27.02.27: Level 1; step-by-step; scaffolding [4] saying “I have” and “I like”

[C] This section builds on the two previous ones. Singular and plural nouns can be used with the patterns below.

[1] mihi est / sunt __________

Mihi est ūna ūva. | I have one grape.

• Mihi est X | I have; literally: to me (there) is __________; used with a singular noun

Mihi sunt duae ūvae. | I have two grapes.

Mihi sunt multae ūvae. | I have many grapes.

• Mihi sunt X | I have; literally: to me (there) are __________; used with a plural noun

Exercises

[i] est or sunt?

(1) Mihi __________ multī amīcī.

(2) Mihi ________ ūnus amīcus.

(3) Mihi ________ duo equī.

(4) Mihi ________ ūnum pōculum.

[ii] Complete the sentences with the correct words and endings.

(1) I have water.

Mihi ________ aqu_____.

(2) I have cheese.

Mihi ________ cāse_____.

(3) I have a friend (female).

Mihi ________ amīc_____.

(4) I have a shield.

Mihi ________ scūt_____.

(5) I have one shield.

Mihi ________ ūn_____ scūt_____.

(6) I have two horses.

Mihi ________ du_____ equ_____.

(7) I have many horses.

Mihi ________ mult_____ equ_____.

(8) I have one friend (male).

Mihi ________ ūn_____ amīc_____.

(9) I have two apples.

Mihi ________ du_____ māl_____.

(10) I have many eggs.

Mihi ________ mult_____ ōv_____.

(11) I have many maidservants.

Mihi ________ mult_____ ancill_____.

[2] __________ mē (valdē) dēlectat / dēlectant

Ūva mē dēlectat. | I like the grape.

• X mē dēlectat. | literally: X pleases / delights me > I like X (singular).

Ūvae mē dēlectant. | I like the grapes.

• X mē dēlectant. | literally: X please / delight me > I like X (plural).

Ūva mē valdē dēlectat. | I really like the grape.

• X mē valdē dēlectat. | literally: X really pleases / delights me > I really like X (singular).

Ūvae mē valdē dēlectant. | I really like (the) grapes.

• X mē valdē dēlectant. | literally: X really please / delight me > I really like X (plural).

Exercise

Here are some singular and plural nouns. How would you express that you like or really like them?

(1) singular

__________ mē (valdē) dēlectat

• cāseus: cheese
• casa: cottage
• fābula: story
• silva: forest
• villa: country house
• dōnum: gift
• vīnum: wine

(2) plural

__________ mē (valdē) dēlectant.

• fābulae: stories
• crūstula: small cakes; pastries; cookies
• dōna: gifts
• frāga: strawberries
• māla: apples
• pira: pears

LINKS

10.03.24: Talking about free time [2]: likes and dislikes

section [3] [i]

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/04/100324-talking-about-free-time-2-likes.html

https://www.facebook.com/groups/latinforstarters/posts/404742942136980

26.02.24: talking about friends and family members; mihi est / mihi sunt; conjunctions et, sed, vel

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/04/26_89.html

https://www.facebook.com/groups/latinforstarters/posts/397753762835898

____________________

[1]

[i] (1) sunt; (2) est; (3) sunt; (4) est

[ii]
(1) Mihi est aqua.
(2) Mihi est cāseus.
(3) Mihi est amīca.
(4) Mihi est scūtum.
(5) Mihi est ūnum scūtum.
(6) Mihi sunt duo equī.
(7) Mihi sunt multī equī.
(8) Mihi est ūnus amīcus.
(9) Mihi sunt duo māla.
(10) Mihi sunt multa ōva.
(11) Mihi sunt multae ancillae.

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.

25.02.27: Level 4; literature; Mediaeval; Carmina Burana: Fortune plango vulnera [3]: the Wheel of Fortune

Image: the Wheel of Fortune from the Carmina Burana

Going from the left in a clockwise direction … three important tenses in one Mediaeval wheel of Doom

Left: regnābō │I shall reign

Top: regnō │ I reign

Right: regnāvī │ I (have) reigned

Bottom: sum sine regnō │ I am without a kingdom

25.02.27: Level 4; literature; Mediaeval; Carmina Burana: Fortune plango vulnera [2]: notes and vocabulary

[1]

Fortūne [ML = CL: Fortūnae] plangō vulnera │ I lament the wounds of Fortune

stillantibus ocellīs, │ with dripping [flowing / tearful] eyes

quod sua michi [ML = CL: mihi] munera / subtrahit rebellis. │ because she rebelliously withdraws her gifts from me

vērum est, quod legitur  │ It is true what is read

fronte capillāta / sed plērumque sequitur / [i] Occāsiō calvāta. │ [i] Opportunity has hair at the front, but generally a bald patch follows

“Opportunity is described as having hair only on the front of her head - she can be seized as she approaches, but once she has passed, a person grabs futilely at the back of her head.” (Betts)

calvātus, -a, -um: bare; made bald

capillātus, -a, -um: having hair

plangō, -ere, plānxī, plānctus [3]: bewail; lament; mourn

sequor, sequī, secūtus sum [3/deponent]: follow

stīllō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus [1]: drip; trickle

stillāns, stillantis: present active participle > ocellīs stillantibus │ with dripping eyes

subtrahō, -ere, -trāxī, -trāctus [3]: remove; withdraw

sua michi [dative] munera subtrahit │ She removes / takes away her gifts from me

[2] “In the second and third stanzas reference is made to the Wheel of Fortune, a common motif in the Middle Ages and often represented in art, where it was conceived as a primitive Ferris wheel accommodating four - one up, one down, one about to achieve prosperity, one about to be plunged into misery.” (Betts) 

Note in this stanza the use of perfect passive participles and adjectives derived from them

ēlātus

coronātus

beātus

privātus

In Fortūn(a)e soliō │ On the throne of Fortune

sēderam ēlātus, │ I had sat [pluperfect tense] (having been) exalted (raised up;  elevated) [perfect passive participle]

prōsperitātis ¦ variō / flōre [ablative] ¦ corōnātus; │ (having been) Crowned [perfect passive participle] ¦ with the many-coloured flower of prosperity

quicquid enim flōruī │ for however (in whatever way) I have flourished

fēlīx et beātus │ happy and blessed

nunc ā summō corruī │ Now I have fallen down from the top

glōriā prīvātus. │ (having been) deprived [perfect passive participle] of glory.

corruō, -ere, -uī, corrutus [3]: fall down

solium, -ī [2/m]: [i] seat; chair [ii] (here) throne

[i] sēderam ēlātus │ I had sat (having been) exalted (raised up)

The verb ferō (carry; bear), which will be discussed in greater depth in later posts, has unusual principal parts: ferō, ferre, tulī, lātus (why that happens will be explained)

lātus: having been carried

Those same principal parts will apply to compound forms of ferō:

ēlātus: having been lifted up

[ii] gloriā [ablative] prīvātus │ deprived of glory [literally: deprived from glory]

the ablative case can be used to express separation from something e.g. eōs timōre līberāvit │ he freed them from fear

[3]

Fortūn(a)e rota volvitur; │ the wheel of Fortune is turned

dēscendō minōrātus; │ I descend (having been) diminished

alter in altum tollitur; │ another is raised up on high

nimis exaltātus │ (having been) too exalted

rēx sedet in vertice │ the king sits at the top

caveat ruīnam! │ let him beware ruin!

nam sub axe legimus │ for below the axle we read

Hecubam rēgīnam. │ Queen Hecuba.

axis, -is [3/m]: axle (of a wheel)

minōrō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus [1] (late latin): reduce; diminish

vertex, verticis [3/m]: (here) highest point; summit; top

caveat ruīnam │ let him beware ruin; subjunctive, known in grammar as the jussive subjunctive that forms a command / suggestion usually referring to a third person rather than directly addressing somebody

Hecuba: “The name of Hecuba was a suitable inscription for the axle as she was the supreme example of Fortune's malice. From being Queen of Troy, after its sack she suffered such misery as a captive of the Greeks that the gods, out of pity, turned her into a dog.” (Betts)

25.02.27: Level 4; literature; Mediaeval; Carmina Burana: Fortune plango vulnera [1]: text / translation / pronunciation notes

In the Mediaeval world, they knew that power did not last forever; unfortunately, some of our 21^st century leaders think it does.

[1]

Fortūne plangō vulnera │ I lament the wounds of Fortune

stillantibus ocellīs, │ with dripping (flowing / tearful) eyes

quod sua michi mūnera / subtrahit rebellis. │ because she rebelliously withdraws her gifts from me

vērum est, quod legitur │ It is true what is read

fronte capillāta, / sed plērumque sequitur / Occāsiō calvāta. │ Opportunity has hair at the front, but generally a bald patch follows

[2]

In Fortūne soliō │ On the throne of Fortune

sēderam ēlātus, │ I had sat exalted (raised up;  elevated)

prōsperitātis variō / flōre corōnātus; │ Crowned with the many-coloured flower of prosperity

quicquid enim flōruī │ for however (in whatever way) I have flourished

fēlīx et beātus │ happy and blessed

nunc ā summō corruī │ now I have fallen down from the top

glōriā prīvātus. │ deprived of glory.

[3]

Fortūne rota volvitur; │ the wheel of Fortune is turned

dēscendō minōrātus; │ I descend diminished

alter in altum tollitur; │ another is raised up on high

nimis exaltātus │ too exalted

rēx sedet in vertice │ the king sits at the top

caveat ruīnam! │ let him beware ruin!

nam sub axe legimus │ for below the axle we read

Hecubam rēgīnam. │ Queen Hecuba.

Mediaeval pronunciation:

[i] fortūne = fortūnae; spelling change to reflect pronunication shift of Classical Latin /ae/ > /e/  

[ii] vulnera [vool-ne-ra]; all letter v’s in the text are pronounced as in Engl. very; CL did not have a /v/ sound but developed later; CL letter V represented a /u/ or /w/ but since this text is Mediaeval, the singers reflect the pronunciation change by this period; that pronunciation is also in Ecclesiastical Latin although this song is secular

[iii] michi = mihi

[iv] ocellīs: c + e as /che/ rather than CL hard /c/ [k]; similarly: dēscendō; vertice

[v] legitur: g + i as soft /g/ as in English /j/ rather than CL hard /g/ [as in get]; similarly: legimus; rēginam 

24.02.27: Level 3+ (review); correlatives [7] making comparisons (4) quō … eō; quantō … tantō; quālis … tālis …

[xii] quō … eō … [or: eō … quō …]

[xiii] quantō … tantō … [or: tantō … quantō …]

Both used in combination with a comparative adjective or adverb:

the more (the … er) ….  the more (the … er) e.g. the bigger the better

hominēs quō plūra habent eō cupiunt ampliōra

• The more men have, the more they desire.

quō minus cupiditātis, eō plūs auctōritātis (Livy)

• the less greed, the more weight

quae eō frūctuōsiōrēs fīunt, quō caldiōre terrā arātur (Varro)

• and they become more fruitful the warmer the ground in which ploughing takes place

quantō pulchrior tempestās erat, tantō fēlīciōrēs erāmus

• The nicer the weather was, the happier we were.

quantō erat gravior oppūgnātiō, tantō crēbriōrēs litterae mittēbantur (Caesar)

• The more severe the siege was, the more frequently letters were sent.

atque quantō, nox, fuistī longior hāc proximā, tantō brevior diēs ut fīat faciam (Plautus)

• and, Night, the longer you were than the last one, I’ll make the day so much the shorter.

quantō in pectore hanc rem meō magis volātō, tantō mī aegritūdō auctior est in animō (Plautus)

The more I keep this matter flying about in my heart [ = the more I think it over], the more my distress is increased [ = grows] in my mind.

[xiv] tālis … quālis … [or: quālis … tālis …] | of such a sort … as …

cum esset tālis quālem tē esse videō (Cicero)

• since he was such a man as I see you are

Ac sī quis est tālis quālis esse omnis oportēbat … (Cicero)

• And if there is anyone such as everybody ought to be … 

et tālis est quaeque rēs pūblica, quālis eius aut nātūra aut voluntās, quī illam regit (Cicero)

• And each state is of such a kind as either the nature or the will of the person who rules it.

A number of proverbs illustrate not only the use of this correlative but also the way in which English often does not translate them using a restricted dictionary definition as it literally occurs in Latin:

[1]

Quālis pater, tālis fīlius.

Like father, like son.

Nōn semper homō tālis est, quālis (esse) dīcitur. [Lit: He’s not always the sort of man as he’s said to be.]

• A man is not always as he is said to be.

[2]

Quālia dīxerīs, tālia audiēs. [Lit: Such things you might say, so you will hear.]

• Whatever you say, you will hear the same, i.e. If you speak good (or bad) things about other people, you will hear the same about yourself.

Tālia dicentur tibi, quālia dīxerīs ipse. [Lit: Such things will be said to you as you will say yourself.]

• Whatever you say will be said to you.

[3]

Quālis homō, tālis sermō. [Lit: As is the man, so is his speech.]

Quālia verba virī, tālis et ipse vir est. [Lit: As are the words of the man, so too is the man himself.]

Both convey the same idea:

• A man is what he says / a man is determined by his words.

Tālīs hominum ōrātiō, quālis vīta. [Lit: Such is the speech of men, so is their life.]

• Men’s words show the life they lead.

[4]

Quālīs vīs vidērī, tālis estō. [Lit: As you wish to be seen, be such]

• Be the way you want to appear.

Quālēs sumus, tālēs esse videāmur. [Lit: Let us be seen to be such as we are.]

• Let’s not pretend to be something that we’re not.