NCEA Level 3 Latin cheat sheet

Latin Language and Literature - NCEA Level 3 Reference

• Case functions to check first: nominative (subject, complement), accusative (direct object, motion towards, duration/extent), genitive (possession, partitive, objective, value), dative (indirect object, advantage/disadvantage, agent with gerundive), ablative (means, manner, accompaniment, separation, comparison, absolute, place where), vocative (address).

• Ablative absolute = noun/pronoun + participle or adjective, both in the ablative, grammatically detached from the main clause; translate with 'with/after/when/since/because' plus a finite verb. Perfect passive participle = 'having been X' or 'after X-ing'.

• Indirect statement (oratio obliqua) takes accusative + infinitive after verbs of saying, thinking, knowing, perceiving; tense of the infinitive is relative to the main verb: present = same time, perfect = earlier, future = later.

• Purpose clauses use ut/ne + present or imperfect subjunctive (sequence of tenses: primary main verb takes present, historic takes imperfect); negative purpose can also be ne, quo minus, or quominus. Result clauses use ut/ut non + subjunctive and are often signalled by tam, ita, sic, tantus, tot in the main clause.

• Indirect questions use interrogative word + subjunctive, with the same sequence-of-tense rules as purpose/result clauses. Fear clauses use ne + subjunctive ('that'), ne non or ut + subjunctive ('that not').

• Conditional sentences: future more vivid = future/present indicative in both clauses; future less vivid = present subjunctive; present contrary to fact = imperfect subjunctive both sides; past contrary to fact = pluperfect subjunctive both sides.

• Gerundive (future passive participle) expresses obligation with esse (passive periphrastic: 'must be Xed') or purpose with ad/causa; gerund is the verbal noun in oblique cases only. Supine in -um follows verbs of motion, in -u follows adjectives.

• Deponent verbs are passive in form but active in meaning (e.g. sequi, loqui, proficisci, conari); semi-deponents (audeo, gaudeo, soleo, fido) are active in present system and passive in perfect system.

• Scansion: a syllable is long by nature (long vowel/diphthong) or by position (vowel followed by two consonants or x/z); dactylic hexameter = six feet of dactyl (– u u) or spondee (– –), fifth foot almost always dactylic, sixth spondee; final -a/-o/-e/-um/-ur can be elided before a vowel or h.