29.09.24: Level 1; review; practice in the cases [9](3); reading [2]; §41: Nūntius ad obsessōs venit

Complete the literal translation of this text with the words / phrases listed below; a word or phrase may be used several times. The full text is given at the end but try the exercises first.

Nūntius ad obsessōs venit

hībernus, -a, -um: (adjective) winter; (here) used as a noun to refer to winter quarters i.e. a locations suitable for an army to spend the winter, especially military camps

hiemō, -āre [1]: spend the winter

impavidus, -a, -um: fearless

obsessus, -a, -um: beseiged; here being used as a noun i.e. the beseiged (people)

oppidānus, -ī [2/m], but mainly in the plural i.e. oppidānī: townspeople

reliquus, -a, -um: remaining

[1]

Nūntius:  Rōmānī,  summō  in  perīculō  __________!

Oppidānī:  __________  summō  in  perīculō  __________?

Nūntius:  Barbarī  in  Ītaliā  __________.

Oppidānī:  Barbarī  __________  nōn  __________.  Rōmānī  __________. __________ Rōmānus? __________ __________  barbarī  terrent?

Messenger: Romans you are in the greatest danger.

Townspeople: Why ¦ are we in the greatest danger?

Messenger: Barbarians are in Italy.

Townspeople: The barbarians don’t frighten us. We are Romans. Are you a Roman? Why do the barbarians frighten you?

cūr; esne tū; estis; nōs; sumus; sunt; tē

[2]

Nūntius:  __________ Rōmānus  __________  sed  barbarī  __________  terrent. Nam  multī  __________.  __________  quam  __________ barbarī  in  Ītaliā __________. __________ ¦ __________,  Rōmānī?

Messenger: I am a Roman but the barbarians frighten me, for there are many. There are ¦ more than 1000 barbarians in Italy. How many ¦ are you, Romans? [= How many of you are there?]

 centum; ego … sum; mē; mīlle; plūs; quot; sumus; sunt; vōs estis

[3]

Oppidānī:  Paucī  __________.  __________  modo  __________  in oppidō  __________.

Nūntius:  __________  in  oppidō  cōpiae  __________  tam  parvae __________? __________ reliquī  armātī?

Oppidānī:  __________ in  Britanniā  __________.  __________  in hībernīs  __________.  __________  in  Belgīs  hiemant.  Sed  __________ barbarī  nōn  terrent.

Oppidānī:  __________  impavidī  __________,  Rōmānī!

Townspeople: We are few. [= There are few of us]  There are only 100 armed men in the town.

Messenger: Why in the town are there so small forces [= such small numbers] of armed men? Where are the remaining armed men?

Townspeople: Some are in Britain. Some are in winter quarters. Some are spending the winter in Belgium. But the barbarians do not frighten us.

Messenger: How fearless you are, Romans!

armātī; armātōrum; centum; cūr; estis; nōnnūllī; nōs; quam; sumus; sunt; ubi sunt

____________________

Nūntius: Rōmānī, summō in perīculō estis!

Oppidānī: Cūr summō in perīculō sumus?

Nūntius: Barbarī in Ītaliā  sunt.

Oppidānī: Barbarī nōs nōn  terrent. Rōmānī sumus. Esne tū Rōmānus? Cūr tē barbarī  terrent?

Nūntius: Ego  Rōmānus  sum  sed  barbarī  mē  terrent. Nam multī sunt.  Plūs quam mīlle  barbarī  in  Ītaliā sunt. Quot vōs estis,  Rōmānī?

Oppidānī: Paucī sumus. Centum modo armātī in oppidō sunt.

Nūntius: Cūr in oppidō cōpiae armātōrum tam parvae sunt? Ubi sunt reliquī armātī?

Oppidānī: Nōnnūllī  in  Britanniā sunt. Nōnnūllī in hībernīs sunt. Nōnnūllī  in Belgīs hiemant. Sed  nōs barbarī nōn terrent.

Nūntius: Quam impavidī estis, Rōmānī!

 

28.09.24: Level 2; Ora Maritima [24] and [25] (8); where did Caesar land?

“Dē locō unde nāvigāvit et dē locō quō nāvigia sua applicāvit, virī doctī diū disputāvērunt.” │ Educated men have long argued about the place where he sailed from and (about) the place at which / where he landed his ships.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-discover-where-julius-caesar-landed-britain-180967359/

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-5125295/Landing-site-Julius-Caesars-invasion-Britain-found.html

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-42155888

28.09.24: Level 2; Ora Maritima [24] and [25] (7); grammar notes; reflexive constructions

[1] The text makes frequent use of the pronoun sē; for speakers of, for example, French, German and Russian, this is the equivalent of Fr. se / Gmn. sich / Russ. -sya; -s’; sebya. In English it is ‘-self’ and is used to indicate a reflexive action i.e. one that the subject performs on himself or herself.

Fr. il se lave / Gmn. er wäscht sich / Russ. on umyvaetsya; Engl. he’s washing himself (although English can be a little haphazard about this, most likely missing out the ‘himself’ or rephrasing it to ‘he’s getting washed’ if it’s obvious he’s washing himself and not the dog.)

[2] The construction with -self in English serves a double function:

[i] He’s getting himself all worried = reflexive i.e. he’s worrying himself, he is doing that to himself

[ii] He’ll need to do that himself = not reflexive but emphatic stressing that he will do it alone

In Latin sē is not used to express the second function; La. uses ipse, ipsa, ipsum (himself, herself, itself) which is known as an emphatic or intensive pronoun:

Agricola ipse hoc fēcit. │ The farmer himself did it.

[3] sē can mean himself / herself / themselves i.e. it is a third person reflexive pronoun referring to another person or other people, and it does not change according to gender. Therefore, only context will determine whether it means himself or themselves etc. An English translation may or may not convey it.

undīs sē dedit │ he gave himself to the waves, which is a very odd literal translation and so you need to go to the second stage to render it more fluently [ = he surrendered (himself) to the waves (he plunged into the waves)]

Dum Rōmānī undīs sē dare dubitant, … │ While the Romans were hesitating to give themselves to the waves [ = were hestitant / unsure about throwing themselves / plunging into the waves]

ad pugnam sē parāvērunt │ they prepared (themselves) for the battle [= they got prepared / ready for battle]

Rōmānī ad aquiliferum sē congregāverant │ the Romans gathered (themselves) at the standard-bearer [= the Romans assembled at the standard-bearer]

Britannī sē fugae dederant. │ The Britons had given themselves to flight [ = the Britons had fled]

Image #1: these are the forms of sē in the different cases; there is no nominative case because a reflexive pronoun is always referring back to the subject of the sentence:

[4] Examples:

Accusative

Puer sē videt in speculō. │ The boy sees himself in the mirror.

Cleopatra sē interfēcit │ Cleopatra killed herself.

Sē ex nāvī prōiēcit. (Caesar) │ He threw himself from the ship. (Note: this is the actual quotation from the description of the event mentioned in the text)

Dumnorīgem ad sē vocat. (Caesar)  │ He calls Dumnorix to him(self)

Sēsē castrīs tenēbant. (Caesar) │ They kept themselves in the camp.

Genitive

Ut Seneca philosophus dīxit, īra brevis īnsānia et impotēns suī est. │ As the philosopher Seneca said: anger is a brief madness and has no control of itself / power over itself.

Dative

Iuppiter sibi dedit fōrmam taurī. │ Juppiter gave himself the form of a bull [= the form of a bull to himself]

Hominem sibi cārum audivit. │ He heard a man (who was) dear to him(self) i.e. dear to the person who heard

Ipsī autem sibi dedērunt cōnsilium hoc (Vulgate) │ But they made this plan for themselves

Ablative

Homō doctus in sē semper dīvitiās habet. │ A learned man always has riches within himself.

Caesar, postquam hostēs superāvit, litterās ad senātum dē sē mīsit, 'Vēnī, vīdī, vīcī.' │ After he conquered the enemy, Caesar sent a letter to the senate about himself, ‘I came, I saw, I conquered.'

Alexander, post mortem Clītī, vix ā sē manūs abstinuit.  │ After the death of Clitus, Alexander barely (with difficulty) kept his hands from himself (i.e. refrained from suicide).

Prīmum sēcum dīxit: “Iste bombus aliquid significat.” (Winne Ille Pu) │ First of all he said to himself “That buzzing means something” [Note: Latin literally says with himself]

[5] The reflexive constructions below refer to a first or second person either as [i] a direct or [ii] an indirect object, for example:

[i] I wash myself; [ii] I sent a Valentine’s card to myself

[i] You’re fooling yourself; [ii] give (to) yourself a pat on the back

[i] We’re preparing ourselves; [ii] we bought ourselves a new car = …a new car for ourselves

[i] You need to help yourselves; [ii] you’re causing problems for yourselves

Latin does not have a separate reflexive pronoun to convey these but uses the accusative or dative personal pronouns in whatever case is required.

Examples in the accusative case:

Mē videō │ I see myself.

Mē bene habeō. │ I’m (doing) fine [Literally: I’m keeping / holding myself well]

Tē laudās │ You praise yourself.

Quōmodo tē habēs? │ How are you (doing)? [Literally: How are you keeping / holding yourself?]

But:

Iūlia sē male habet.* │ Julia is doing badly / feels poorly [Literally: Livia is keeping / hoding herself badly.]*

*”With sē… to hold or keep himself or itself in a certain manner, i. e. … to find one's self, to be, in any manner.” (Lewis and Short)

Sē laudat. │ (S)he praises him/herself; it cannot be any other accusative pronoun e.g. eum / eam or illum / illam because that woud suggest that somebody else is praised rather than the subject praising him/herself

From the text:

Ad aquilam vōs congregāte! │ Gather yourselves at the eagle standard.

Examples in the dative case.

Cūr tibi litterās scrīpsistī? │ Why did you write a letter to yourself?

Date vōbīs virōs sapientēs (Vulgate) │ Give wise men to yourselves.  [ = Choose wise men for yourselves]

Example in the accusative and dative case:

Līberāvī mē [accusative] perīculō : beneficium mihi [dative] dedī. (Seneca) │ I have freed myself; I have given a benefit to myself.

____________________

Latin tutorial:

Sing this when you’re in the grocery store and see what happens …

27.09.24: Level 1; review; practice in the cases [9](2); reading [1]; Lectiō §39; interrogātiō §40

Lectiō §39

BARBARI OPPIDUM OBSIDENT

Hodiē multī Rōmānī in oppidō sunt. Heri in agrīs erant. Sed in agrīs nōn manent. Nam barbarī Rōmānīs bellum parant. Magnae sunt cōpiae barbarōrum. Plūs quam mīlle barbarī sunt. Barbarī multōs sagittāriōs habent. Barbarī sagittāriīs silvās complent. Multōs equōs habent. Equī barbarōrum in agrīs sunt. In agrīs est magna cōpia frūmentī. Barbarī carrōs frūmentō complent. Nōnnūllōs agrōs vastant. In oppidō parva modo cōpia frūmentī est. In oppidō cōpia pābulī parva est. In agrīs magna cōpia aquae est. Multum pābulum quoque in agrīs est. Sed barbarī in agrīs sunt.

erant: they were

pābulum, -ī [2/n]: food; (of animals) fodder

[a] Identify the case and number (singular / plural) of the nouns in bold and [b] briefly explain why the case is being used.

Barbarī carrōs frūmentō complent.

Barbarī multōs sagittāriōs habent.

Barbarī Rōmānīs bellum parant.

Barbarī Rōmānīs bellum parant.

Barbarī Rōmānīs bellum parant.

Barbarī sagittāriīs silvās complent.

Barbarī sagittāriīs silvās complent.

Equī barbarōrum in agrīs sunt.

In agrīs est magna cōpia frūmentī.

In agrīs est magna cōpia frūmentī.

In agrīs est magna cōpia frūmentī.

In agrīs magna cōpia aquae est.

§40: interrogātiō

1. Ubi hodie Romani sunt?  
2. Ubi heri erant?
3. Cur in agris non manent?
4. Quot barbari sunt?
5. Quid habent barbari?
6. Quid faciunt barbari?
7. Ubi sunt sagittarii?
8. Habentne barbari equos?
9. Ubi sunt equi barbarorum?
10. Ubi est magna copia frumenti?
11. Quid faciunt barbari?
12. Ubi est parva copia frumenti?
13. Estne copia pabuli in oppido?
14. Ubi est copia magna?
15. Qui sunt in agris?

26.09.24: Level 2; Ora Maritima [24] and [25] (6); grammar notes; gerundives

“inter Dubrās et Rutupiās est locus ad nāvigia applicanda idōneus”

“locus idōneus est ad cōpiās explicandās”

”Audācia aquiliferī laudanda erat”

Note the -nd- + -us, -a, -um adjective ending; these are examples of gerundives, an unusual construction in Latin which literally means X [noun] is to be Y-ed. The closest we have in English is, for example, “That wall needs to be painted / needs painting” or “That problem is for you to solve.”

The dictionaries give a literal and generally clumsy sounding translation but show that it the gerundive acts as an adjective describing what is to be done to the noun.

applicand¦us, -a, -um: (which is) to be attached

explicandus, -a, -um: (which is) to be deployed

laudandus, -a, -um: (which is) to be praised

Example: legendus, -a, -um

Literally: (which is) to be read

Hic liber legendus est │ literally: this book is to be read, but can be translated in other ways e.g. “this book needs to be read”  or “this book is worth reading”

Audācia aquiliferī laudanda erat. │ the boldness of the standard-bearer is to be praised [ = praiseworthy]

It is also found with ‘ad’ to indicate purpose:

inter Dubrās et Rutupiās est locus ad nāvigia applicanda idōneus │ between Dover and Richborough is a place suitable for vessels to be brought to land

locus idōneus est ad cōpiās explicandās │ it’s a suitable place for forces to be deployed

These two examples keep close to the literal translation i.e. ‘to be brought to land’ and ‘to be deployed’. However, the translations could equally be:

inter Dubrās et Rutupiās est locus ad nāvigia applicanda idōneus │ between Dover and Richborough is a place suitable for vessels to be brought to land

> Between Dover and Richborough is a place suitable to land vessels.

locus idōneus est ad cōpiās explicandās │ it’s a suitable place for forces to be deployed

> It’s a suitable place to deploy forces.

Now, the passive idea in the gerundive is missing in the translation.

Two examples from previous posts

[i] Mēnsē proximō ībō prīmum ad Iowa ¦ ad amīcum vīsitandum.  

Literally: Next month I’ll first go to Iowa ¦ to a friend who is to be visited.

> Next month I’ll first go to Iowa ¦ to visit a friend.

i.e. English uses an infinitive: to visit whereas Latin uses a gerundive that agrees in gender, number and case with the noun indicating what is to be done to that noun.

[ii] Venīte mēcum ¦ ad eōs spectandōs.

Literally: Come with me ¦ to them that need to be looked at

> Come with me ¦ to look at them.

More information on the gerundive can be found here:

https://www.thelatinlibrary.com/101/GerundGerundive.pdf

The gerundive will be discussed again in later posts.

26.09.24: Level 2; Ora Maritima [24] and [25] (5); vocabulary

Inter viam patruus meus multa nōbīs dē bellō Rōmānōrum cum Britannīs narrāvit. Prīmō saeculō ante Christum nātum Gāius Iūlius in Galliā bellābat, et, postquam Nerviōs cēterōsque populōs Galliae Belgicae dēbellāvit, bellum contrā incolās insulae propinquae parāvit. Itaque annō quintō et quinquāgēsimō cōpiās suās in Britanniam [line 5] transportāvit. Dē locō unde nāvigāvit et dē locō quō nāvigia sua applicāvit, virī doctī diū disputāvērunt. Sed inter Dubrās et Rutupiās est locus ad nāvigia applicanda idōneus. Dubrās nōn poterat applicāre; nam scopulī ibi altī erant, ut nunc sunt, et in scopulīs cōpiae armātae Britannōrum stābant. Itaque ad alium locum nāvigāvit, ubi nullī scopulī fuērunt. Sed Britannī quoque per ōram maritimam ad locum properāvērunt, et ad [line 10] pugnam sē parāvērunt. Rōmānīs necesse erat nāvigia sua magna ad ancorās dēligāre. Britannīs vada nōta fuērunt; itaque in aquam equitāvērunt et cōpiam pugnae dedērunt.

Sed iam ad locum adventāverāmus, et patruus meus “Spectāte puerī” inquit; “hīc campus apertus est; scopulī dēsunt, et locus idōneus est ad cōpias explicandās. Illīc fortasse, ubi scaphās piscātōriās spectātis, Gāius Iūlius nāvigia Rōmāna ad ancorās [line 15] dēligāverat. Hīc Britannī cōpiās suās collocāverant, et equōs in aquam incitāverant. Nōnne potestis tōtam pugnam animō spectāre? Sed reliqua narrābō. Dum Rōmānī undīs sē dare dubitant, aquilifer ‘Ad aquilam vōs congregāte,’ inquit ‘nisi ignāvī estis. Ego certē officium meum praestābō.’

Et cum aquilā undīs sē dedit. Iam ūniversī Rōmānī ad aquiliferum sē congregāverant, et [line 20] cum Britannīs in undīs impigrē pugnābant. Confūsa et aspera fuit pugna. Prīmō labōrābant Rōmānī; sed tandem Britannōs prōpulsāvērunt et terram occupāvērunt. Ante vesperum Britannī sē fugae dederant. Numquam anteā cōpiae Rōmānae in solō Britannicō steterant. Audācia aquiliferī laudanda erat.”

[1] Find the Latin

• actively; energetically
• after (conjunction)
• already; now
• as; just as; like
• before evening
• certainly
• for ( = because)
• for a long time
• from where
• here
• in the 55^th year (what case is used to express this?)
• in the first century (what case is used to express this?)
• never before
• on the way
• over there (as if pointing to the place)
• perhaps
• surely?
• there
• therefore; and so
• unless

[2]

applicō, -āre, -āvī [1]: attach; (here) bring [a ship] to land

aquilifer, -ī [2/m]: standard-bearer, the one who carries the aquila [aquila, -ae (1/f): eagle], the (eagle) standard of the legion.

also: signifer, -ī [2/m]: standard-bearer 

Memorial to Lucius Duccius Rufinus, a standard-bearer of the Ninth Legion, Yorkshire Museum, York

By Carole Raddato from Frankfurt, Germany - Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=34738952

cōpiam … dedērunt: they gave an opportunity

dēligō, -āre, -āvī [1]: tie / bind (together)

dēsum, -esse [irr.]: be lacking / missing

explicō, -āre, -āvī [1]: [i] unfold; unfurl [ii] (here) deploy (troops)

idōneus, -a, -um: suitable

nisi: unless; if not

The standard-bearer puts some mental pressure on his comrades:

‘Ad aquilam vōs congregāte,’ inquit ‘nisi ignāvī estis. │ If you’re not cowardly (cowards) / Unless you’re cowardly, gather yourselves / assemble at the (eagle) standard

nōtus, -a, -um: known

officium, -ī [2/n]: duty

praestō, -āre, -stitī (-āvī) [1]: (here) perform

vadum, -ī [2/n]: (here) a shallow body of water

And here's one more standard-bearer ...

25.09.24: follow-up; books, writing and related topics [11]; putting it together

Image: When you start to learn a language it can look like that -especially if, online, you see a range of levels. But, to complete specific tasks in a language, you only need a few pieces.

I refer again to David’s post:

https://www.facebook.com/.../permalink/521706370440636/

What David writes there is similar to what you would see in a UK GCSE Modern Languages examination. That’s the exam for 16-year-olds. Part of that exam is the speaking test which, unless it has recently changed, comprises 25% of the total result. There will be a series of questions on a number of different topics; none of the questions are particularly advanced, nor do they want “speeches” in the answers but rather, two or three sentences. Now, Latin doesn’t have a speaking test nor a writing test that may involve stimulus questions of a similar type e.g. write a reply to an email from a friend. However, the technique of learning is the same.

How you approach it is important.

Don’t start at the end point i.e. here’s a question, but I don’t know how to answer it and, therefore, I won’t do it. With the greatest of respect, learning a language – any language – isn’t going to happen that way.

Ask yourself the following questions:

1. What do I already know?

2. What can I find out?

3. What are the key structures that allow me to answer that question in a single sentence?

4. What can I “steal”?

5. What can I lie about?

All of the posts connected to this topic give you the jigsaw pieces you need and are designed to [i] provide the information to answer the questions in the most basic form and [ii] allow you to expand on those answers if you feel you can do that.

Take what you need; I’ve changed the questions to use 2nd person singular forms so that they are being directed to you personally.

[1] Quod genus librōrum tibi maximē placet? │ What kind of books do you like the most?

follow-up; books, writing and related topics [1]

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/09/230924-follow-up-books-writing-and.html

The answer, since it is asking a general question, will most often be plural:

Carmina mihi placent. │ I like poems.

Librī ¦ dē historiā ¦ mihi placent. │ I like books about history.

Expand if you want; “steal” words that are given in the examples

Carmina ¦ Catullī ¦ mihi placent. │ I like the poems ¦ of Catullus.

Carmina Catullī mihi ¦ praecipuē ¦ placent. │ I ¦ particularly ¦ like the poems of Catullus.

Carmina Catullī legere mihi praecipuē placet. │ I particularly like ¦ to read ¦ the poems of Catullus.

[2] Quis est tibi auctor maximē dīlēctus? │ Who is your favourite author?

follow-up; books, writing and related topics [7]; people

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/09/240924-follow-up-books-writing-and.html

Follow the pattern:

X est mihi Y maximē dīlēctus [m.] / dīlēcta [f.] │ X is my favourite Y.

[Cicerō] est mihi [auctor] maximē dīlēctus. │ [Cicero] is my favourite [author].

[Meryl Streep] est mihi [actrīx] maximē dīlēcta. │ [Meryl Streep] is my favourite [actress].

Expand if you want:

Catullus poēta Rōmānus est. │ Catullus is a Roman poet.

Marītālis in Hispāniā nātus est. │ Martial was born in Spain.

[3] Quem librum hīs diēbus legis? │ What book are you reading these days [= at the moment; currently]?

follow-up; books, writing and related topics [8]; What are you reading about?

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/09/240924-follow-up-books-writing-and_24.html

follow-up; books, writing and related topics [9]; book titles

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/09/240924-follow-up-books-writing-and_82.html

Librum ¦ dē architectūrā Rōmānā ¦ legō. │ I’m reading a book ¦ about Roman architecture.

Librum legō quī “__________” īnscrībitur. │ I’m reading a book ¦ which is entitled “__________”.

Of course, if you want to speak and / or write in Latin – and many people do – naturally you want to relate it to your own experience. However – and this is where lying comes in – if the book you’re reading is “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time”, and you don’t know how to say it, then it might be a plan to say you’re reading “Winnie the Pooh”!

Librum nūper legī quī “Winnie Ille Pooh” īnscrībitur. │ I recently read a book entitled “Winnie the Pooh”.

It isn’t about reality, but about practising the key structures.

[4] Keep stealing; look again at the post about the 17th century bookstore.

follow-up; books, writing and related topics [5]; in a 17th century bookstore

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/09/230924-follow-up-books-writing-and_38.html

Expand if you want:

Multōs librōs saepe emō quia in oppidō meō est taberna librāria magna. │ I often buy a lot of books because there’s a big book store in my town.

Librī meī per pluteōs ¦ dispōnuntur. │ My books are arranged ¦ on shelves.

[5] One final point, and one that I made again and again when I was teaching languages: don’t kill a conversation. The excerpt from the UK comedy programme “Come Fly with me” illustrates that point and I used that excerpt, and similar ones, with so many students.

Imagine you can’t stand reading and have never read a book in your life. Then the most important word is ‘but’; manipulate the answer:

Librōs rārō / numquam legō sed … │ I rarely / never read books but …

… mūsicam audiō. │ I listen to music.

… pingere mihi placet. │ I like painting.

… pelliculam dē gladiātōribus nūper spectāvī. │ I recently watched a movie about gladiators.

i.e. Don’t be like Tommy in the video: think of something to say

 

25.09.24: Level 1; review; practice in the cases [9](1); 1st / 2nd declension nouns and adjectives; ablative singular and plural [2]

Lectiō §37

Caesar in Galliā manet — in īnsulā est silva — in silvā erant barbarī — barbarī in Ītaliā sunt — Caesar in Galliā hiemat — in ōra Ītaliae multa oppida sunt — in īnsulīs multae silvae sunt — in silvīs erant barbarī — quot barbarī in silvīs sunt? — plūs quam mīlle barbarī — in numerō servōrum sunt Germānī — in mūrō stat Caesar — Rōmanī summō in perīculō sunt — Rōmanī in silvīs manent — frūmentum in carrō est — Caesar in oppidīs maritimīs manet — plūs quam centum armātī in castrīs* sunt — cūr in Britanniā Caesar nōn hiemat — magna cōpia frūmentī in nāvigiīs est — in castellīs Rōmānōrum multī sunt armātī.

[1] Find the Latin:

Caesar stays in Gaul.

Caesar doesn't spend the winter in Britain.

There's a forest on the island.

The grain is in the wagon.

Caesar stands on the wall.

The Romans are in the greatest danger.

The Romans stay in the forests.

Many armed men are in the forts.

Caesar stays in sea-side towns.

*Watch out for the word castra; it is a neuter plural noun in Latin but refers to the English singular noun (military) camp:

Plūs quam centum armātī in castrīs* sunt │ More than 100 armed men are in the camp.

[2] The ablative case is used with certain prepositions. In the text it only focuses on one, namely  in meaning [i] in and [ii] on.

Ablative singular

Gallia (Gaul) > in Galliā │ in Gaul

ōra (coast) > in ōrā │ on the coast

mēnsa (table) > in mēnsā │ on the table

hortus (garden) > in hortō  │ in the garden

mūrus (wall) > in mūrō  │ on the wall

perīculum (danger) > in perīculō  │ in danger

Ablative plural

silvae (forests) > in silvīs  │ in the forests

īnsulae (islands) > in īnsulīs  │ on the islands

mūrī (walls) > in mūrīs │ on the walls

oppida (towns) > in oppidīs │ in the towns

With adjectives:

Singular

ōra maritima: the sea-coast > in ōrā maritimā  │  on / at the sea-coast

īnsula parva: a small island > in īnsulā parvā  │  on a small island

perīculum magnum: great danger > in perīculō magnō  │  in great danger

Note the word order from the text; the adjective may not be placed exactly next to the noun, but the ending makes it clear which noun the adjective is describing. Compare the word order of the translation and the Latin original

The Romans are ¦ (i) in (ii) the greatest (iii) danger. │ Rōmānī [(ii) summō (i) in (iii) perīculō] sunt.

Plural

silvae dēnsae: thick forests > in silvīs dēnsīs  │  in thick forests

mūrī altī: high walls > in mūrīs altīs  │  on high walls

oppida maritima: seaside towns > in oppidīs maritimīs  │  in seaside towns

[3] Four other common prepositions used with the ablative are:

[i] ā / ab: away from

ā (before a consonant) / ab (before a consonant or a vowel): away from

Ab īnsulā nāvigant │ They sail (away) from the island.

[ii] ē / ex: out of

ē (before a consonant) / ex (before a consonant or a vowel); this can convey coming out of a building (hence the English derivative exit) or it can refer to, for example, the country where you’re from

Ex Hispaniā oriundus [masc.] / oriunda [fem.] sum │ I am (originally) from Spain.

[iii] cum: (together) with

cum: (together) with; this is not used to express the idea in the previous post i.e. to surround a city with a wall, but to convey the person with whom you are performing an action e.g. I went to the river with my friend. It does occur in other uses, but for the moment focus on the use shown below.

Ad oram maritimam cum amīcō ambulat │He’s walking to the seashore with a friend.

[iv] sine: without

sine pecūniā │ without money

sine perīculō │ without danger

sine amīcīs │ without friends

[4] §38: interrogātiō

1. Ubi manet Caesar?
2. Ubi est silva?
3. Ubi Caesar hiemat ?
4. Quot barbarī in silvīs sunt?
5. Ubi stat Caesar?
6. Ubi est frūmentum?
7. Ubi est cōpia frūmentī?
8. Ubi sunt centum armātī?
9. Ubi sunt armātī Rōmānōrum?