Latin Grammar

Welcome to the 8th lesson about Latin grammar. We will first learn about prepositions, negation, questions, adverbs, and pronouns including: personal, object and possessive pronouns.

We will start with prepositions. In general, they are used to link words to other words. For example: I speak Latin and English the preposition is [and] because it connects both words Latin and English. The following is a list of the most used prepositions in Latin.

Prepositions - Latin
and et
above super + acc , abl
under sub + abl
before ante + acc
after post + acc
in front of ante + acc
behind post + acc
far from procul ab + abl
near prope + acc
in in + acc , abl
inside intra + acc
outside extra + acc
with cum + abl
without sine + abl
about de + abl
between inter + acc
but sed
for per + acc
from ex + abl
to ad + acc

Preposition Grammar Rules

The following examples use prepositions in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence.

Prepositions + Rules - Latin
I eat without a knife [preposition + noun] edo sine cultro
she lives near the church [verb + preposition] ea prope ecclesiam habitat
he is taller than her [adjective + preposition] is procerior eā est
he came with his small dog [preposition + pronoun] is cum suo cane parvo venit
can you come with me? [preposition + pronoun] potesne venire mecum?

Negation in Latin

Now let's learn how to make a negative sentence (negation). For example: Saying no, I can't, I don't ... The following examples use negation in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence.

Negation + Rules - Latin
I understand you [affirmative form] intellego te
I don't understand you [negation + verb] non intellego te
this is not the correct word [negation + adjective] hoc non est verbum rectum
don't leave me [imperative negation] noli me derelinquere
no problem [negation + noun] nihil opus est

Negative Sentences - Latin
I don't speak French [negation + present tense] non loquor gallice
she didn't visit Germany [negation + past tense] ea Germaniam non visitavit
he cannot see us [negative modal verb] non potest videre nos
can't she play chess? [interrogative negation] nonne ea latrunculos ludere potest?
we will not come late [negation + future tense] non sero veniemus

Questions in Latin

Now let's learn how to ask questions (interrogative). Such as: what, why, can you ...? Here are some common examples:

English - Latin
how? quomodo?
what? quid?
who? quis?
why? cur?
where? ubi?

More of the interrogative form, now in a sentence:

Questions + Rules - Latin
where do you live? [interrogative + verb] ubi habitas?
does she speak Chinese? [interrogative verb] ea sinice loquaturne?
how much is this? [interrogative preposition] quanto hoc stat?
can I help you? [interrogative modal verb] possumne adiuvare vos?
what is your name? [interrogative preposition] quod nomen est tibi?

Adverbs in Latin

It's time to learn the adverbs in Latin. But what is an adverb? In general, adverbs modify verbs and adjectives. For example: You speak fast. The adverb is [fast] because it describes the verb and answers the question how do you speak?. Here is a list of the most common ones:

Adverbs - Latin
now nunc
yesterday heri
today hodie
tonight hac nocte
tomorrow cras
soon mox
quickly velociter
slowly tarde
together una
very valde
almost fere
always semper
usually solite
sometimes interdum
rarely rare
never numquam

The following examples use the adverbs in different ways and places to demonstrate how it behaves in a sentence.

Adverbs + Rules - Latin
do you understand me now? [pronoun + adverb] iamne me intellegis?
I need help immediately [noun + adverb] auxilio instante egeo
she is very intelligent [adverb + adjective] ea calidissima est
I will always love you [verb + adverb] te semper amabo
can we learn German together? [adverb in a question] possumne germanicam una discere?

Pronouns in Latin

We're almost done! This time we will learn the pronouns in Latin. In general, a pronoun can be used instead of a noun. For example instead of saying my teacher speaks 3 languages, you can use the pronoun he, and say he speaks 3 languages. Here is a list of the most common ones:

Personal Pronouns - Latin
I ego
you tu /vos
he is
she ea
we nos
they ei

Object Pronouns - Latin
me mihi / me
you tibi , te / vobis, vos
him eum
her eam
us nobis, nos
them eos

Possessive Pronouns - Latin
my meus
your tuus / vester
his suus
her suus
our noster
their suus

I think it's better to put the above example in a sentence to better assist you. The following examples use pronouns in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence. We will start with the personal pronouns.

Personal Pronouns - Latin
I am your friend [1st pronoun + verb] amicus tuus sum
you speak very fast [2nd pronoun + adverb] celerissime loqueris
he has three dogs [3rd pronoun + verb] habet tres canes
she can speak German [3rd pronoun + verb] germanice loquari potest
we will not come late [1st plural pronoun] non sero veniemus
they bought milk and bread [3rd plural pronoun] ei lac panemque emerunt

The object pronoun is used as a target by a verb, and usually come after that verb. For example: I gave him my book. The object pronoun here is him. Here are more examples:

Object Pronouns - Latin
can you tell me your name? [1st object pronoun] potesne indicare mihi quo appellaris nomine?
I will give you money [2nd object pronoun] dabo tibi pecuniam
she wrote him a letter [3rd object pronoun] scripsit ei epistulas
they visited her yesterday [3rd object pronoun] ei heri visitavi eam
can she help us? [1st pl. object pronoun] potestne nos adiuvare?
he gave them food [3rd pl. object pronoun] eis cibum dedit

Possessive Pronouns - Latin
my name is Maya [1st possessive pronoun] maya nomen meum
your brother lives here [2nd possessive pronoun] frater tuus hoc habitat
her mother cooks for us [3rd possessive pronoun] eae mater pro nobis coquat
his hobby is reading books [3rd possessive pronoun] eius studium est libros legere
our dream is to visit Paris [1st pl. possessive pronoun] somnium nostrum est Parisios visitare
their house is not far [3rd pl. possessive pronoun] non procul est domum eius

One more thing you need to know is the demonstrative pronouns. They're very easy to learn.

Demonstrative Pronouns - Latin
this is my house haec domus mea
that restaurant is far procul est ad illam tabernam
these apples are delicious haec poma suavissima sunt
those stars are shiny illae stellae nitidae sunt

I hope you learned a lot about the Latin grammar in this lesson. Please check out our main menu here for more lessons: homepage. The next lesson is below, have fun!