Latin for Beginners · Lesson IV · Part 1: First principles

4. Nominative subject, accusative object, genitive owner

Goal: Your child uses the nominative for the subject, the accusative for the object and the genitive for the owner in short Latin sentences.

⏱ About 35 minutes · 7 steps

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You'll need

  • The book, open to this lesson
  • The special vocabulary page for this lesson (near the back of the book; the lesson tells you the page)
  • A notebook for Latin, and a pencil
  • Index cards for new words (optional)

What's in the book

Three rules with an example sentence, then eleven Latin sentences about Diana and Latona, eight English sentences to put into Latin, and six questions to answer in Latin.

The lesson, step by step

  1. Review

    Chant the declension of domina from Lesson III.

  2. The new idea

    Look at the example in section 35:

    Fīlia agricolae nautam amat.

    fīlia is the subject (nominative). nautam is the object (accusative, ending -am). agricolae says whose daughter (genitive, "of the farmer"). The book gives three rules: subject in the nominative, direct object in the accusative, owner in the genitive.

  3. Vocabulary

    Turn to the special vocabulary for Lesson IV near the back of the book. Some of the words:

    dea, goddess

    fera, a wild beast

    sagitta, arrow

    est, he (she, it) is; sunt, they are

    necat, he (she, it) kills

    quis, who?

    Say each word aloud. Make cards for the new ones.

  4. Latin to English

    Do the sentences in Exercise I. Two of them:

    Diāna est dea lūnae.

    Lātōna Diānam amat.

    For each word ending, your child asks: subject, object or owner? Then translates.

  5. English to Latin

    Exercise II. Your child writes each English sentence in Latin. Remind them: subject in -a, object in -am (or -ās if plural), owner in -ae (or -ārum if plural).

  6. Questions in Latin

    Section 40 asks questions in Latin, such as "Quis est Diāna?" Your child answers in Latin, using the sentences from Exercise I.

  7. Wrap up

    Ask your child to make up one Latin sentence of their own with a subject, an object and an owner.

Afterwards

Review the Lesson II and IV word cards together for a few minutes each day.

Tip

Diana was the Roman goddess of the moon and the hunt, and Latona was her mother. A minute of the story makes the sentences more fun.

Answers to the book's problems

Exercise I: 1. Diana is a goddess. 2. Latona is a goddess. 3. Diana and Latona are goddesses. 4. Diana is the goddess of the moon. 5. Diana is the daughter of Latona. 6. Latona loves Diana. 7. Diana is the goddess of the forests. 8. Diana loves the forest. 9. Diana carries arrows. 10. Diana kills the wild beasts of the forest. 11. The wild beasts of the lands fight.

Worked out for this site from the scan. If a number in your copy differs, trust the book.

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