#latin grammar

[a-normal-swan]

[cisthoughtcrime]

I’m interested in learning Latin, where would you suggest I start?

So exciting! I'll try to keep this short:

I recommend starting with this very short informal intro, especially if you don't have a strong grasp on technical terms about grammar (most textbooks take that for granted). Latin grammar follows a rigid organisational system and the earlier you understand how it works, the easier it will be to learn the rest of the language. The 18-page PDF in the link uses English examples and practice questions to go through basic Latin grammar concepts and tables. It doesn't go through less basic things like participles or conditional clauses, but it does explain everything you need to know in order to learn those more easily. It also includes a hyperlinked list of good online resources for self-taught Latin and Greek students.

If you want to work through a textbook, Wheelock's Latin is probably the most widely used and comes with a lot of accompanying resources and guides (even though the official website looks older than Rome). Ecce Romani may be a bit more approachable and there are plenty of unofficial online lessons and guides made to go along with it. Those are my top two personally; I know some people like Latin Via Ovid because the practice texts are adapted from an actual ancient text about different myths, but imho I don't think it's as good a starting point if you're teaching yourself from scratch. Keep in mind that they'll all follow different formats for conjugation/declension tables, which can make it a bit confusing to switch between them; the short intro in that first link is a good way to understand how these charts work well enough to use them no matter the format.

There are tons of free resources online, even including full recordings of lessons, live study groups to join, communities with forum posting, and written-out explanations. For any individual concept that's troubling you, there are almost definitely multiple youtube videos of someone in front of a whiteboard saying it differently from the textbooks. Again, there's a good list included in that first document.

For practice in reading and understanding without deliberately translating, it's fun to try reading Latin translations of books you already know well in English, like Harrius Potter, Hobbitus Ille, Winnie Ille Pu, Alicia In Terra Mirabili, and many, many more, most of which are free on Archive and/or can be bought as physical copies.

However, this will be much more rewarding once you've built up some vocabulary and grammar, and might be frustrating or discouraging if you try the long ones too early, especially since they sometimes use words irregularly to convey modern meanings.

There are also a handful of recently-written stories in Latin targeted at students who like this kind of practice more. The German Netflix series Barbarians has all the Roman characters speaking in real Latin, and listening to it with subtitles can help build your ear for what sounds right.

Those are my recs for where to start! If you're stuck on something and can't find a good explanation, you can also send me an ask about it and I'm always happy to lay out how I think about it (even if my response times are irregular).

Good luck and enjoy!

[interretialia]

Ave amic[a/e] (i was going to do the whole ask in Latin, but my Latin isn't nearly good enough for that)

question: whenever you type out laughter, you inflect it (hahahae rather than hahaha)--why is that? is it bc there are multiple 'ha'-s or is there something more grammatical going on? grātiam habēo!

PS Bonus question: do you know what the flat bars above vowels (e.g. ā, ē etc.) mean? i never learned abt those in high school i don't think

Salve et tu.

Vir sum, itaque tibi vocare me “amice” licet.

Hahahae is an interjection and it appears in Plautine comedy as an onomatopoeia for laughing. Since it is an interjection, it is indeclinable, which means one does not inflect it. It turns out that quite a few interjections in Latin end in -ae: e.g., papae, “wow!”

The flat bar above a vowel in certain Latin texts is a macron, and it is used to indicate that the vowel in question is long. Vowel length very often indicates differences in meaning, so while you are learning new words, you should pay attention to the placement of macrons if they are used at all: e.g., nominative and vocative singular puella versus ablative singular puellā.

Utinam hoc tibi prosit! I hope this is helpful!

[21st-century-minutiae]

In Latin, the vocative case is used when directly addressing a person of thing. Unlike what is perceived to be the case in English, in Latin, names were subject to the same grammatical rules as any other noun. So, names would be transformed based on the part of speech they were used for.

The name "Brutus" (from Marcus Julius Brutus, famed compatriot and later assassin of Julius Caesar), in the vocative case, would be rendered as "Brute." This would be pronounced like "Broo-Teh" unlike the English word "Brute," which is pronounced like "Broot."

By making a reference to the assassination of Julius Casar, the word Brute, the model, of the garbage container, is rendered to be instead the name Brutus. This is a joke.

In honor of the Ides of March approaching, here’s the trash can I wrote on 2 years ago and only touch up in March

[yourlocalstilinski-valdez]

Had this sent to me by @shadows-flames-and-ink on Pinterest

PSA: I am not a biscuit

[teenaged-athena]

if one more person tries to explain closed/remote conditions to me i shall scream

[solarg0blin]

Ego, Miettam leviter pedis latere tangens: Mietta, movere, ne in te incurram

Mietta, oculis magnis: tu Miettae calcem IMPINGIS? illius corpori sicut folli calcem impingis?! eheu! eheu! In carcerem Mater conjiciatur! In carcerem in Mille Annos conjiciatur!!!!

Millions of thanks to @alda-rana for a much, much better translation

[cynicalclassicist]

Latin Grammar was constructed that way? Huh. Isn't history fun!

Latin grammar is a social construct. The Romans honestly just made that shit up as they went along.

[latinare]

Here's the long-promised Latin resources masterpost! Resource recs are always appreciated and I'll try to update this post from time to time. :)

Study and fluency tips, plus my review of a few different Latin textbooks here

Free online resources here

Suggestions for if you've studied Latin in the past and want to brush up/re-learn here

Tips for expanding vocabulary here

Links for Latin literature and suggestions on which works to start with here

Salvete!

[panthermouthh]

He has a wife, you know.

[an-ruraiocht]

it's annoying when people say "english-speakers" when they actually just mean "USamericans". did you know not every english speaker experienced an education system resembling the us school system(s)? did you know not every english speaker's exposure to literature (modern and ancient) was shaped by the titles that happen to be common on US school syllabi? hell given that the US education system isn't, like, nationally standardised, i'm fairly sure this is the case even within the US, but it's certainly true outside it. "we all read X in high school" "English speakers are exposed to Y and not Z" your experiences are not universal

[grecoromanyaoi]

its fascinating tho how ppl accuse me of jacking off to stuff i post abt only if that makes me seem problematic. i was told i jack off to incest, rape, war, occupation, genocide, slavery. yet i post abt autism all the n never once has anyone accused me of jacking off to autism. just like no one ever accused me of jacking off to classical latin grammar, ALTHOUGH-

[interretialia]

Hi! Short question if you're up for it: I'm currently translating the sentence "For 3 years of friendship and hopefully a lot more" into Latin for a gift anf was wondering whether there's do different forms of "a lot more" implying either "a lot more (than friendship)" or "a lot more (than 3 years)" in Latin so I use the right one! Thank you so much, should you have an answer!

Salve,

Sure, I would be happy to answer this.

It is the case that the two interpretations would require different expressions in Latin for the English phrase that you are translating.

“a lot more” implying “a lot more (than friendship)” requires you to say: Tres annos amicitiae et, ut spero, multo maioris rei (quam amicitiae). The comparison is a qualitative one, hence the use of the word maioris (and not pluris) along with a noun of general applicability. The operative word of the comparison is the “(of) friendship,” so it is in the genitive (i.e., explanatory genitive), and the maioris rei, amicitiae (after quam), take the same case.

“a lot more” implying “a lot more (than 3 years)” requires you to say: Tres annos amicitiae et, ut spero, multo plures (quam tres annos). The comparison relates to numbers of years, hence the use of the masculine adjective plures. The operative words of the comparison are the “(For) three years,” so it is in the accusative (i.e., accusative of duration of time), and the plures, annos (after quam), take the same case.

Utinam hoc tibi prosit! I hope this is helpful!

Vale.

[quibbs126]

I need to figure out how to draw Transformers at this point

I have this comic idea in my brain, where basically a post TF One Optimus sees Earthspark Optimus and Megatron, and he just goes internally “THE WEDDING IS BACK ON”, thinking that this means he and D will get back together (only to be disappointed when he meets the other Optimuses (Optimi I think is actually the correct term by Latin standards?) and realizes that this is the exception)

But alas, I do not yet know how to draw them, and I have a test and then work today, and also a thing I was supposed to do for a video game project I’m in that I haven’t, so I can’t draw my image yet

Which sucks because it’s infinitely less funny when I have to describe the scene verbally rather than just show it to you

If I do end up making it, I’ll delete this and post it instead

[theyuniversity]

🎓 Latin is Hard, Okay?

You graduate and think you’re done with confusing terms.

Then someone asks:

“Are you an alumnus or an alumni?”

Cue the internal panic. 🫨😱

💡 Alumnus = one male grad 💡 Alumna = one female grad 💡 Alumni = group of grads (all male or mixed) 💡 Alumnae = group of women grads

But honestly? Just say alum.

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[legallydistinctloolooland]

Pipedream, but everyone’s sharing their ideal confession scene & this is mine:

Husk, a polyglot: *confesses his feelings in Italian, knowing that it’s a language Angel was surrounded by in life & wanting some kind of private intimacy in a place in which the two of them are constantly surveilled*

Angel, being some second/third generation sonofabitch who’s extent of Italian encompasses 30 vocab words & a butchering of the grammar: Uh. Hm. Ee-yo non...parlano.........Eat-Talia-No?

Or

Angel, etc etc etc: What the fuck did you just call me?