Lesson 2 · Review
Read through the vocabulary and the rules, then test yourself below. Answer in your head before you click.
Say each word aloud as you read it — Latin is learned with the ear as much as the eye. The nouns all end in -a; the verbs all end in -t.
A word changes its form to show a change in use. Inflecting a noun is called its declension; inflecting a verb is called its conjugation.
nauta → nautae (declension) · pugnat → pugnant (conjugation)
A noun ending in -a in the singular ends in -ae in the plural. To make an -a noun plural, replace -a with -ae.
puella → puellae · agricola → agricolae · nauta → nautae
A finite verb must always be in the same person and number as its subject. A plural subject takes a plural verb.
Nautae pugnant — the sailors (plural) fight (plural).
The third person singular active verb ends in -t ("he/she/it"); the third person plural active ends in -nt ("they"). These endings replace the pronoun, so an expressed subject is not echoed by a separate pronoun.
pugna-t (he fights) · pugna-nt (they fight). Nauta pugnat = "the sailor fights," not "the sailor he fights."
Pick an answer; wrong picks turn red and you may try again. Six out of six before you start the exercises.
Question 1
What is the plural of puella ("girl")?
Right. By Rule 1, an -a noun forms its plural by replacing -a with -ae: puella → puellae. (puellam is the singular object form from Lesson 1; puella is still singular.)
Not quite — Rule 1: what ending replaces -a in the plural?
Question 2
In Puellae amant, what tells you that more than one girl is acting?
Right. The plural noun puellae and the plural verb amant agree in number (Rules 1–3). Both endings carry the plural, and the verb must match its subject.
Not quite — the verb must agree with the subject. How many endings shifted?
Question 3
The third person plural active verb ends in which letters?
Right. Rule 3: the third person singular ends in -t (he/she/it), the third person plural in -nt (they). -ae is a noun plural ending, not a verb ending.
Not quite — -t is singular. What does the plural add in front of it?
Question 4
What does Agricolae labōrant mean?
Right. Agricolae is the plural noun (Rule 1) and labōrant the plural verb (Rule 3): a plural subject with an agreeing plural verb means "the farmers labor."
Not quite — both -ae and -nt mark the plural. How many farmers?
Question 5
Inflecting a verb is called its ___; inflecting a noun is called its ___.
Right. Verbs are conjugated; nouns (and adjectives and pronouns) are declined. Both are kinds of inflection — a change of form to show a change in use.
Not quite — which term goes with verbs? Think "conjugate a verb."
Question 6
Why is Nauta pugnat translated "the sailor fights," not "the sailor he fights"?
Right. The personal ending -t already carries "he/she/it" (Rule 3), but when the subject noun nauta is expressed, you do not also translate the ending as a pronoun.
Not quite — the -t ending stands in for the pronoun. What happens when the subject is named outright?
Answered correctly: 0 / 6