Prerequisites: Nouns, Adjectives and adverbs, Verbs
Next: Uses of the cases
This page opens the Syntax section. A simple sentence has one finite verb and no subordinate clause. It is the frame in which the forms learned in Morphology do their work. The page covers the parts of the sentence, the basic sentence patterns, the rules of agreement, the kinds of sentence (statement, question, command), and word order. The uses of each case are developed on the following pages.
| Part | Meaning | Normal form in Latin |
|---|---|---|
| Subject | who or what performs the action, or is described | nominative |
| Verb (predicate) | the action or state | finite verb, agreeing with the subject |
| Direct object | who or what receives the action | accusative |
| Indirect object | to or for whom the action is done | dative |
| Predicate noun or adjective | what the subject is, after sum and similar verbs | nominative |
| Adverbial | when, where, how, by what means | adverb, prepositional phrase or ablative |
| Vocative | the person addressed | vocative |
Every part is identified by its form, not by its position. This is why the first job when reading Latin is to look at the endings.
The verb is the heart of the sentence, and its type decides which other parts appear:
| Pattern | Example | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Verb alone | Vēnī. | I came. |
| Subject + intransitive verb | Caesar venit. | Caesar comes. |
| Subject + transitive verb + object | Brūtus Caesarem amat. | Brutus loves Caesar. |
| Subject + verb + indirect object + direct object | Nauta puellae rosam dat. | The sailor gives the girl a rose. |
| Subject + sum + predicate noun | Caesar est imperātor. | Caesar is the commander. |
| Subject + sum + predicate adjective | Gallia est magna. | Gaul is large. |
| Subject + verb + adverbial | Puer in agrō labōrat. | The boy works in the field. |
The examples are constructed, and the authentic examples below show the same patterns.
Latin has four basic rules of agreement.
The verb agrees with its subject in person and number:
Puella cantat. The girl sings. Puellae cantant. The girls sing.
Several subjects normally take a plural verb. If the subjects differ in person, the verb takes the first person over the second, and the second over the third:
Sī valēs, bene est; ego valeō.
If you are well, that is good; I am well. (a standard opening formula of Roman letters, abbreviated S.V.B.E.E.V. in Cicero's correspondence)
Egō et tū valēmus, you and I are well, has a first person verb. When the subjects are closely joined or the second is an afterthought, the verb may agree with the nearest subject.
The adjective agrees with its noun in gender, number and case, though not necessarily in declension (nauta bonus). See Adjectives and adverbs.
Gallia est omnis dīvīsa in partēs trēs.
All Gaul is divided into three parts. (Caesar, De bello Gallico 1.1; omnis agrees with Gallia)
After sum the predicate noun or adjective is in the nominative, agreeing with the subject in case (and the adjective in gender and number):
Urbs antīqua fuit.
There was an ancient city. (Vergil, Aeneid 1.12; urbs is the subject of fuit, antīqua agrees with it)
A noun in apposition explains another noun and stands in the same case:
Rōmulus, rēx Rōmānōrum, urbem condidit. (constructed)
Romulus, king of the Romans, founded the city.
Rōmulus and rēx are both nominative.
The verb is in the indicative: Rōma magna est. Negation is made with nōn placed before the word it negates, usually the verb: Rōma nōn parva est.
There are two kinds.
Yes/no questions are marked by a particle:
| Form | Expects | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -ne (attached to the first word) | open | Amatne Brūtus Caesarem? Does Brutus love Caesar? |
| nōnne | the answer yes | Nōnne Brūtus Caesarem amat? Doesn't Brutus love Caesar? |
| num | the answer no | Num Brūtus Caesarem amat? Surely Brutus doesn't love Caesar? |
Word questions begin with an interrogative word, which usually stands first: quis who, quid what, ubi where, cūr why, quandō when, quō where to, unde where from, quōmodo how.
Quam diū etiam furor iste tuus nōs ēlūdet?
How long will that madness of yours still mock us? (Cicero, Against Catiline 1.1)
The imperative (carpe diem) or, in negative commands, nōlī with the infinitive. Other ways of expressing will and wish use the subjunctive and are treated later.
An exclamation often has no verb and uses the nominative, vocative or accusative: Ō tempora, ō mōrēs! Oh, the times! Oh, the customs! (Cicero, Against Catiline 1.2).
Latin word order is free because the endings carry the grammar. But it is not random. The order is used for emphasis, style and rhythm, and it follows some strong tendencies.
In plain narrative prose the usual order is:
Subject – (indirect object) – direct object – verb
and the verb tends to come last: Brūtus Caesarem amat; Nauta puellae rosam dat. The verb sum is often an exception and may stand early or in the middle.
Hōrum omnium fortissimī sunt Belgae.
Of all these, the Belgae are the bravest. (Caesar, De bello Gallico 1.1; the predicate adjective stands first and the subject last, which puts the weight on fortissimī)
Hī omnēs linguā, institūtīs, lēgibus inter sē differunt.
These all differ among themselves in language, customs and laws. (Caesar, De bello Gallico 1.1; the verb comes last, and the three nouns follow without a conjunction)
Arma virumque canō.
I sing of arms and the man. (Vergil, Aeneid 1.1; the verb, last, is the emphatic opening of the poem's subject)
| Word | Position |
|---|---|
| -que, -ve, -ne | attached to the end of the word they follow: virumque, senātus populusque |
| autem, enim, igitur, vērō, quidem | never first in a clause; normally second (postpositives) |
| cum with pronouns | attached after the pronoun: mēcum, tēcum, nōbīscum |
| causā, grātiā | after the genitive they govern: honōris causā |
Omnia mea mēcum portō.
I carry all my possessions with me. (Cicero, Paradoxa Stoicorum 1.8, quoting a saying of Bias)
Senātus populusque Rōmānus.
The Senate and the Roman People. (the formula SPQR; -que is attached to the second element)
Latin leaves out what the reader can supply:
Ūna salūs victīs, nullam sperāre salūtem.
For the defeated, the only safety is to hope for no safety. (Vergil, Aeneid 2.354; est is understood after salūs)
A reading method that works for any simple sentence:
Gallia est omnis dīvīsa in partēs trēs, quārum ūnam incolunt Belgae, aliam Aquītānī, tertiam quī ipsōrum linguā Celtae, nostrā Gallī appellantur.
All Gaul is divided into three parts, of which the Belgae inhabit one, the Aquitani another, and those who are called Celts in their own language and Gauls in ours the third. (Caesar, De bello Gallico 1.1)
| Words | Analysis |
|---|---|
| Gallia | subject, nominative singular feminine |
| est ... dīvīsa | verb: est with the perfect participle gives is divided (passive, treated later); omnis agrees with Gallia |
| in partēs trēs | prepositional phrase: in + accusative, into three parts |
| quārum | relative pronoun, genitive plural feminine: of which (relative clauses come later) |
| ūnam incolunt Belgae | ūnam accusative singular feminine (object, agreeing with an understood partem); incolunt verb, 3rd plural; Belgae subject, nominative plural |
| aliam Aquītānī | the verb incolunt is understood: the Aquitani (inhabit) another |
| tertiam quī ... appellantur | tertiam the object again; quī those who, subject of appellantur |
| ipsōrum linguā | linguā ablative singular: in their own language |
| Celtae, Gallī | predicate nominatives with appellantur: are called Celts, Gauls |
| nostrā | ablative singular feminine, agreeing with an understood linguā: in ours |
The sentence is long but simple at heart: the same verb serves three subjects, and the endings keep every part in its place.
Answers
Next: Uses of the cases