Latin for Beginners · Lesson I · Part 1: First principles
1. First principles: subject, verb and object
Goal: Your child can find the subject, the verb and the object in a short Latin sentence, and knows that Latin has no word for "the" or "a".
You'll need
- The book, open to this lesson
- A notebook for Latin, and a pencil
What's in the book
The first lesson of "Words and Forms". It explains subject and predicate, the object of a verb, and the verb "to be", then gives eight short Latin sentences to read aloud and take apart.
The lesson, step by step
Start with English
Write: The farmer loves his daughter.
SayWho is this sentence about? The farmer. That is the subject. What does he do? Loves. That is the verb. Whom does he love? His daughter. That is the object.
Try two more English sentences of your own the same way.
Read the new idea
Read sections 19 to 21 together. The book says a sentence has a subject (what we talk about) and a predicate (what we say about it). Some verbs take an object, some do not. The verb "is" just links the subject to a word that describes it.
Meet the first Latin sentences
Turn to the eight sentences in section 22. Here are two:
Agricola fīliam amat.
Iūlia aquam portat.
The book gives the English word for word, in Latin order: "(The) farmer (his) daughter loves." Point out that the verb comes last.
Say them aloud
Say each word slowly after you. The book uses the Roman pronunciation: c is always hard like k, g is always hard as in get, v sounds like w, and a bar over a vowel (a long mark) means hold that vowel a little longer. Read all eight sentences together, twice.
Take the sentences apart
For each sentence, your child points to the subject, the verb and (if there is one) the object. Use the English the book prints underneath to help.
Notice two things
Latin has no word for "the" or "a". Latin often leaves out "he", "she" or "his" when the meaning is clear. So "Rosam in comīs habet" is just "(She) has (a) rose in (her) hair."
Wrap up
Your child tells you in their own words: what is a subject, a verb and an object? Read the eight sentences one last time.
Afterwards
Read the eight sentences aloud each day until they come smoothly.
Tip
There is nothing to memorize yet. The goal is to get used to the sound of Latin and to the idea that the verb often comes last.
Answers to the book's problems
1. America is my fatherland. 2. The farmer loves his daughter. 3. His daughter is Julia. 4. Julia and the farmer are on the island. 5. Julia carries water. 6. She has a rose in her hair. 7. Julia is a pretty girl. 8. The lady has a beautiful daughter.
Worked out for this site from the scan. If a number in your copy differs, trust the book.