17.03.24: 4th conjugation; reading

In this little text you will see the three verb conjugations already discussed, plus a new conjugation: the fourth. The fourth is indicated in bold, and will be introduced in the notes.

[The Road to Latin (Chesnutt) 1932]

Peristȳlum līberōs Tulliae dēlectat. Puellae statuās saepe ōrnant. Aulus et Lūcius ibi student. Puerī parvī in peristȳlō libenter lūdunt quod in peristȳlō est aqua. Puerī parvī nāviculās ligneās habent. Tullia in peristȳlō saepe sedet et lūdōs līberōrum spectat. Interdum Tullia cum līberīs lūdit. Hodiē Publius et Servius domī sunt sed Lūcius et Aulus in lūdō sunt. Ā domiciliō Tullia clāmat, “ubi es, Pūblī? Quid agis?” Pūblius respondet, “lūdō in peristȳlō, Tullia.” Tum Tullia clāmat, “ubi tū lūdis, Servī?” “ego quoque in peristȳlō lūdō,” respondet Servius. “num in aquā lūditis?” Rogat Tullia. “in aquā nōn lūdimus sed nāviculae nostrae sunt in aquā. Nāviculās ad Graeciam et ad Crētam mittimus,” respondent puerī parvī. “Quid audīs, Pūblī? Quis venit?” Subitō rogat Servius. “Lūcius et Aulus in domicilium veniunt,” respondet Pūblius. “venitne paedagōgus cum puerīs, Pūblī?” “puerī cum paedagōgō veniunt.” “cūr, Lūcī, ā lūdō mātūrē venis?” Clāmat Pūblius. “veniō quod magister est aeger,” respondet Lūcius. “nōnne tū et Aulus in peristȳlum venītis?” Clāmat Servius. “in peristȳlum nōn venīmus. Ad Tulliam venīmus,” puerī respondent.

Vocabulary

ibi there: in that place

mātūrē: early

subitō: suddenly

paedagōgus: Generally of Greek origin, a paedagōgus was an educated slave or freedman who educated Roman children; a ‘governor’

1st conjugation verbs

Many of the verbs listed here you have already seen, but the list is here to show how verb forms, at this stage, should be noted. After this, only new verbs will be included in the vocabulary.

• clāmō, clāmāre [1]: shout (If you’re already confident with the principal parts, you can shorten them to clāmō, -āre [1], or even simply clāmō [1])
• dēlectō, dēlectāre [1]: delight
• ornō, ornāre [1]: decorate
• rogō, rogāre [1]: ask
• spectō, spectāre [1]: look at

2nd conjugation verbs

• habeō, habēre [2]: have (habeō, -ēre [2] or habeō [2])
• respondeō, respondēre [2]: reply
• sedeō, sedēre [2]: sit
• studeō, studēre [2]: ‘study’ (see notes)

3rd conjugation verbs

• agō, agere [3]: do, drive (agō, -ere [3] or agō [3])
• lūdō, lūdere [3]: play
• mittō, mittere [3]: send

irregular

• sum, esse [irr.]: to be

And the new conjugation: take a close look at the stem vowel of the first person singular and the ending of the infinitive; these are the two markers of the 4th conjugation

• audiō, audīre [4]: hear, listen to
• veniō, venīre [4]: come

Notes:

[1] peristȳlum (or peristȳlium): inner courtyard surrounded by columns

[2] studeō, -ēre [2]: although used to convey ‘study’ in the text, the verb has a much wider meaning, for example, to dedicate oneself to something, busy oneself with something, show zeal or enthusiasm for something, and is followed by the dative case; by Mediaeval times, the verb certainly has the distinct meaning of ‘study’: agricultūra > agricultūrae studeō: I devote myself to agriculture; Discipulī litterīs Graecīs student: The students apply themselves to Greek literature, but, depending upon context, ‘study’ will work.

[3] Ā domiciliō Tullia clāmat: Tullia shouts from the dwelling (house)

[4] "Ubi es, Pūblī?"; "Ubi tū lūdis, Servī?” “Where are you, Publius?”; “Where are you playing, Servius?” Note the vocative case of nouns in -ius: Publius > Publī; Servius > Servī

[5] Quid agis? You already know this phrase from a very early post meaning “How are you?” but you see that it can have a more general meaning of “What are you doing?”

[6] A reminder:

[i] Nōnne tū et Aulus in peristȳlum venītis?” You are Aulus are coming into the courtyard, aren’t you?

[ii] Num in aquā lūditis? You’re not playing in the water, are you?

Nōnne introduces a question that expects a positive answer, whereas num introduces a question that expects a negative answer – even if the answers are not what you expected.

The fourth conjugation

The text introduces one fourth conjugation verb in full:

1. Veniō quod magister est aeger. I’m coming because the teacher is ill.
2. Cūr, Lūcī, ā lūdō mātūrē venīs? Why are you coming early from school, Lucius?
3. Venitne paedagōgus cum puerīs, Pūblī?” Is the governor coming with the boys, Publius?
4. In peristȳlum nōn venīmus. We’re not coming into the courtyard.
5. “Nōnne tū et Aulus [plural] in peristȳlum venītis? You and Aulus are coming into courtyard, aren’t you?
6. Puerī cum paedagōgō veniunt. The boys are coming with the governor.

So, here is the verb:

veni¦ō, venīre [4]: come; note [i] the stem vowel in -i- and [ii] the infinitive in -īre

In all parts of the 4th conjugation the personal endings are added, just like in the other conjugations, but there is a stem vowel in -i- or -ī- [again, the accent mark (ʹ) is only showing you where the stress is on the verb when you pronounce it]

vén-i-ō: I come

vén-ī-s: you (sg.) come

vén-i-t: he / she / it comes

ven-ī́-mus: we come

ven-ī́-tis: you (pl.) come

vén-iu-nt : they come

One of the images shows the same endings for the verb audiō, audīre [4]: hear; listen to

The next post gives further examples of 4th conjugation verbs.