Latin/Verbs Present 3 Lesson 1
Salvēte omnēs! Welcome back to Latin for Wikiversity. Here you can peruse a new lesson in Latin, in a simple format. If you would like to catch up, you can find a directory of lessons, a classified vocabulary list, and Memrise courses at the links on the right.
More on the present tense
editThis lesson begins our third series on Latin verbs in the present tense. You may want to review these eight lessons in the two previous series; we particularly recommend the first four lessons that lay out the four basic conjugation forms:
In this third cycle of verbs we will continue introducing high-frequency verbs, including irregular verbs and verbs with special usage, and even some deponent verbs. As always, if you would just like to look at sentences and not worry about grammar, skip to the “new sentences” portion of the lesson, but I’ll include some grammar explanations before then in most lessons for those who want them.
In a previous lesson we learned volō = wish, want; we’ll learn its variants, nōlō (am unwilling, do not want) and mālō (want more, prefer). Like volō, they are frequently used with infinitive forms of verbs, which will be introduced more formally soon. You’ll need to know the conjugation:
- volō, vīs, vult, volumus, vultis, volunt
for these new variants to make sense; in present tense:
The verb fīō is a special case; it is actually a passive voice form for the verb
- faciō, facere, fēcī, factus = make, do.
It has its own conjugation in present tense and doesn’t look like other passive voice verbs:
- fīō, fīs, fit, fīmus, fītis, fīunt
New Vocabulary
edit| Latin | English | Audio (Classical) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| nummus, ī | coin, unit of money | ||
| vēritās, vēritātis (f.) | truth | ||
| quantus, a, um | how large, how great, how much, how many | quantī is usually used with cōnstat. | |
| cōnstō, cōnstāre, cōnstitī, cōnstātus (1) | stand together, agree, stand firm, endure, be certain; cost (with abl. or gen.) | ||
| fiō, fierī, factus sum (irreg.) | become, be made, be done, happen | This is the irregular passive voice of faciō (3) = make, do | |
| mālō, mālle, māluī (irreg.) (magis + volō) | prefer, wish/want more/instead | ||
| nōlō, nōlle, nōluī (irreg.) | am unwilling, do not want | ||
| quam, adv. | as, than, how |
New Sentences
edit| Latin | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Quantī cōnstat hoc? | How much does this cost? | |
| Quantī cōnstant? | How much do they cost? | |
| Liber decem nummīs (dollariīs/sestertiīs) cōnstat. | The book costs ten coins/units of money (dollars/sesterces). | |
| Mīlitēs cōnstant. | The soldiers stand together/ stand firm. | |
| Vēritās cōnstat. | The truth is certain/ is firmly established. | |
| Virtus et vēritās. | Courage and truth. | |
| Quantī cōnstat ille canis in fenestrā? | How much is that doggie in the window? | |
| Lūcia librum nōn vult. | Lucia does not want the book. | |
| Labōrāre nōlō. | I don’t want to work. | |
| Bellum nōlumus. | We do not want a war. | |
| Domum magnam mālunt. | They prefer the big house. | |
| Cafeam quam theam māvult. | He prefers coffee to tea. | |
| Mālum quam pirum mālō. | I prefer an apple to (rather than) a pear. | |
| Illud mālumus. | We prefer that one. | |
| Māvīsne cafeam aut theam? | Do you prefer/Would you rather have coffee or tea? | |
| Quam altus est! | How tall he is! | |
| Quam altus est? | How tall is he? | |
| Paula opus bene facit. | Paula works well | Paula does the work well. |
| Opus Paulae bene fit. | Paula’s work is well done. | |
| Raedas hīc faciunt. | They make cars here. | |
| Raedae hīc fīunt. | Cars are made here. | |
| Gāius imperātor fit. | Gaius becomes/is made emperor. | |
| Hoc saepe fit. | This happens often. | |
| Hoc bene fit. | This is going well/ This is well done. | |
| Opus difficile fit. | A difficult job is being done. | |
| Puerī hominēs fīunt. | Boys become men. | |
| Omnia causā fīunt. | Everything happens for a reason | lit. All things happen for a reason. |
| Vōs ducēs fītis. | You are made/become leaders. | |
| Nōlō contendere. | I do not wish to contest. | The legal term for a "no contest" plea. |
| Fīat lūx. | Let there be light. (a little teaser for the subjunctive mood) | Found in the Genesis 1:3 |
Practice
edit| Practice and learn the words and phrases in this lesson | |
|---|---|
| Step one | First learn the words using this lesson: |
| Step two | Next try learning and writing the sentencing using this: |
| Note that the Memrise stage covers the content for all lessons in each stage. If you are skipping previous stages you may need to manually "ignore" the words in previous levels (use the 'select all' function) | |
Thank you for following along with these lessons. If you found this week’s verbs difficult, next week we’ll try to cover some fairly simple verbs that just haven’t been introduced yet. Valēte et bonam fortūnam!