19.05.24: review; eō, īre [3]; imperfect and future tense; spot the difference

Both of these tenses were covered in far earlier posts and reviewed recently.

[images #1 and #2] eō, īre in [i] the imperfect tense and [ii] the future tense. That’s what I saw when I started to learn Latin, and every grammar book will do the same.

As always, one of the challenges of Latin is that the words all look very similar, and it’s easy to misread them. But take it apart. What is it you need to look for?

Latin verbs are made up of ‘components’, just like a piece of electrical equipment. A Latin verb has three components and those three components do in a single word what an English verb sometimes needs to do in two, three or more separate words.

Take it apart:

īre: infinitive; to go

Remove the ending -re > ī- ; that’s the stem, like the stem of a flower. It looks odd to have a single letter stem, but that’s what it is: go i.e. [1] the base meaning of the verb

Latin then gives two further pieces of information: [2] the tense and [3] the person or thing that’s performing the action.

[2]

Either [i] Imperfect tense i.e. I was going, you were going etc. or I used to go etc. Latin uses the imperfect tense markers: -ba- / -bā-

Or [ii] The future tense markers: -bō / -bi- /-bu- I shall, you will etc. dosomething

[3]

Then the personal endings are added

-ō / -m: I

-s: you (sg.)

-t: he / she / it

-mus: we

-tis: you (pl.)

-nt: they

Examples:

[1] ī -ba-m │ I was going

[stem ī + │ imperfect marker -ba -│ + person -m (I) ]

[2] ī-bi-mus │ we will go

[stem ī + │ future marker -bi -│ + person -mus (we)]

[4] Follow the steps and try the match up exercise. The answers are below the exercise.

It doesn’t matter how you learn something as long as it works for you …

[i] The image of the ‘imperfect sheep’ … -ba-, -bā- ... is used by some people to remember the imperfect tense of almost every verb in Latin!

[ii] I remembered the future tense of two verb conjugations -bō, -bi- and -bu - by this rather odd book title!

18.05.24: where it all started …

 

18.05.24: derivations [2]

This post is less about Latin but more on how English developed and enhanced its vocabulary because of it.

[1] re: again │ redo; reread; rewrite: these three are good examples of the way in which English can apply Latin prefixes to Germanic words

Old English: dōn (do) + Latin: re- > redo

Old English: rǣdan (read) + Latin: re- > reread

Old English: wrītan (write) + Latin: re- > rewrite

Sometimes, English has both Latin and Germanic in the same word!

La: in- expressing opposite; Engl: -ly ( OE: -līċ) > indirectly

[2] ‘progress’: an example of displacement where an original Old English word had its meaning shifted or the word was completely lost.

OE: forþgang (progress); it still exists in ‘go forth’ but the Latin derived “progress” replaced that original Old English meaning.

[3] What is very frequent in English is the co-existence of two words, one from Old English and the other derived (Latin) i.e. came from Latin. Sometimes these words are synonyms and sometimes have a related meaning, but a meaning more specific than they were in the original Latin.

[i] What is a common feature is that ‘domestic’ and ‘agricultural’ vocabulary in Old English is enhanced by Latin derived words:

ox (and we still have the plural: oxen < OE oxan) │ Latin derivation: bovine (La: bōs; ox)

house < OE hūs │ Latin derivation: domestic (La: domus house)

ship < OE sċip │ Latin derivation: naval (La: nāvis; ship); English has ‘shipping lanes’ (< OE) and also ‘maritime laws’ (< Latin: mare; sea)

sail < OE seġl is an interesting one; here, you can see that it remains fixed as the act of sailing on a boat, but the Latin derived word navigate(La: nāvigāre; sail) is used in a more specialised way.

[ii] Sometimes we can’t be sure:

farm: could be from Mediaeval Latin ferma or possibly OE feorm(rent; supplies) but there’s no question as to where agriculture comes from!

[4] Is there much difference between these two?

friendly [< OE: frēondlīċ]; Modern German: freundlich │ amicable [< La: amīcus; friend]

But English often uses derived words to express abstract ideas or subtle differences in meaning:

brain [< OE bræġn]: He’s very brainy. │ He’s very cerebral rather than emotional. [La: cerebrum; brain]

I have a pet cat. [< OE catt] │ She has feline features. [< La: fēles; cat]; the word cattus, -ī [2/m] is Late / Mediaeval Latin – Old English already had it – and, rather like cats themselves, nobody knows where the word came from!

· dog [< OE docga] │ canine teeth [< La: canis; dog]

[5] There are a few Latin words hiding in Old English which came from the Angles and Saxons who occupied Britain after the Romans left. There is some debate as to whether the Germanic tribes took these words from the Romans.

wall │ Gmn: Wall; rampart │ La: vallum; wall, rampart

street │ Gmn: Straße; street │ La: (via) strāta; paved road

Some sites list others e.g. ‘cheese’ and ’wine’ but I’m not convinced they are of Latin origin despite their similarities i.e cheese │ Gmn: Käse │ La: cāseus, and wine │ Gmn: Wein │ La: vīnum. I should imagine that the Germanic tribes were eating cheese and drinking wine long before the Romans got involved!

Image #1: a small part of the Lord’s Prayer in Old English and Latin; there is nothing in the OE prayer that’s from Latin, not even ‘father’, or ‘name’ which look similar. Those two words, both in English and in Latin, come from the same Indo-European root, a reconstructed language that is the common ancestor of most of the European languages. English didn’t take those words from Latin; they were already in the languages of the Germanic tribes.

Image #2: Then the Normans come …

Image #3: … and English ends up like this 

18.05.24: review; verb conjugations

This little dialogue gives an insight into an aspect of Roman life. The wealthy and influential often had ‘clientēs’, people who visited them, paid their respects and were generally looking for some sort of favour or financial assistance.

The doorman is very cynical about the reasons why they want to visit his master!

____________________

Salūtātor (Forēs pulsat) Num dormiunt omnēs? Aperī iānuam!

Iānitor Quis tam vehementer forēs pulsat? Num ārdēmus?

Salūtātor Salūtātor sum. Licetne mihi patrōnum salūtāre?

Iānitor Cūr ita māne ades? Prīma modo est hōra. Audī! Gallus cantat.

Salūtātor Errās. Tardus est gallus, namque secunda iam est hōra. Ecce, aliī adsunt clientēs.

Clientēs Adestne patrōnus? Licetne nōbīs intrāre?

Iānitor Intrāte omnēs. Dominus adest, sed eum vidēre nōn vultis. Salūtant clientēs patrōnum, sed rē vērā petunt sportulās.

Clientēs Sportulās nōbīs dā, pessimē. Necesse est sine morā abīre.

(Iānitor clientēs per vestibulum in ātrium dūcit.)

Iānitor Ecce, in mēnsā sunt sportulae. Accipite atque abīte.

(Clientēs sportulās capiunt et abeunt.)

____________________

Vocabulary

foris, -s [3/f]: door

iānitor, iānitōris [3/n]: doorman

mora, -ae [1/f]: delay; sine morā: without delay

patrōnus, -ī [2/m]: the ‘patron’ i.e. the master of the house; this is the man who can do the favour

rē vērā (or: rēvērā) in actual fact

salūtātor, salūtātōris [3/m]: literally, one who greets from the verb salūtō, -āre [1]: greet, but here referring to somebody who has come to visit

sportula, -ae [2/f]: small basket but can also refer to ‘a gift’ i.e. a handout 

vehementer: violently; loudly

Note:

Licet: an impersonal verb i.e. literally it means it is allowed / permitted

Licetne mihi patrōnum salūtāre? │ Is it permitted for me to greet the patron? │ May I greet the patron?

Licetne nōbis intrāre? │Literally: Is it permitted for usto come in? │ May we come in?

[A] These dialogues from Appleton’s Initium are carefully written. There are all different verb types in the text which have already been covered and reviewed.

[1] Imperative /command forms

[i] Talking to one person:

Give us (the baskets / gifts)

Listen

Open the door!

[ii] Talking to more than one person

Come in, everybody.

Take / receive / accept (them) ..

1st conjugation

You’re wrong

Who’s knocking the door?

The cock’s crowing

The clients greet the patron

2nd conjugation

We’re not on fire, are we?

3rd conjugation

The doorman leads (takes) the clients …

They’re looking for gifts

3rd-iō conjugation

They take the gifts

4th conjugation

Surely not everybody’s sleeping? [in Latin, this is plural i.e. all people]

Irregular verb

You don’t want to see him.

[B] the verbs with prefixes

1. It’s necessary [(here) we need] to go away

2. They go away

3. Go away!

4. Why are you here in the morning?

5. Is the patron here?

6. The master is present.

7. Other clients are here.

____________________

(Beats at the door) Surely not everybody’s asleep? Open the door.

Who’s banging at the door so loudly at the door? We’re not on fire, are we?

I am a visitor. May I greet the patron?

Why are you here in the morning like this? It’s only the first hour? Listen! The cock’s crowing.

You’re wrong. The cock’s late, for it’s already the second hour. Look, other clients are here.

Is the patron here? May we come in?

Come in, everybody. The master is present, but you don’t want to see him. The clients greet the patron but, in fact, they’re looking for gifts.

Give us the gifts, you most evil man. We need to leave without delay.

(The doorman leads the clients through the entrance into the reception room.)

Look! The baskets are on the table. Take (them) and go away!

(The clients take the baskets and leave.)

  

17.05.24: Nigeria – in Latin

Another of Vincent’s great videos that revise vocabulary and grammar

Hodiē prīmum in convīviō Nigeriānō intersum.

Et ego sum ūnicus Asiāticus quī adest.

Invītātus sum ā condiscipulō quī est ex tribū Igbō.

Nigeria est cīvitās multinatiōnālis.

Sunt multī gregēs ethnicī cum cultūrīs et linguīs distīnctīs.

Hī hominēs sunt polyglottī.

Tempus est cibum sūmere.

Haec pōtiō Nigeriāna vocātur “zobō”.

Ego nequeō saltāre sed placet mihi spectāre.

____________________

cīvitās, cīvitātis [3/f]: state; society

condiscipulus, -ī [2/m]: fellow student

convīvium, -ī [2/n]: party; banquet; feast

grex, gregis [3/m]: (here) group of people

polyglottus, -ī [2/m] (Late Latin): polyglot

pōtiō, pōtiōnis [3/f]: drink

tribus, tribūs [4/f]: tribe

ūnicus, -ā, -um: only; single

Notes:

[1] nequ¦eō, nequ│īre: be unable; cannot

[2] in convīviō … intersum

Et ego sum ūnicus Asiāticus quī adest. │ I am the only Asian who is present [who’s here].

the verb sum, esse: be can also have prefixes

adsum, adesse: be present

absum, abesse: be away

intersum, interesse: attend; take part

[3] This point has not yet been covered in the group:

Invītātus sum ¦ ā condiscipulō │ I was/ have been invited ¦ by a fellow student.

[4] Find the Latin:

1. for the first time

2. This drink is called …

3. These people …

4. I like │ to watch [literally: it pleases me │ to watch]

5. It’s time │ to have food.

____________________

Today, I’m attending a Nigerian party for the first time. And I am the only Asian present. I was invited by a fellow student who is from the Igbo tribe. Nigeria is a multinational society. There are many ethnic groups with distinct cultures and languages. These people are polyglots. It is time to take food. This Nigerian drink is called “zobo”. I can't dance but I like to watch.

  

17.05.24: eō, īre with prefixes [2]

Here, the aim is quickly to recognise the personal endings as well as the prefixes:

answers below the exercise

-ō: I

-s: you (sg.)

-t: he / she / it

-mus: we

-tis: you (pl.)

-nt: they

17.05.24: eō, īre with prefixes [1]

In this one: quick recognition of the verbs and their meanings

Match the English verbs with the word cloud (not colour coded):

1. approach

2. cross

3. go

4. go (pl.)!

5. go (sg.)!

6. go away

7. go back

8. go by

9. go forth

10. go in

11. go out

12. go under

13. perish

 

16.05.24: match the prefixes

Can you match the Latin with the English meaning? Answers are after the exercise.

16.05.24: derivations [1]; Latin prefixes in English

It is said that knowledge of Latin will help your understanding of English. That’s true, but it can also be the other way around. And the Latin prefixes are a good example of this because most of them are commonly found in English.

English isn’t a Romance language; it wasn’t derived from Latin, but from the languages of the Germanic tribes that occupied Britain around the time the Romans left in the early 5th century. However, the English language acquired a massive treasure of vocabulary, most of which was indirectly derived from Latin through Old French after the Norman Conquest and many of them had a long journey before they reached English.

As mentioned in the previous post, most of the Latin words listed below can be either prepositions or prefixes. However, this post isn’t about whether they are prepositions or prefixes, but what they mean.

Some of the Latin words listed can have several meanings but it’s best, I think, to start with the basics.

Seeing how they connect to English derivatives can help a lot in remembering their meanings. I learned all of these by using the derivatives.

In other words …

Seeing how they join with words that have come down from Latin to English can help a lot in bringing their meanings back again into your mind.

ab: away │ absent

ante: before │ ante-natal clinic

ad: near; towards (also ac-, af- as a prefix) │ acquire; affect; advertise

circum: around │ circumnavigate; circumference

contrā: against │ contradict

cum [preposition]: with > prefix: con-, com-, col- │ conference; committee; collect

dē: [i] about; concerning │describe; depict [ii] down / away from │ descend; depart; de-ice the car

dis: apart │ disband; discuss; dissect

ex: out of │export; ex-wife

extrā: outside │ extra-curricular

in: in(to) │ inspect; invade; import

in- / im- / il- used to create opposite meanings: indefinite; impossible; illogical

inter: between │ international

intrō: inwards; within │ introverted

per: through │perceive; permanent i.e. it stays through to the end; peruse i.e. look through something (usually in detail)

prae: before; in front of │ prehistoric; pre-war; preposition i.e. a group of letters placed in front of another word

prō: before in front of; in a forward direction │ propose; progress

post: after │ post-natal clinic; post-war

re: again │ redo; reread; rewrite

sub: under │ submarine

super: above │ supernatural

trāns: across │ transport

16.05.24: review; eō, īre [2]

What happens with eō, īre is a good example of how to ‘get round’ what seems to be a lot to learn. This post, and the next one, put it all together.

eō, īre is important because of the addition of prefixes:

eō, īre: go > ab¦eō, ab¦īre: go away

A prefix, a small group of letters added to the beginning of a word e.g. happy > unhappy

In Latin, all the prefixes below, apart from re-, also work separately as prepositions:

ad: to(wards) e.g. Ad īnsulam nāvigant. │ They’re sailing towards the island.

When they are added to verbs, they will most often have the same meaning.

ad¦eō, ad¦īre: approach i.e. go to(wards)

By adding these prefixes to eō, īre the verb has multiple meanings.

Below are some examples; some of these verbs can have more than one meaning but these are the key ones that show the connection to the prefix:

• abeō, abīre: depart; go away
• adeō, adīre: approach; go to
• exeō, exīre: exit; go out
• ineō, inīre: go in
• pereō, perīre: perish; die
• praetereō, praeterīre: go by
• prōdeō: go forth
• redeō, redīre: go back; return
• subeō, subīre: go under
• trānseō, trānsīre: cross; go across

Here are some examples, starting with the basic verb and then adding prefixes to it to change its meaning.

eō, īre: go

[1] Duae parvae puellae ad magistram eunt et fābulam nārrant. │ The two small girls go to the teacher and tell the story.

> ex¦eō, ex¦īre: go out

Māter et medicus ex¦eunt. │The mother and the doctor go out.
Māter ex¦īre incipit. │ The mother starts to go out

Sportulam accipit, et per vestibulum ex¦it. │ He receives the basket and goes out through the entrance.

[2] abeō, ab¦īre: go away

Ecce, in mēnsā sunt sportulae. Accipite atque ab¦īte. │ Look! The baskets are on the table. Take (them) and go away.
Clientēs sportulās capiunt et ab¦eunt. │ The customers take the baskets and (they) go away.

[3] re+eō > red¦eō, red¦īre: go / come back

Ō māter, red¦ī, mea māter! │ Oh, mother, return, my mother!
Red¦īte, servī, domum! │ Go back home, slaves!

[4] A good example from the Vulgate where you can see that these prefixes aren’t only added to eō, īre:

Generātiō praeter¦it, et generātiō ad¦venit; terra autem in aeternum stat. │ A generation goes past and a generation arrives (i.e. comes towards), but the earth remains forever.

[5]

Tōtus, tōtus amor est quō per¦eō! (Mediaeval) │ It is a new, new love from which I’m dying / perishing.

[6]

Trāns¦eunt Rhēnum nāvibus ratibusque (Caesar) │ They cross the Rhine in ships and rafts

And from the same section of Caesar’s work:

Prīmōs Eburōnum fīnēs ad¦eunt │ They arrive at the frontiers of the Eburones

[7] I’m adding this one just to show that the action may not always be physical:

Quam multa molesta et difficilia quae sub¦īmus! (Cicero) │ How many troubles and annoyances are there which we undergo!

And why I mention that this post is connected to the next one is because, when faced with what seems to be a long list of small words, you can approach that list from another angle.

Image #1: examples of eō with its prefixes

Image #2: sentences from the post

Image #3: Back in the days when nobody argued about spelling, here is the famous stage direction from Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale:

Exit, pursued by a bear.

 

15.05.24: review; eō, īre: go [1]

This verb has been discussed a lot in previous posts and it is one that you need to know well.

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/04/160324-eo-ire-irregular-go-compounds-of.html

The verb is classified as irregular, but it shares certain features of 4th conjugation verbs. Below is the 4th conjugation verb audiō, audīre alongside eō, īre and you can see how close the endings match. In the present tense, most of eō, īre simply looks like the endings of the 4th conjugation

audīre [4]: to hear │ īre: to go

audiō: I hear │ eō: I go

audīs: you (sg.) hear │īs: you (sg.) go

audit: (s)he / it hears │it: (s)he / it goes

audīmus: we hear │īmus: we go

audītis: you (pl.) hear │ ītis: you (pl.) go

audiunt: they hear │ eunt: they go

• Nōs ad lūdum īmus. │We go / we’re going to school.
• Omnēs ad Mārcum eunt. │ Everyone (all people i.e. plural) goes to(wards) Marcus.

Imperative / command forms:

audī! (sg.): listen! │ī! (a one letter command): go!

audīte! (pl.): listen! │īte!: go!

And all the fans of Python’s ‘Life of Brian’ know it.

Rōmānī, īte domum! │ Romans, go home!

Image #1: review of eō, īre in the present tense

Image #2: can you match them up?

Image #3: If you want to tell the Romans to go home, this is how you do it!