singular: -ae first, -i second, -is third, -us fourth, -ei fifth. The genitive also gives the stem for most oblique cases, so learn nouns with both forms.

Deponent verbs

Passive in form but active in meaning: 'loquitur' = 'he speaks', 'conatus est' = 'he tried'. Semi-deponents such as 'audeo, audere, ausus sum' are active in the present system and passive in the perfect.

Gerund versus gerundive

The gerund is an active verbal noun in the neuter singular ('ars scribendi' = 'the art of writing'). The gerundive is a passive adjective of obligation: 'delenda est Carthago' = 'Carthage must be destroyed'.

Uses of the ablative

Distinguish means, agent (with a/ab), manner (with cum), comparison (no preposition), separation, time, place where (with in), and absolute. The preposition's presence or absence is decisive.