3rd Declension I-stem nouns:
Some 3rd Declension nouns have an –ium in the genitive plural. These nouns are called I-stem nouns because of the extra I. There is a way to tell if the 3rd Declension noun is an I-stem:
1) If the nominative singular and the genitive singular are identical or have the same number of syllables:
e.g. Nom: cīvis, Gen: cīvis (m/f) citizen.
senex senis (m.) old man.
2) If the nominative is a monosyllabic (one-syllable) word, and the genitive base (the genitive without the genitive ending) ends in two consonants:
e.g. Nom: pars, Gen: partis (part-)
mōns, montis (mont-)
dens dentis (dent-)
Nom. cīvis pars
Gen. cīvis partis
Dat. cīvī partī
Acc. cīvem partem
Abl. cīve parte
PLURAL
Nom. cīvēs partēs
Gen. cīvium partium
Dat. cīvibus partibus
Acc. cīvēs partēs
Abl. cīvibus partibus
Verbs: The Imperfect Tense
Tense refers to the time in which the action of a sentence’s verb takes place. (tense < O. Fr. tens “tense, time” fr. L. tempus.) This action takes place with respect to the time sequence of each story’s action. Up to capitulum XIII, the action has been in the present, and the verbs present tense.
Now we’ll be looking at a past tense verb, specifically the imperfect tense.
Per Viam Appiam iter faciēbant. They were traveling along the Appian Way.
Ad urbem tribus diēbus advenīre He wanted to reach the
volēbat. city in three days.
Syrus equōs verberābat. Syrus kept beating the horses.
The verbs in the Latin sentences above are in the imperfect
tense. Look for the tense sign –bā– before the personal
ending. The imperfect tense usually describes actions that
took place in past time and that were continuous or
repeated.
NB: the imperfect tense forms of sum, esse (to be) and
possum, posse (to be able) are irregular. They can be
recognized by the letters era-
erat (he/she/it) was poterat (he/she/it) was able
erant (they) were poterant (they) were able
Adverbs:
Adverbs can help expand the meaning of sentences by
modifying verbs (She ran quickly), adjectives (She was
very beautiful), or other adverbs (She ran very quickly).
In Latin, adverbs are sometimes formed from adjectives by
dropping the masculine nominative ending (strēnuus) and
adding an – ē or –iter
Adjective Adverb
strēnuus (active, energetic) strēnuē (strenuously)
celer (quick) celeriter (quickly)
Adverbs often indicate the time, place, or manner of the
action of the verb:
Time:
Marcus adhūc dormit. Marcus is still sleeping.
Others:
crās nōn iam
deinde nunc
hodiē saepe
iam semper
identidem simul
intereā statim
iterum subitō
mox tandem
nōndum tum
ubi (when)
Place:
“Quid tū hīc?” “What (are) you (doing) here?”
Others:
ibi
ubi (where)
Manner:
Sextus celeriter tunicam et togam induit.
Sextus quickly puts on his tunic and toga.
Others:
etiam necesse
ferōciter nōn
fūrtim quoque
Ita vērō! Strēnuē
lentē tacitē
Minimē! tamen
In future vocabulary lists, adverbs will be identified with
the abbreviation adv. e.g., lentē, adv. “slowly.”