26.02.27: Level 1; First Latin Lessons (6); dative case: 1st declension; singular and plural [ii]; expressing the subject of a verb

I: Māter tua Cornēliae dōnum dat. Cornēlia fīliae agricolae dōnum ostendit. Fīlia agricolae quoque dōnum cupit, sed māter tua fīliae agricolae dōnum nōn dat.

II: Agricolae epistulās dō, et agricola mihi pecūniam dat. Agricola epistulās legit. Agricola epistulās fīliae ostendit, sed fīlia epistulās nōn legit.

III: Puella mihi casam poētae mōnstrat. Casa est parva. Poētam nōn videō, sed fīliam poētae interdum videō. Fīlia poētae parvam casam amat.

IV: Poēta fīliae pictūram dat. Fīlia poētae mihi pictūram ostendit. Pictūram laudō et poētam laudō. Fīlia poētae est laeta puella.

V: Nauta mihi fābulam narrat. Māter mea quoque mihi interdum fābulās narrat. Soror mea multās fābulās legit et saepe parvīs puellīs fābulās narrat. Parvae puellae fābulās amant.

VI: Māter mea fīliae tuae dōnum dat. Epistulās saepe nautīs dō. Agricola poētae pecūniam dat. Poēta agricolae epistulam meam ostendit. Puella nautae casam meam mōnstrat. Soror tua agricolae epistulās ostendit.

(1) vocabulary

laudō: I praise

videō: I see

cupit: (he / she / it) wishes; desires

mōnstrat: (he / she / it) points out

narrat: (he / she / it) tells, e.g. a story

ostendit: (he / she / it) shows

fābula: story

pictūra: picture

(2) expressing the subject of a verb

The subject of the verb tells you who or what is performing the action. A subject can be:

[i] a noun e.g. The farmer tells stories.

[ii] a pronoun e.g. He tells stories. ‘He’ is an example of a subject pronoun; the other English subject pronouns are I, you, he / she / it, we, they.

Latin also has subject pronouns, but they are often omitted because the ending of the verb tells you who / what the subject is. Here are examples from this and earlier passages. At this stage look for the endings:

[a]

Īnsulam amō | I love the island.

Dōnum puellīs dō. | I give a gift to the girls.

Poētam laudō. | I praise the poet.

Poētam nōn videō. | I do not see the poet.

Cūr patriam meam nōn amās? | Why do you not love my homeland?

Eurōpam saepe laudāmus, sed Americam amāmus. | We often praise Europe, but we love America.

[b] he, she, it and they are known specifically as third person pronouns; these pronouns are used when talking about someone or something; most often, they refer to a person / thing already mentioned:

I see the farmer. He is telling stories to the girls.

Again, although Latin does have 3^rd person pronouns, they are not required:

[i]

Agricolam videō. | I see the farmer.

> Fabulās puellīs narrat. | He is telling stories to the girls.

> Parvam fīliam habet. | He has a small daughter.

[ii]

Agricola parvīs puellīs fābulās narrat. | The farmer is telling stories to the little girls.

> Fābulās amant et laudant. | They love and praise the stories.

____________________

I: Your mother gives a gift to Cornelia. Cornelia shows the gift to the farmer’s daughter. The farmer’s daughter also wants the gift, but your mother does not give the gift to the farmer’s daughter.

II: I give letters to the farmer, and the farmer gives money to me. The farmer reads the letters. The farmer shows the letters to his daughter, but the daughter does not read the letters.

III: The girl shows me the poet’s house. The house is small. I do not see the poet, but I sometimes see the poet’s daughter. The poet’s daughter loves the small house.

IV: The poet gives a picture to his daughter. The poet’s daughter shows me the picture. I praise the picture and I praise the poet. The poet’s daughter is a happy girl.

V: The sailor tells me a story. My mother also sometimes tells me stories. My sister reads many stories and often tells stories to little girls. The little girls love stories.

VI: My mother gives a gift to your daughter. I often give letters to sailors. The farmer gives money to the poet. The poet shows my letter to the farmer. The girl shows my house to the sailor. Your sister shows letters to the farmer.