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 3rd 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.
