Learn Latin with Virgil Lesson 3 by Anthony Gibbins

nat swim / is swimming

navigat sail / is sailing balaena whale

ecce balaena

Here is a whale.

balaena nat.

The whale swims.

ecce nauta.

Here is a sailor.

nauta navigat.

The sailor is sailing.

unde? from where whence?

ab from ā from

unde balaena nat?

From where did the whale swim?

The whale is

swimming from Italy.

From where does the sailor sail?

The sailor is sailing from Troy.

ab If the word following it begins with a vowel

ā If the word following it begins with a consonant.

quo? to where? ad to / toward

To where is the whale swimming?

The whale is swimming

towards Asia.

Where is the sailor sailing?

The sailor is sailing to Libya.

The whale is swimming from

Italy to Asia.

The sailor is sailing from Troy

to Libya.

Rome is in Europe. The poet is sailing

to Rome. The poet is in Rome.

The poet is sailing from Rome.

What is responsible for the different

endings?

In this case, it is because of the prepositions: Rome, towards Rome,

from Rome.

‘pre’ ‘position’ before (the word)

fabula story

Story This is Aeneas. Aeneas is a sailor.

Aeneas sails. From where does Aeneas sail? Aeneas sails from Troy. Where is Troy? Troy is in Asia. To where does

Aeneas sail? Aeneas sails to Libya. Who is in Libya? Dido is in Libya. Who is Dido?

Dido is the queen.

spectat watching / looking at

The sailor is watching

the whale.

balaenam (whale) object of: accusative case

The whale watches the

sailor. nautam sailor (accusative)

Accusative case shows which word is the object of the verb. In this case, the ending ‘am’ is

used on the noun.

The sentences all mean the same thing. The change in order does not affect the

meaning of the sentence (though is does affect the emphasis). The whale or

sailor is the object being watched because of the case of the word.

portat carrying

The sailor is carrying the whale.

The whale is carrying the sailor.

Iuno et Aeolus

Juno and Aeolus

Aeneas from Asia carries Troy from

Italy. terra vitam

portat. The earth

carries life.

Learning Latin with Virgil Lesson 4 by Anthony Gibbins

First declension nouns are usually feminine. Exeptions are words that describe jobs that

were usually held or performed by men, such as poet, sailor and

farmer.

puella girl

mensa table cena dinner arena stage casa house

aranea spider via road

agricola farmer arca box

pecunia money

Accusative case is also used after certain prepositions,

i.e.: towards the poet (ad poetam)

nominative case: a word in its natural form

aula palace fabula story

is, swim, sails, watches, carries

enters, tells, walks, praises, lives, loves

intrat enters

Who enters the house?

The girl enters the house.

narrat tells / narrates /v/

/w/

‘v’ always sounds like ‘w’

Who tells the story?

The poet tells the story.

ambulat walks

Who walks?

The sailor walks.

Where does the sailor walk to?

The sailor walks to the arena.

finis

end

Who walks? The goddess

walks.

Who is this goddess?

This goddess is Diana.

laudat praises / honors

The girl honors the goddess.

The girl honors Diana.

habitat lives in / dwells in

Where does the farmer live?

The farmer lives in a house.

Where does the queen live?

The queen lives in a palace.

-ne? Added to the first word in a sentence to make it a question.

Where does the queen live? Who lives in the palace?

Does the queen live in the palace?

All can be answered by:

The queen lives in the palace.

amat loves

ecce pictura.

Look at the picture.

Does Dido love the sailor?

Dido loves the sailor.

Does Aeneas love the queen?

Aeneas love the queen.

salvete!

be well / be healthy (when greeting more than 1

person)

Aeneas and Dido love each other.

Story: Claudia is a girl. The girl lives in Rome. The girl walks towards the arena. The girl enters the arena. The poet enters the arena. Who is the poet? The poet is Virgil. Virgil tells a story. Did Claudia love the story? Claudia loved the story. Claudia honors the poet.

salve! be well / be healthy

vale! be strong / farewell

valete! be strong / farewell (more than 1 person)

dea in terra habitat.

The goddess dwells in the earth.

In accusative case, FD nouns have a nasal /m/ sound. Accusative case is used when the noun is the object of the verb,

i.e.: the sailor is watching the queen. (nauta reginam spectat.)

Any preposition that doesn’t take the accusative case takes the ablative case, such as ‘away from the poet’ (a poeta).

In the first declension, the ablative is created by extending the a sound

(aaaaa).