MATSEC IM Latin key terms

A Latin participial phrase made up of a noun or pronoun plus a participle, both in the ablative case, standing apart from the main clause and expressing circumstances such as time, cause or condition.

The Latin case used chiefly for separation, means, instrument, manner, agent with a passive verb, and comparison. It also supplies the noun in absolute constructions and follows many prepositions.

The case marking the direct object of a verb and the object of prepositions expressing motion towards or duration. It also serves as subject of the infinitive in indirect statement.

The verbal form in which the subject performs the action, as in the sentence 'the farmer ploughs the field'. It contrasts with the passive, where the subject receives the action.

The rule that a Latin adjective matches its noun in case, number and gender, though not necessarily in declension. This matching is the main clue to which noun an adjective modifies.

One of the four regular families of Latin verbs, distinguished by the ending of the present infinitive (for example -are, -ere, -ere, -ire). Each family follows its own set of personal endings.

The case of the indirect object, expressing the person to or for whom something is done. It also appears with certain verbs of helping, pleasing, obeying and with impersonal expressions.

A verb with passive-looking forms but active meaning, such as 'loqui' (to speak) or 'sequi' (to follow). Its participles, however, usually keep a passive sense in the perfect.

The grammatical category, masculine, feminine or neuter, to which every Latin noun belongs. Gender controls the form of agreeing adjectives and pronouns and is shown in dictionary entries.

A verbal noun formed from the neuter singular of the future passive participle, declining in the oblique cases only. It expresses ideas such as 'the act of doing' or 'for the purpose of doing'.

A verbal adjective in -ndus, -nda, -ndum agreeing with a noun and expressing obligation or fitness, as in 'delenda est Carthago'. With a form of 'esse' it creates a passive periphrastic construction.

A past tense describing continuing, repeated or attempted action, formed from the present stem plus -ba- and personal endings. It is often translated 'was doing' or 'used to do'.

A verb used only in the third person singular with no stated subject, such as 'licet' (it is allowed) or 'oportet' (it is necessary). It commonly takes a dative or an infinitive.

A reported clause introduced by a verb of saying, thinking or perceiving, with its subject in the accusative and its verb in the infinitive. Latin keeps the tense of the original statement.

The non-finite verb form ending in -re or -isse in Latin, naming the action without a subject or person. It is central to indirect statement, complementary infinitives and prohibition.

One of the five regular patterns according to which Latin nouns change ending for case and number. Membership is shown by the genitive singular in a dictionary entry.

A verbal adjective sharing features of both verb and adjective. Latin has present active, perfect passive, future active and future passive participles, used in phrases and in the ablative absolute.

The verbal form in which the subject receives the action, as in 'the field is ploughed by the farmer'. The agent is expressed by 'a' or 'ab' with the ablative.

The past tense expressing a completed action, formed from the perfect stem with its own endings. It is usually translated by the English simple past, as in 'I did' or 'I have done'.

The suffixes attached to a verb stem to show person and number, such as -o, -s, -t, -mus, -tis, -nt in the active. Passive endings differ, for example -or, -ris, -tur.

An indeclinable word governing a noun in a fixed case, usually the accusative or ablative. Its case must be learned with the word, since meaning can change with the case.

The four forms of a Latin verb listed in dictionaries: present indicative, present infinitive, perfect indicative and perfect passive participle. They reveal the conjugation and the stems for all tenses.

A subordinate clause expressing the aim of an action, introduced by 'ut' or 'ne' with the present or imperfect subjunctive. It answers the question 'in order that' or 'so that'.

A subordinate clause showing a consequence, introduced by 'ut' or 'ut non' and normally signalled in the main clause by words such as 'tam', 'ita' or 'tantus'. Its verb stands in the subjunctive.

The verb mood expressing possibility, wish, command, purpose or hypothetical situation rather than plain fact. It appears in main clauses and in many types of subordinate clause in Latin prose.

A defective verbal noun with only two forms, an accusative in -um used after verbs of motion to express purpose and an ablative in -u used with certain adjectives.

The metre of epic poetry such as Virgil's Aeneid, built of six feet, each a dactyl (long-short-short) or spondee (long-long), with the fifth foot almost always a dactyl.

A two-line stanza used in elegy and love poetry, pairing a dactylic hexameter with a pentameter. Ovid and Catullus use it; its second line has a fixed central caesura.

The analysis of verse into its metrical feet by marking long and short syllables. It requires attention to vowel quantity, elision and the position of word accent within the line.

The dropping of a final vowel or of a final vowel plus -m before a word beginning with a vowel or h. It affects syllable count and must be observed when scanning verse.

An extended comparison in epic poetry, often drawn from nature or daily life, developed over several lines and linked back to the narrative. Homer and Virgil use it to widen the poem's scope.

Virgil's twelve-book epic in dactylic hexameter recounting Aeneas' journey from Troy to Italy and the founding of the Roman line. It was composed under Augustus and left unfinished at the poet's death.

A narrative technique meaning 'into the middle of things', beginning a story partway through its action and supplying earlier events later in flashback. Virgil opens the Aeneid in this way.

A question posed for effect rather than for an answer, used in speeches and poetry to persuade or to express emotion. Latin orators such as Cicero exploit it heavily in their published speeches.

A sentence whose main clause is withheld until the end, with subordinate material suspended before it. This structure is characteristic of Cicero's prose style and is analysed in reading passages.

A figure in which the order of words or ideas in one phrase is reversed in the next, producing an ABBA pattern. It is common in Latin poetry and in polished prose.