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. If you have any question about this lesson please contact me here. The next lesson is below, have fun!
| Latin Vocabulary |
Inspirational Quote: First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do. Epictetus |