Latin Lesson #242: PLURALS

We'll be starting a big new adventure today: the plural forms of nouns and of verbs. So far, all the nouns and verbs you have seen (with just a few exceptions) have been singular nouns and singular verbs. Now we will start working on plurals, beginning with plural nouns. No surprise: we'll start with the nominative plural form of feminine nouns of the 1st declension, which are the nouns we used to begin the whole course.

So, the nominative form of 1st-declension nouns ends in -a, like this: sagitta, "arrow."

And here is the plural form: it ends in -ae, so from sagitta you get sagittae, "arrows."

You might find that a bit surprising, because you already know that -ae is the genitive ending of the 1st-declension, sagittae, "of the arrow," and also the dative ending, sagittae, "to the arrow." Just as you had to figure out whether sagittae was genitive or dative, now you will also have to ask yourself if might not be nominative plural instead!

We have ambiguities like this in English too, including ambiguous genitive and plural: if I say "the arrow's tip," that is the genitive in English ("arrow's" = "of the arrow"), while "the arrows" is plural. Of course, in writing we have a little clue in English, with the use of the apostrophe, but that clue is only available in writing. When we speak, "the arrow's" and "the arrows" sound just the same, but you rarely get confused about that in English because the context helps you to know the meaning. 

Latin is the same: the context will help you recognize the meaning!

But first, to get started here is the slideshow (with cats) of the words you have seen before:

And here are today's proverbs:

1. Midae divitiae.
The-riches of-Midas.
Midae di-VI-tiae.

This little saying is a great way to get started, because Midae is a genitive singular noun of the 1st declension, and divitiae is nominative plural!
The word Midae is the genitive form of Midas, which is a Greek name that belongs to the 1st declension in Latin, even though Midas is a masculine name. 

The word divitiae only appears in the plural: "riches, wealth." It does not have a singular form.

Midas was a king, famous for his "golden touch" which meant that everything he touched turned to gold. Midas asked the gods to give him a "golden touch" so that whatever he touched turned to gold. Midas thought this would be a great blessing, but it turned out to be a curse. For example, when he touched his food or his drink, they turned to gold and he could not each or drink. Finally Midas had to beg the gods to release him from this curse... so the riches of Midas are something that you would never want to have! You can read more about Midas at Wikipedia.


2. Sagittae potentis acutae.
The-arrows of-a-powerful-(man are) sharp.
sa-GIT-tae po-TEN-tis a-CU-tae.

The word sagittae is the plural form of sagitta, "arrow," as in the Zodiac sign of the archer, Sagittarius.

The word potentis is the genitive form of the adjective potens, which is being used here as a noun: "of a powerful (man)."

The words come from the Biblical Book of Psalms. 

Compare a similar saying about the power of law that you have seen before: Legis manus longa, "The hand of the law is long."


3. Fictae crocodili lacrimulae.
The-little-tears of-the-crocodile (are) false.
fictae croco-DI-li la-CRI-mulae.

The word lacrimulae is the plural form of lacrimula, "little tear," a diminutive of a noun you have seen before: lacrima. The adjective fictae is also nominative plural, agreeing with lacrimulae.
The word crocodili is the genitive singular of crocodilus, "crocodile." 

We continue to use the phrase "crocodile tears" in English to mean the same thing: someone pretends to weep tears of sadness, but they are secretly rejoicing. The saying even has its own Wikipedia article: Crocodile tears.


4. Leonis exuviae super asinum.
A-lion's skin on a-donkey.
le-O-nis ex-U-viae super A-sinum.

The word exuviae, "hide, skin, slough," is like divitiae: it is only found in the plural. 

The word leonis is the genitive singular of leo, while asinum is the accusative form of asinus, used here with the preposition super, which takes an accusative complement.

The "donkey in the lion skin" is one of the most famous fables of Aesop, and it even has its own Wikipedia article.


5. Tempus divitiae, tempus ager meus.
Time (is) wealth, time (is) my field.
tempus di-VI-tiae, tempus ager meus.

You know all the words in this saying already, since you saw divitiae already today in the first saying: Midae divitiae.

We have the saying "Time is money" in English as well, but I like the second half of the saying even better, in which time is like a field that you work: plowing, planting seeds, and then harvesting crops from the field of time. You don't want to let your time go to waste just as you would not want a potentially fertile field to go to waste either.

Here's a recap:

• Midae divitiae.
• Sagittae potentis acutae.
• Fictae crocodili lacrimulae.
• Leonis exuviae super asinum.
• Tempus divitiae, tempus ager meus.

And here is today's audio:



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Latin Lesson #241: Finishing up the 5th declension

The focus for today's lesson is finishing up the 5th declension with a few more common 5th-declension nouns: facies, "face" — acies, "sharp edge or point" —- and fides, "faith." Here's a reminder about the special endings:

• -es. nominative. fides
• -ei. genitive. fidei
• -em. accusative. fidem
• -e. ablative. fide
• -ei. dative. fidei

 And here is the slideshow (with cats) of the words you have seen before:

And here are today's proverbs:

1. Rara menda facies caret.
(It's a) rare face (that) lacks a-blemish.
rara menda FA-cies caret.

Here you see facies in the nominative, the subject of the verb, and the adjective rara is also nominative, agreeing with facies. Don't let the word order fool you: rara...facies. Remember also that when an adjective modifies the subject of the verb in Latin, it's often easier to translate that as an adverb in English: "Rarely does a face lack a blemish."

The new word here is menda, "fault, blemish," and here it is in the ablative case, mendā, because the verb caret takes an ablative complement, not accusative. You can see Latin emenda in English "emend" and "amend" and also "mend."

You might be wondering how we know for sure that rara goes with facies and not with menda. That's because this is a bit of poetry from Ovid, and the meter lets us know that rara here is rara (short final a), not rarā. Here it is in the Ars Amatoria: Rara tamen menda facies caret: occule mendas, "It's a rare face that lacks a blemish: cover up your blemishes." )


2. Personam, non faciem, gerit.
(Someone) wears a-mask, not a-face.
per-SO-nam, non FA-ciem, gerit.

You know all the words in this saying, and you've seen this one before in 2nd-person: Personam, non faciem geris. The only difference is that this saying shifts geris, 2nd-person, to gerit, 3rd-person. And since this is something we all do, at least sometimes, you could also put it this way: Personam, non faciem, gerimus, where gerimus is 1st-person plural: "we wear."

The word facies appears in the accusative here: faciem, the subject of the verb, and personam is the accusative form of persona. 


3. Veritatis una vis, una facies est.
(There) is one power, one face of-truth.
veri-TA-tis una vis, una FA-cies est.

You know all the words in this saying too! 

Here facies is in the nominative again, with una in the nominative also.

The word vis is also in the nominative and because, like facies, it is also a feminina noun, it also takes the feminine form of the adjective, una.

The word veritatis is the genitive form of veritas, expressing the idea of possession, so you could also translate this as "Truth has one force, one face." The words come from the writings of the Roman philosopher Seneca.


4. In acie novaculae consistit.
(It) stands on the-edge of-a-razor.
in A-cie no-VA-culae con-SIS-tit.

There are two new nouns here: acie is the ablative form of acies, "sharp edge," and novaculae is the genitive form of novacula, "razor" and also "dagger."

The verb consistit means "stands still, stops, comes to a halt." As the meaning evolved over time, it came to mean something that is stable, hence English "consistent," "consist," etc.

The idea is that something is at a crucial juncture at a single, specific moment in time, a moment as thin as the edge of a razor... and perhaps just as dangerous! 

This is one of the sayings collected by Erasmus in his Adagia.

5. Vulgare amici nomen, sed rara est fides.
The-name of-friend is common, but rare (is) trust.
vul-GA-re a-MI-ci nomen, sed rara est fides.

The word fides here is in the nominative, and it is also feminine (as is the general rule for 5th-declension nouns), so it takes a feminine adjective: rara.

The word nomen is also nominative, and because it is neuter, it takes a neuter adjective: vulgare.

The word amici is the genitive form of amicus. The name of a friend is common, but a friend's trustworthiness, fides, is rare; the word amici is implied in the second half of the saying. As often, Latin does not repeat something twice: Vulgare amici nomen, sed rara est (amici) fides.
The idea that people say "friend" about all kinds of people, but someone you can truly trust is hard to find. The words come from a fable told by the Roman poet Phaedrus and Socrates; you can read that fable in Latin here, and there's an English translation here.


Here's a recap:

• Rara menda facies caret. 
• Personam, non faciem, gerit. 
• Veritatis una vis, una facies est. 
• In acie novaculae consistit. 
• Vulgare amici nomen, sed rara est fides.

And here is today's audio:



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Latin Nursery Rhyme: O lacobe! O lacobe!

I'm working on a new Latin nursery rhyme project, so instead of the usual vocabulary review, I'll be sharing a nursery rhyme here every other Friday, starting with a fun and easy one to sing: I made a Latin version of Frère Jacques. Here's the original:

Frère Jacques, Frère Jacques,

Dormez-vous ? Dormez-vous ?

Sonnez les matines! Sonnez les matines!

Din dan don! Din dan don!

This is the English version I remember singing as a child:

Are you sleeping? Are you sleeping?

Brother John, Brother John!

Morning bells are ringing! Morning bells are ringing!

Ding, dang, dong. Ding, dang, dong.

But in the French, sleepy Brother John is being told to wake up and ring the bells, imperative. So that's what I did in the Latin:

O lacobe! O lacobe! 

Dormisne? Dormisne?

Pulsa iam campanas, pulsa iam campanas!

Din dan don! Din dan don!

O Iacobus, O Iacobus!

Are you sleeping? Are you sleeping?

Ring the bells now, ring the bells now!

Din dan don! Din dan don!

I feel badly about not having frater in there (although when I was a little kid, of course I thought this was someone's brother, not a monk), so this could also work for the first line: O lacobe! Frater piger! "O Iacobus! Lazy brother!

You can read more at Wikipedia, which is where I found the music and also these illustrations:

Latin Lesson #240: Some more res

The focus for today's lesson is some more sayings and proverbs with Latin res, that word with a hundred meanings: "thing, business, affair, doings, deed, matter," etc.

And here is the slideshow (with cats) of the words you have seen before. There's only one truly new word today, and it's a really cool Latin word too — you actually know it as an English word and probably didn't even suspect it was Latin!

And here are today's proverbs:

1. Re magis quam specie.
By-the-thing more than by-its-appearance.
re magis quam SPE-cie.

You know all the words in this saying! And you actually have two 5th-declension nouns: re is the ablative form of res, and specie is the ablative form of species.

There is an implied verb like "judge" or "make your decision," the idea being that you should make your decision about something based on what the thing really is, res, and not based on its appearance, species. As you learned from an earlier proverb: Species decipit, i.e. "Looks can be deceiving," as we say in English.


2. Omni in re modus est optimus.
In every thing, moderation is best.
omni in re modus est OP-timus.

You know all the words in this saying too! The word re is again the ablative form of res, and so the adjective omni is also in the ablative: omni in re, "in every thing."

You've seen many sayings about the dangers of excess and in praise of moderation, such as Omne nimium nocet and Modice vivere est optime vivere.


3. Suaviter in modo, fortiter in re.
Gently in manner, forcefully in-the-thing (you do).
SUA-viter in modo, FOR-titer in re.

You haven't seen the adverb suaviter before, but you have seen the adjective that it is derived from: suavis. 

The word re is again ablative, just as modo is the ablative form of modus. 
The opposition here is between the manner in which something is done, modus (like English "mode"), and the actual doing of the thing; you could even translate in re here as "in deed."

Note that the word modus has a different meaning in this proverb than in the previous one; you might want to take a look at the wide range of meanings in the Latin-English dictionary entry for modus.

This saying is like the one from the previous lesson: In verbo suavis, in re gravis.


4. Amicus certus in re incerta cernitur.
A-certain friend is-discerned in an-uncertain situation.
a-MI-cus certus in re in-CER-ta CER-nitur.

You know the words in this saying from a very similar saying you saw previously: Amicus certus in necessitate cernitur. Compare also the English saying: "A friend in need is a friend indeed."

The word re is again ablative, so you know that incerta is also in the ablative (incertā).   

The verb cernitur, "is discerned, is known" is the passive form of cernit. 

Notice the nice sound-play: certus - incerta - cernitur.


5. Verus amicus noscitur ex amore, more, ore, re.
A-true friend is-known by love, conduct, speech, deed.
verus a-MI-cus NOS-citur ex a-MO-re, more, ore, re.

Isn't this an ingenious little saying? And of course it is impossible to truly render in English, because it is the word-play of amore-more-ore-re that makes the saying so ingenious.

Like cernitur in the previous saying, noscitur is the passive form of the verb noscit.

The word amore is the ablative of amor, the word more is the ablative of mos, the word ore is the ablative of os, and re of course is the ablative of res.

The only new word here is mos which means "conduct, behavior, habit; law, rule." The plural of mos is mores, which is a word we use in English: "mores." In the plural, Latin mores means "character, personality." In other words, your personality is made up of all your behaviors and all your habits. In English, the word "mores" is used to refer to the general rules or customs of a society. And yes,  this is also the source of the English words "moral" and "morality," etc.


Here's a recap:

• Re magis quam specie.
• Omni in re modus est optimus.
• Suaviter in modo, fortiter in re.
• Amicus certus in re incerta cernitur.
• Verus amicus noscitur ex amore, more, ore, re.

And here is today's audio:



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Latin Lesson #239: Sayings re: res

The focus for today's lesson is one of the most common 5th-declension nouns: res, which means "thing, matter, affair, business," etc. You get the idea: it has a lot of meanings!

You probably have used this Latin word without knowing it, because every time you type "re:" in a memo, you are saying re, the ablative form of res: "in the matter of." Many people think the "re" is short for "regarding," but it really is the ablative form of res.

In today's sayings, you will see res in the nominative form as the subject of a verb, also the ablative form, re, and the accusative form: rem. 

And here is the slideshow (with cats) of the words you have seen before:

And here are today's proverbs:

1. In verbo suavis, in re gravis.
Gentle in speech, serious in action.
In verbo suavis, in re gravis.

This saying features re, the ablative form of res, with the preposition in. 

Likewise verbo, which is the ablative form of verbum.

There are many sayings that mark the contrast between words and actions, and between speaking and doing. Here the contrast is between speaking gently and sweetly, but acting in a stern and serious way.
The rhyme suavis - gravis marks this as a medieval Latin saying.


2. Rem factam etiam stultus intellegit.
Even a-fool understands a-thing (after it's been) done.
Rem factam etiam stultus in-TEL-legit.

Here you have rem, the accusative form of res, as the object of the verb. The adjective factam is also feminine accusative, agreeing with rem. You haven't seen this form before, but you know the neuter form: factum.

The idea is that a wise person can foresee things in advance, but even a fool, etiam stultus, can understand something after it has already happened. Compare the English saying "20/20 hindsight."


3. Mortua res Venus sine Baccho et Cerere.
Venus (is) a dead business without Bacchus and Ceres.
MOR-tua res Venus sine Baccho et CE-rere.

This saying features res, as the nominative subject of the verb. Because res is a feminine noun, it takes a feminine adjective: mortua. You haven't seen this feminine form of the adjective before, but you know the masculine form: mortuus. 

Here the gods stand for their domains: Venus is love, Bacchus is wine, and Ceres is bread.

The saying is adapted from the Roman playwright Terence; you can find out more at Wikipedia. This particular version comes from Erasmus's Adagia. 


4. Res est admodum fragilis humanum corpus.
The-human body is (a) very fragile thing.
Res est AD-modum FRA-gilis hu-MA-num corpus.

Here you have res once again in the nominative as the subject of verb, and it is modified by the adjective fragilis, "fragile, delicate, liable to break," which is also feminine (although harder to recognize right away as feminine because it is a 3rd-declension adjective, unlike mortua in the previous saying). From Latin fragilis we get both "fragile" and "frail."

The word admodum is an adverb, meaning "very, completely."


5. Res bene parta manet; res male parta perit.
A-thing well begotten lasts; a-thing badly begotten perishes.
Res bene parta manet; res male parta perit.

The nominative res appears twice here, as the subject of two contrasting verbs: manet and perit. 

Just as the verbs are opposite in meaning, so are the adjectival phrases: bene parta, "well begotten" and male parta "badly begotten."

The adjective parta is a participle from a verb you have seen before: parit, "give birth." So, it literally refers to things that are "born," but also in general to things as they are "begotten, created, made," etc.


Here's a recap:

• In verbo suavis, in re gravis.
• Rem factam etiam stultus intellegit.
• Mortua res Venus sine Baccho et Cerere.
• Res est admodum fragilis humanum corpus.
• Res bene parta manet; res male parta perit.

And here is today's audio:



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Week 84 Catch-Up Day

Here is the new catch-up day post for the past two weeks of sayings using 5th-declension nouns, focusing on spes and dies. As usual, there is a cat-show of those sayings, plus a link to the downloadable crossword and the self-quiz.

Meanwhile, the admittedly wacky Vergil project carries on; we're now on Lesson 40: A New Beginner's Latin: THE AENEID. Take a look if you are curious! 

And now here are the past two weeks of lessons here:

• #235: The Fifth Declension
• #236: More spes, more hope!
• Week 83 Vocabulary Review
• #237: Sayings about the day
• #238: One more day of "dies" sayings

So, let's start with the slideshow with all the sayings. You can read out loud, first with the English to remind you of the vocabulary... and then read out loud again with the cat!

I also made a printable crossword PDF as usual, and the same prompts for the crossword are used in the quiz questions below. Enjoy!

Sufficit ______ malitia sua.
fill in the blank:

reveal/hide answer

diei

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Vive in ______.
fill in the blank:

reveal/hide answer

diem

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Dies diem ______.
fill in the blank:

reveal/hide answer

docet

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Dies ______ minuit.
fill in the blank:

reveal/hide answer

dolorem

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Ver non una dies, non una reducit ______.
fill in the blank:

reveal/hide answer

hirundo

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Spe ______ levis.
fill in the blank:

reveal/hide answer

labor

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Lucernam in ______ accendis.
fill in the blank:

reveal/hide answer

meridie

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Inter spem et ______.
fill in the blank:

reveal/hide answer

metum

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Spes una hominem nec ______ relinquit.
fill in the blank:

reveal/hide answer

morte

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Diem nox premit, dies ______.
fill in the blank:

reveal/hide answer

noctem

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Urget diem ______, et dies noctem.
fill in the blank:

reveal/hide answer

nox

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Ubi spes, ibi ______.
fill in the blank:

reveal/hide answer

pax

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Cum spes frustratur, non spes, sed ______ vocatur.
fill in the blank:

reveal/hide answer

poena

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Non uno est condita ______ die.
fill in the blank:

reveal/hide answer

Roma

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Una dies ______ non perficit.
fill in the blank:

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sapientem

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______ melioris amittitur bonum.
fill in the blank:

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spe

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______ Fortuna alit.
fill in the blank:

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spem

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Non deest ______.
fill in the blank:

reveal/hide answer

spes

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Spe non saginatur ______.
fill in the blank:

reveal/hide answer

venter

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In spe et labore transigo ______.
fill in the blank:

reveal/hide answer

vitam

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And here's a random cat:

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