When we were learning to ride bicycles, most of us first fell off several times, then wobbled a lot and then, finally, began to cycle. Very few of us learned to swim when our fathers threw us on day one into a pool and said “swim!” Learning is a process: some knowledge comes easily to us and some requires review. We trip up, we forget but we don’t give up. We can look again at information, study it more thoroughly and have another go.
[A] Here are some questions based on what has been covered so far. You can check your own progress by applying some very simple criteria:
Ubi habitās?
[i] Do you understand the question even if you’re not sure how to answer? If yes, give yourself one point.
[ii] Can you answer it with a ‘yes’ / ‘no’ or a simple phrase i.e. can I respond to show understanding? If yes, give yourself 2 points.
Ubi habitās? Ītalia (in Ītaliā would be better, but at least you gave a reply). And be self-critical; perhaps you gave a full answer but with a minor grammatical error = 2 points
[iii] Can you give a full and grammatically correct answer? If yes, give yourself three points.
Ubi habitās?
In Ītaliā habitō.
So, can you understand and speak Latin? Here goes, and remember that you don’t have to tell the truth! If you don’t know how to say that you work in a graphic design department, then say you work in the Colosseum! Total marks: 60
1. Quid agis?
2. Quid nōmen tibi est?
3. Quot annōs nātus / nāta es?
4. Unde oriundus / oriunda es?
5. Ubi habitās?
6. Habitāsne in oppidō vel in urbe?
7. Quid est in oppidō tuō / in urbe tuā?
8. Ubi labōrās?
9. Habēsne fīlium?
10. Quid nomen eī est?
11. Estne tibi fīlia?
12. Quot annōs nāta est?
13. Suntne tibi frātrēs vel sorōres?
14. Quae sunt nōmina eōrum?
15. Habitāsne in domō vel in fundō?
16. Quid est in culīnā tuā?
17. Quid est in cubiculō tuō?
18. Habēsne ancillās?
19. Amāsne vīnum?
20. Natāsne in fluviō?
[B] And have a bit of fun with a Modern Language style role-play:
[i] You’re buying food.
Greet the shopkeeper and ask him how he is.
Bene, gratiās tibi agō. Et tū?
Answer his question and ask him if he has olives.
Ita, quot olīvas desiderās?
Say that you want ten.
Quid aliud?
Say that you want eight eggs and four oysters.
Ostreās nōn habeō.
Ask where they have oysters.
Ostreās in forō piscātoriō habent.
[ii] You’re meeting somebody for the first time. Think of five relevant questions in Latin that you could ask that person.
[C] How much about Roman life have you picked up from the posts? Here are some background questions.
1. Who in a Roman family is the pater familias?
2. Where would guests be taken in a Roman house?
3. What was the purpose of a ‘compluvium’ in a Roman house?
4. How did the Romans keep their houses [i] cool, and [ii] lit at night?
5. What could you buy in the ‘forum olitorium’?
6. What could you buy in a ‘thermopolium’?
7. What would you do at the ‘thermae’?
8. ‘Insula’ can mean ‘island’ but to what type of housing did it refer in a city?
9. Why would it be important for a city to have ‘moenia’?
10. Where would you have seen ‘venationes’?
11. What was the job of a ‘lanista’?
12. Romans did not have pens and pencils. What did they use to write with, and what did they write on?
13. What is the origin of the English word ‘pen’?
14. What was kept in a ‘capsa’?
15. How does our concept of a ‘book’ differ from the Roman ‘liber’?
16. What were two characteristics of original Roman handwriting?
17. What was the first Roman province not on mainland Italy?
18. In which location did the Appian Way end?
19. What was the highest political office in the Roman Republic?
20. What caused the destruction in Pompeii and Herculaneum in AD79?
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