Latin has several different ways of expressing likes and dislikes, some of which you have already seen. In this post we will look at a few in more detail.
You can like / dislike [i]
things or [ii] doing things.
[1] libenter:
this is an adverb meaning ‘willingly’, ‘gladly’, ‘with enthusiasm’ and so, used
with a verb, it can convey the idea of ‘to like doing something’:
Fābulās nārrō. I tell
stories.
> Fābulās libenter nārrō.
Literally: I tell stories with enthusiasm = I like telling stories.
- Cēnam libenter parō. I
like getting dinner ready.
- In forō libenter
dēambulō. I like taking a walk in the market place.
- Plantās libenter
irrigō. I like to water the plants (shrubs).
[2] amāre (to
love):
- Vīnum amō.
I love wine.
As in English, the verb can
be used with an infinitive i.e. to like to do / doing something
or to be accustomed to doing something; amāre has
a much wider meaning than merely ‘to love’.
Note that the verb goes to
the end of the sentence.
- Puerī in fluviō natāre amant.
The boys like to swim / swimming in the river.
- In oppidō ¦ [i] errāre ¦
et templa [ii] spectāre amō. I like [i]
to wander ¦ in the town and [ii] look at the temples.
[3] Constructions with the
accusative case
[i] dēlectāre (to
delight): this is most often found in the 3rd person singular or plural because
what delight(s) you becomes the subject of the sentence and you become the
direct object [accusative]; the verb will agree in number i.e. if what delights
you is singular the verb will be dēlectat, and if it is plural the verb
will be dēlectant.
Lingua Anglica multum
¦ mē [accusative] ¦ dēlectat. The English language delights
me a lot = I like the English language a lot.
Fābulae antīquae valdē mē
dēlectant: Literally: Ancient tales really delight me =
I am very fond of ancient tales.
Fābulae antīquae mē maximē dēlectant;
maximē (especially; particularly) = I especially like ancient tales.
Līberōs [accusative] ¦ lūdī pilārum
¦ in arēnā ¦ dēlectant. Literally: Ball games ¦ on the sand ¦ delight ¦
the children = The children love ball games on the sand.
In this construction the
infinitive can also be used. As has been discussed before, begin with a literal
translation and then, once you see how the sentence works, rephrase it into
more fluent English while still retaining the sense.
Coquināre* mē dēlectat.
Literally: It delights me to cook = To cook /
cooking delights me = I really enjoy cooking.
*coquināre in
Classical Latin refers to working professionally as a cook. However, for
communication purposes, it will work for now.
Fābulās nārrāre mē
dēlectat. Literally: It delights me to tell stories = To
tell / telling stories delights me = I take pleasure in telling
stories.
Quantopere mē dēlectat undās
caeruleās spectāre. Literally: How greatly it delights me to
look at the blue waves = How I so love looking at the blue waves.
[ii] iuvāre has
two meanings [i] to help, and [ii] to delight; please. It functions in the
second meaning in the same way as dēlectāre although it is
most usually found with an infinitive
Mē nōn iuvat lūdōs spectāre.
Literally: It does not please me to watch the games = I don’t
like watching the games.
From an earlier post, the
boy described what he and his friends enjoyed doing on the beach.
- Ut iuvat castella
contrā undās spūmiferās aedificāre!
- How it delights to
build castles against the foamy waves.
Yes, this kind of literal
translation can sound stilted and so, at times, you need to ‘play around’ with
the translation along the lines of We love building castles to stop the
foamy waves. Remember, though, that ‘playing’ with translation is a skill
that comes gradually. If in doubt, stick rigidly to the Latin construction
because it is the grammar that matters, not, at this stage, the art of
translation.
[4] Constructions with the
dative case:
[i] placēre: to
please; to be pleasing to(somebody)
Like dēlectāre,
what is pleasing to you is the subject of the sentence, and the verb will have
a singular or plural ending depending on whether one thing or more than one
thing pleases you:
Mihi [dative] placet hic
liber. Literally: This book is pleasing to me = I
like this book. (Fr. Ce livre me plaît; the Modern French clearly reflects the
original Latin structure)
Mare mihi placet.
Literally: The sea is pleasing to me = I like the
sea. (Gmn: Das Meer gefällt mir; the German construction again reflects the
Latin one.)
Monumenta antīqua mihi
(nōn) placent. Literally: ancient monuments are (not) pleasing to
me = I (don’t) like ancient monuments.
Quid tibi (nōn) placet?
Literally: What is (isn’t) pleasing to you? = What do you (not) like?
Placetne tibi
hoc oppidum? Literally: Is this town pleasing to you? = Do you like this town?
Similarly: Placentne
tibi monumenta antīqua? Literally: Are ancient monuments pleasing to you? = Do
you like ancient monuments?
How would you answer these
questions?
- Placetne tibi lingua
Latina?
- Placetne tibi mūsica?
- Placetne tibi vīnum?
Placet can also be used with
an infinitive:
Mihi placet cum meā
familiā cēnāre. I like to have dinner with my
family.
Placetne tibi in silvā dēambulāre?
Do you like to go for a walk / walking in the
forest?
Placetne tibi lūdōs in
amphitheātrō spectāre? Do you like watching the
games in the amphitheatre?
How would you answer these
questions?
- Placetne tibi in
piscīnā natāre?
- Placetne tibi in oppidō
dēambulāre?
- Placetne tibi cēnam
parāre?
- Placetne tibi scapham
rēmigāre?
Remember that Latin word
order is flexible, and so the question may be rephrased as in the example
below:
Tībine in silvā ¦ dēambulāre ¦
placet? Literally: Is it pleasing to you ¦ to walk ¦
in the forest? = Do you like walking in the forest?
[ii] libet (lubet)
This occurs almost always in
the 3rd person singular, is used with the dative and, again expresses the idea
of something being pleasing to somebody. However, its meaning is more “to have
a mind to do something” rather than specifically referring to something that
you generally like. Here’s an example from the Roman author Plautus:
Ego ibi prō tē, sī tibi nōn libet.
I’ll go instead of you if it isn't pleasing to you [to
go] = … if you don’t have a mind to go.
And, in the end, if you
really cannot be bothered telling people what you like, you can quote Plautus:
“Quod tibi lubet,
idem mihi lubet” What is pleasing to you, the same
is pleasing to me = I like what you like.
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