Week 81 Vocabulary Review

The review this week is... passive 3rd-person verbs. Remember those? The 1st conjugation has -atur, 2nd conjugation has -etur, and the 3rd conjugation has -itur (short i), and the 4th conjugation has -itur also, but with a long i: ītur, so the stress is on the ī. As usual, there's a quiz slideshow, a crossword, and a self-check quiz afterwards too. :-)

For each saying, you will try to supply the missing word. You can check yourself by looking at the cat slide that follows the slide with the missing word(s). 

You can also begin at the end and work backwards, giving yourself a different kind of quiz: seeing the slide without English and trying to supply the English, checking your answer on the next slide, reviewing with the cat slide, and then seeing if you can fill in the blank. 

Plus don't forget: on the slides that contain the English translation, the English is linked to the original blog post if you want some help in understanding the grammar of the saying.

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

______ aliquando ius, moritur numquam.
fill in the blank:

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dormit

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Maiorque videtur et melior ______ seges.
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vicina

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______ tuetur.
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deus

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______ nimium tensus frangitur.
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arcus

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Arguendo et disputando ______ invenitur.
fill in the blank:

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veritas

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______ aegre offertur, facile amittitur.
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Occasio

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Vultus Fortunae mutatur imagine ______.
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lunae

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Aquila non venatur ______.
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muscam

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Avis a ______ dignoscitur.
fill in the blank:

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cantu

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Fur male furatur, cum fur ______ dominatur.
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domui

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Nemo athleta sine ______ coronatur.
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sudore

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Esuriens stomachus fertur ______ optimus esse.
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coquus

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Vas ______ non frangitur.
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malum

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Ex ______ cognoscitur coquus.
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cultro

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______ triplex non rumpitur.
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funis

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A digito cognoscitur ______.
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leo

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Homo a suo ______ cognoscitur.
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socio

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Nemo cum ______ iocatur impune.
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diabolo

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Mons cum ______ non miscetur.
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monte

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Cattus saepe satur cum capto ______ iocatur.
fill in the blank:

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mure

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And here's a random cat:

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Latin Lesson #232: Spiritus sayings

The focus for today's lesson is the 4th-declension noun, spiritus. Remember: these 4th-declension nouns look like the familiar 2nd-declension nouns in the nominative, spiritus, and the accusative, spiritum. But in the other cases, they look different than 2nd-declension nouns. For example, the genitive form is spiritus! Yes, the nominative spiritus and genitive spiritus are spelled the same but, to the ancient Roman ear, they sounded different because the genitive -ūs ending has a long vowel: spīritūs. Since the words are written in the same way, that means you have to decide each time from context whether spiritus is nominative or genitive, as you will see in today's sayings. 

You will also see the ablative form of spiritus, which is spiritu.

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

And here are today's proverbs:

1. Veni, creator spiritus!
Come, creator spirit!
veni, cre-A-tor SPI-ritus!

The word spiritus here is in the nominative case; it is the "you" that is the subject of the verb veni.

You have not seen the Latin word creator before, but this is a word we used in English too, "creator." You have also seen the Latin word for "creation," creatio.

These words are from one of the most famous hymns of the Middle Ages; you can see the rest of the lyrics at Wikipedia: Veni, creator spiritus!

2. Nutrimentum spiritus liber.
(A) book (is) nourishment of-the-spirit.
nutri-MEN-tum SPI-ritus liber.

The word spiritus here is in the genitive case, with the word nutrimentum: a book is the nutrimentum, "food," spiritus (spīritūs), "of the soul."

You haven't seen this noun, nutrimentum, before, but you have seen the verb it comes from: nutrit.

You can see these words at the entrance to the Alte Bibliothek (Old Library) of Berlin!

3. Spiritus promptus, caro vero infirma.
(The) spirit (is) ready; (the) flesh in-fact (is) weak.
SPI-ritus promptus, caro vero in-FIR-ma.

The word spiritus here is in the nominative case; it is the subject of the implied verb, est. The word caro is also in the nominative case, and each of these words has a predicative adjective.

The spirit is promptus, "ready, quick, brave," as opposed to the infirma, "un-strong, weak," flesh. The word spiritus is masculine, so promptus is masculine; the word caro is feminine, so infirma is feminine.

The words come from the Gospel of Mark.


4. Absens corpore sed praesens spiritu.
Absent in-body but present in-spirit.
absens COR-pore sed praesens SPI-ritu.

The point of this saying is the contrast between absens, "away+being," i.e. "absent," as opposed to praesens, "in-front+being," i.e. "present." The paradox is the idea that one could be absent in body, corpore, the ablative form of corpus, but at the same time present in spirit, spiritu, which is the ablative form of spiritus.

These words also come from the 1 Corinthians in the Bible.


5. Littera occidit; Spiritus autem vivificat.
(The) letter kills; (the) Spirit, however, gives-life.
LIT-tera oc-CI-dit; SPI-ritus autem vi-VI-ficat.

The word spiritus here is in the nominative case; it is the subject of the verb vivificat. You haven't seen this verb before, but you have seen the verb vivit and the verb facit. This new verb combines those two roots: "makes alive, gives life."

So, the spirit gives life, but the "letter," littera, takes life away: it "kills," occidit. 

These words, meanwhile, come from 2 Corinthians.


Here's a recap:

• Veni, creator spiritus!
• Nutrimentum spiritus liber.
• Spiritus promptus, caro vero infirma.
• Absens corpore sed praesens spiritu.
• Littera occidit; Spiritus autem vivificat.

And here is today's audio:



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Latin Lesson #231: More 4th-declension -us nouns

The focus for today's lesson is more practice with the -us nouns from the 4th declension. Most of them are masculine nouns, but there's another one here that is feminine, acus, "needle." You can add that to the other feminine 4th-declension nouns you've seen already: domus, "house," manus, "hand," and quercus, "oak."

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

And here are today's proverbs:

1. Abusus non tollit usum.
Abuse doesn't cancel use.
a-BU-non tollit usum.

There are two fourth declension nouns here: usus, "use," and also abusus, "abuse, misuse." The word usum is the accusative form of usus, the object of the verb, and abusus is the subject.

The idea here is that even if something can be abused, that doesn't mean it cannot be useful too!


2. Sapientia est filia usus et memoriae.
Wisdom is (the) daughter of-experience and or-memory.
sapi-EN-tia est FI-lia usus et me-MO-riae.

You already know all the words in this saying!

The word usus (ūsūs) is the genitive form of the word usus (ūsus). The fact that the nominative and genitive forms of these nouns look the same is one of the tricky things about the 4th declension. 

You get a clue that usus is genitive because the word memoriae is the genitive form of memoria.

Because sapientia is a feminine noun, that is why it is the filia, daughter, of experience and memory.

Notice that usus has a wide range of translations into English. As often, because Latin has a much smaller vocabulary than English, a single Latin word often covers a wide range of meanings in English, and you have to select the best English meaning based on the context.


3. Ferreus assiduo consumitur anulus usu.
(An) iron ring is-worn-away by-regular use.
FER-reus as-SI-duo con-SU-mitur A-nulus usu.

The word anulus, "(little) ring," is a diminutive of the word anus, "ring," and yes, this is the source of the English word "anus."

The adjective ferrus agrees with anulus; you haven't seen this adjective before, but you have seen the noun that it comes from: ferrum, "iron."

The word usu is the ablative form of the noun usus, which is used with the passive verb: consumitur usu, "worn away with use." 

The adjective assiduo is also in the ablative case, agreeing with usu. You haven't seen this masculine adjective before, but you have seen the feminine form: assidua.

This saying comes from a poem by the Roman poet Ovid, Ars Amatoria, which explains the very intricate word order with the subject noun phrase, ferreus...anulus, being interwoven with the ablative phrase, assiduo usu, both phrases being wrapped around the verb!


4. Canis revertitur ad vomitum.
(A) dog returns to (its) vomit.
canis re-VER-titur ad VO-mitum.

The word vomitus is a 4th-declension noun, and vomitum is the accusative form, with the preposition ad. And yes, this is the source of the English word "vomit."

The verb revertitur, "returns," is one of those verbs with a passive form that is active in meaning in English. Specifically, it is the intransitive form of the verb: the dog "returns" (i.e. goes back).

Truth be told, cats do this too! But the Bible doesn't have sayings about cats; the Egyptians were the people who kept cats, and the practice of keeping cats eventually spread throughout the Mediterranean, but that took time.

This is a saying from the Biblical book of Proverbs; the full verse goes like this:  Sicut canis qui revertitur ad vomitum suum, sic imprudens qui iterat stultitiam suam, "As the dog who returns to its vomit, so the is the reckless man who repeats his foolishness." 


5. Facilius est camelum per foramen acus intrare.
(It) is easier (for a) camel to go-through the hole of-a-needle.
fa-CI-lius est ca-ME-lum per fo-RA-men acus in-TRA-re.

This is another famous verse from the Bible; it appears in the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, and it even appears in the Koran. You can find out more at Wikipedia.

The word intrare is from the verb intrat, "enters."

The word acus (acūs) is the genitive form of the noun acus, a feminine 4th-declension noun.

The word foramen, "hole," is a neuter noun in the accusative case with the preposition per. You can see this Latin root in the English word "perforate."

Here's a recap:

• Abusus non tollit usum.
• Sapientia est filia usus et memoriae.
• Ferreus assiduo consumitur anulus usu.
• Canis revertitur ad vomitum.
• Facilius est camelum per foramen acus intrare.

And here is today's audio:



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Week 80 Catch-Up Day

Here is the new catch-up day post for the past two weeks of sayings. As usual, there is a cat-show of those sayings, plus a link to the downloadable crossword and the self-quiz. Plus, in case you missed it: A New Beginner's Latin: THE AENEID.

• #227: You want - vis.
• #228: More sayings with vis
• #229: The 4th Declension
• #230: More 4th Declension

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!

Si vis scire, ______.
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doce

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Morsus ______ ducit.
fill in the blank:

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morsum

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______ bene dum vivis, post mortem vivere si vis.
fill in the blank:

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fac

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Si vis regnare, ______.
fill in the blank:

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divide

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Si vis pacem, ______ iustitiam.
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cole

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Si vis pacem, ______ bellum.
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para

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Audire vis bene? ______ male dicere.
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abstine

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Avis a ______ dignoscitur.
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cantu

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______ aliquid, si vis aliquid esse.
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aude

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______, si vis accipere.
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da

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______ vas totum, si vis cognoscere potum.
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ebibe

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______, vide, tace, si vis vivere in pace.
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audi

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Calumniae ______ nullum remedium.
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morsui

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Non uno ______ cadit quercus.
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ictu

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Vita hominis ______ est ad mortem.
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cursus

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Abluit manus ______.
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manum

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Mente ______ praesto.
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manuque

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______ Fortunae mutatur imagine lunae.
fill in the blank:

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vultus

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Non ______ hoc corpus sed hospitium breve.
fill in the blank:

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domus

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Fur male furatur, cum fur ______ dominatur.
fill in the blank:

reveal/hide answer

domui

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And here's a random cat:

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Latin Lesson #230: More 4th Declension

The focus for today's lesson is more practice with 4th-declension nouns. In the previous lesson, the 4th-declension nouns were verbal nouns, but today you will see different nouns: manus, "hand" ~ vultus, "face" ~ domus, "home." You've actually seen all of these words before; you just didn't know that they were 4th-declension nouns.

And here is the slideshow (with cats) of the words you have seen before, including those 4th-declension nouns:

And here are today's proverbs:

1. Abluit manus manum.
(One) hand washes (another) hand.
AB-luit manus manum.

The word manus is nominative, the subject of the verb, while manum is the accusative form, object of the verb.
The verb itself is a new word: abluit, "washes," as in the English word "ablution." This is a compound verb: ab-luit, "away-washes," i.e. "washes away."
We have this saying in English too: "One hand washes another."


2. Mente manuque praesto.
I-stand-ready with-mind and with-hand.
mente ma-NU-que praesto.

The word manu is the ablative form of manus, while mente is the ablative form of mens.

Remember the conjunction -que? It attaches onto a word instead of standing by itself, but it works the same way as et, so mente manuque is the same as mente et manu.

You've seen the verb praesto before, but not in the 1st-person form. It's a compound verb, prae-sto, so it literally means "before-stand," i.e. "I stand before (you), I stand at the ready."

Many family mottoes, like this one, use 1st-person verbs.


3. Vultus Fortunae mutatur imagine lunae.
The-face of-Fortune changes (as the) form of-the-moon.
vultus For-TU-nae mu-TA-tur i-MA-gine lunae.

The word vultus is nominative, the subject of the verb. The word Fortunae is the genitive form of Fortuna: "the face of Fortune," vultus Fortunae.

The word imagine is the ablative of imago, and lunae is the genitive form of luna: "the form of the moon," imagine lunae.

The verb mutatur is one of those passive forms in Latin that is equivalent to an intransitive verb in English: "changes."

Notice the rhyme, Fortunae-lunae, which marks this as a medieval saying. Fortune, and her wheel, go up and down, just as the moon waxes and wanes.


4. Non domus hoc corpus sed hospitium breve.
This body (is) not (a) home, but (a) brief lodging.
non domus hoc corpus sed hos-PI-tium breve.

The word domus is nominative, and it is a predicate: hoc corpus non (est) domus.
The subject of the sentence is hoc corpus, "this body." You have seen the noun corpus before, but this demonstrative adjective, hoc, is new. You will be learning a lot about hoc later on!

The word hospitium is also new; it means an "inn, lodging, guesthouse," so the idea is that the body is like an AirBnB! This Latin word is the source of English "hospice," and you can see the same root in "hospitality." 

Because hospitium is a neuter noun, it takes a neuter adjective: breve.


5. Fur male furatur, cum fur domui dominatur.
(A) thief steals with-difficulty when (a) thief rules over-the-house.
fur male fu-RA-tur, cum fur DO-mui domi-NA-tur.

The word fur is one you have seen before, but you have not seen the verb furatur before: it means "steals, thieves," i.e. what a thief does. The word male is an adverb: so this is a saying about why would prevent a thief from doing a good job.

The thief does a bad job of stealing when, cum, there is another thief who rules the house. The word domui is the dative form of domus, with the verb dominatur, which takes a dative complement: dominatur domui, "rules (over) the house, gives commands (to) the house." You haven't seen the verb dominatur before, but you know the noun that it comes from: dominus. 

All three of these words, in fact, are from the same root: domus, dominus, and dominatur.

This is another rhyming medieval proverb: furatur-dominatur.

Here's a recap:

• Abluit manus manum.
• Mente manuque praesto.
• Vultus Fortunae mutatur imagine lunae.
• Non domus hoc corpus sed hospitium breve.
• Fur male furatur, cum fur domui dominatur.

And here is today's audio:



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Latin Lesson #229: The 4th Declension

The focus for today's lesson is something new: the 4th declension! So far, you've been learning about the 1st, 2nd and 3rd declensions, which are by far the most common declensions in Latin. But there is also a 4th declension, which you will start studying now, and also the 5th declension, which is the least common of all the declensions.

You've actually see some 4th-declension nouns already because in the nominative case and in the accusative case, they look the same as 2nd-declension nouns. But the 4th declension is different in the genitive, ablative, and dative cases. Here's a comparison of a 2nd-declension noun, amicus, "friend," with a 4th-declension noun, morsus, "bite," so that you can see where the case endings are different:

2nd - case - 4th

amīc-us - nom. - mors-us

amīc-um - acc. - mors-um

amīc-ī - gen. - mors-ūs

amīc-ō - abl. - mor-sū

amīc-ō - dat. - mor-suī

This word morsus is a verbal noun from a verb you have seen before: mordet, "bites." In English, "bite" can be both a noun and a verb, but in Latin, the different parts of speech have their own forms: mordet is a verb, and morsus is a noun. The English word "morsel," is from Latin morsellus, "a little bite," a diminutive form of the noun morsus.

Not all 4th-declension nouns are verbal nouns, but many of them are, as you'll see in today's sayings!

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

And here are today's proverbs:

1. Morsus morsum ducit.
(One) bite leads (another) bite.
morsus morsum ducit.

The word morsus, "bite," is a 4th-declension noun from the verb mordet. The word morsum is the accusative form.

The idea is that after you take one bite, you're going to want another! 


2. Calumniae morsui nullum remedium.
(There is) no remedy for-the-bite of-slander.
ca-LUM-niae MOR-sui nullum re-ME-dium.

The word morsui is the dative form of the word morsus, "for-the-bite."
The word calumniae is the dative form of the noun calumnia, "slander," which is the origin of the English word "calumny." That is the only new word in this saying; you already know the words nullum remedium.

In other words: there is no way to undo the harm inflicted by slander because words cannot be unsaid.


3. Avis a cantu dignoscitur.
(A) bird is-known by (its) song.
avis a cantu dig-NOS-citur.

The word cantus, "song, singing," is a 4th-declension noun from the verb canit. The ablative form is cantu, used here with the preposition a, "by its song," a cantu.

The word dignoscitur is the passive form, dignoscit, "recognize, discern." You haven't seen this verb before, but you have seen the root word: noscit.

This is literally true because birds do have distinctive songs, and metaphorically, it means you can recognize a person's character based on the words that they say.


4. Non uno ictu cadit quercus.
(The) oak doesn't fall (at) one blow.
non uno ictu cadit quercus.

The word ictus, "blow, hit," is a 4th-declension word, and it is also used in English, "ictus," referring to the stress on the accented syllable of a word. The ablative form is ictu, "by means of a blow, at a blow."

The adjective uno is masculine ablative singular, agreeing with the noun ictu: "by means of one blow," uno ictu.

The word quercus, "oak tree," is also a 4th-declension noun! Even more interesting: it is a feminine noun. Almost all the nouns in the 4th declension are masculine, but a few are feminine. And here's another fun fact: tree names in Latin, no matter what declension, are feminine, and so is the word arbor, "tree."

Literally, this is true: a tree does not fall at the first blow of the axe, and metaphorically, it refers to any big project that will take time and effort to complete.


5. Vita hominis cursus est ad mortem.
(A) person's life is a-running towards death.
vita HO-minis cursus est ad mortem.

You know all the words in this saying!

The word cursus, which you have seen before, is a 4th-declension noun from the verb currit. This is the nominative form, the predicate of the verb: est cursus, "it is a race, a running."

The word hominis is the genitive form of homo, so the phrase vita hominis means "a person's life."

The word mortem is the accusative form of mors, used here with the preposition ad. 

Notice how the words vita and mortem frame the saying: it begins with life, and it ends with death.


Here's a recap:

• Morsus morsum ducit.
• Calumniae morsui nullum remedium.
• Avis a cantu dignoscitur.
• Non uno ictu cadit quercus.
• Vita hominis cursus est ad mortem.

And here is today's audio:



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