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

5. The dative: the indirect object

Goal: Your child recognizes and uses the dative (to or for someone) for the indirect object.

⏱ About 35 minutes · 6 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

Explains the dative case, its endings (-ae singular, -īs plural), and the indirect object. Then eleven Latin sentences, many of them questions and answers, and seven English sentences.

The lesson, step by step

  1. Review

    Quick drill: in "Fīlia agricolae nautam amat", which word is the subject, the object, the owner?

  2. The new idea

    In "The girl gives Diana a wreath", the wreath is what is given (the direct object) and Diana is the one it is given to (the indirect object). Latin puts the indirect object in the dative: -ae in the singular, -īs in the plural. Read the rule in section 45 aloud.

  3. Vocabulary

    From the special vocabulary for Lesson V:

    fābula, story (fable)

    pecūnia, money

    pugna, battle

    victōria, victory

    dat, he (she, it) gives

    nārrat, he (she, it) tells

    quia or quod, because

    The book adds cui, "to whom? for whom?", pronounced as one syllable, like "kwee".

  4. Latin to English

    Do Exercise I. Two of the sentences:

    Quis nautīs pecūniam dat?

    Puella Diānae corōnam dat quia Diānam amat.

    For each one, find the dative first, then put the sentence together.

  5. English to Latin

    Exercise II. Your child writes the Latin. Before writing each sentence, they say which word will be dative.

  6. Wrap up

    Say the domina chant again and point to the two dative forms (dominae and dominīs).

Afterwards

Keep going with the word cards. Mix in the old words with the new.

Tip

Questions with quis and cui are followed by their answers in the next sentence. Read them as a little conversation, with you asking and your child answering.

Answers to the book's problems

Exercise I: 1. Who gives money to the sailors? 2. The daughters of the farmer give money to the sailors. 3. Who announces the outcome (fortune) of the battle? 4. Galba announces the outcome of the battle to the farmers. 5. To whom does the lady tell a story? 6. The lady tells a story to the farmer's daughter. 7. Who gives a wreath to Diana? 8. The girl gives a wreath to Diana because she loves Diana. 9. The goddess of the moon carries arrows and kills the wild beasts of the forests. 10. Whose victory does Galba announce? 11. Galba announces the sailor's victory.

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

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