Lesson 6 · Review
Read through the vocabulary and the rules, then test yourself below. Answer in your head before you click.
Seven adjectives, a new noun, the prepositions that take the ablative, and a few question words. Say each aloud as you read it.
A fifth case — the ablative — plus the prepositions that govern it and the rule of adjective agreement. One sentence ties two of them together: Puella parva bonam deam amat — "the little girl loves the good goddess."
When the nominative singular ends in -a, the ablative singular ends in -ā (a long vowel) and the ablative plural in -īs. The final -ă of the nominative is short; the -ā of the ablative is long.
fīliă (nom. sg.) → fīliā (abl. sg.), fīliīs (abl. pl.) · terra → terrā, terrīs
The ablative expresses relations English shows with from, with, by, in, at: separation (from), means or accompaniment (with, by), and place or time (in, at).
ē silvā — out of the forest · cum nautā — with the sailor · in aquā — in the water
A noun governed by a preposition must be in the accusative or ablative. These five denote ablative relations and so take the ablative: ā / ab (from), dē (down from), ē / ex (out of), cum (with), in (in, on).
Use ā and ē before a consonant, ab and ex before either a vowel or a consonant: ā terrā, but ab aquā.
An adjective describes a noun and agrees with it in number and case. Its ending tells you which noun it belongs to. So parva (nom.) matches the subject puella, and bonam (acc.) matches the object deam.
Puella parva bonam deam amat — the little girl loves the good goddess.
An adjective tied directly to its noun is attributive (puella parva); one separated from it by the verb stands in the predicate (puella est parva). The vocative — the case of direct address — is in form just like the nominative.
Puella est parva — the girl is little (predicate) · "Iūlia, dea est pulchra" — Julia (vocative), the goddess is beautiful.
The enclitic -ne, attached to the first word (usually the verb), marks a yes/no question. Latin has no single word for "yes" or "no": you answer by repeating the verb, with nōn for "no."
Pugnatne nauta? — Is the sailor fighting? · Pugnat (yes) / Nōn pugnat (no).
Pick an answer; wrong picks turn red and you may try again. Six out of six before you start the exercises.
Question 1
When the nominative singular ends in -a, the ablative singular ends in…?
Right. The ablative singular ends in a long -ā (Rule 1). It differs from the short nominative -ă only in vowel length — so terra → terrā.
Not quite — -ae is the genitive/dative singular, and -am is the accusative. The ablative takes a long vowel.
Question 2
The ablative plural of an -a noun is -īs — a form identical to the ___ plural.
Right. The ablative plural is like the dative plural — both end in -īs (Rule 1). Only the sense of the sentence tells them apart, as with terrīs.
Not quite — recall from the last lesson which case also ended in -īs in the plural.
Question 3
A noun governed by a preposition must be in which case(s)?
Right. A noun after a preposition is always accusative or ablative (Rule 3). The five prepositions of separation and place — ā/ab, dē, ē/ex, cum, in — take the ablative.
Not quite — prepositions never govern the nominative, genitive, or (here) the dative. Two cases are possible.
Question 4
Which is correct for "out of the forests"?
Right. Ē / ex takes the ablative, and "forests" is plural — so the ablative plural silvīs (Rules 1 & 3). Silvae is genitive/dative/nominative-plural; silvās is accusative plural.
Not quite — the preposition needs the ablative, and "forests" is plural. Which ending is the ablative plural?
Question 5
In Puella parva bonam deam amat, the ending of bonam shows that it agrees with…?
Right. An adjective agrees with its noun in number and case (Rule 4). Bonam is accusative, matching the accusative object deam; parva is nominative, matching the subject puella.
Not quite — match the endings. Bonam ends like an accusative; which noun here is the accusative object?
Question 6
How do you answer Pugnatne nauta? ("Is the sailor fighting?") with "No" in Latin?
Right. Latin has no word for "yes" or "no": you repeat the verb, adding nōn for "no" (Rule 6). Pugnat alone means "yes, he is fighting." The -ne on pugnatne only marks the question.
Not quite — pugnat by itself is the "yes" answer. To say "no," repeat the verb with one short word in front.
Answered correctly: 0 / 6