Latin for Beginners · Lesson LIX · Part 12: Numbers and deponent verbs
59. Ordinal numbers; how long and how far
Goal: Your child uses ordinal numbers (first, second) and the accusative to say how long something lasted or how far it went.
You'll need
- The book: the lesson pages, plus the special vocabulary at the back of the book
- A notebook and pencil
- Index cards for new words
What's in the book
Ordinal numbers (§ 333, with the list in § 478), distributives such as singulī, bīnī, ternī (§ 334), the accusative of extent with its rule (§§ 335 and 336), the reading Caesar in Gaul, and seven English sentences. Vocabulary on page 298.
The lesson, step by step
Warm up
Count to twenty in Latin. Then ask: how do you say 'on the first day'? (prīmō diē, ablative of time.)
Ordinals
Ordinal numbers (first, second, third) decline like bonus. Learn the first twenty from § 478; your child already knows prīmus and secundus. Distributives mean 'one each, two each': singulī, bīnī, ternī.
How long, how far
Duration of time and extent of space are expressed by the accusative.
Vir tōtum diem cucurrit
The man ran the whole day.
Caesar mūrum decem pedēs mōvit
Caesar moved the wall ten feet. The book warns: 'how long' is accusative, but 'when' or 'within which' is ablative.
Vocabulary
Page 298. Some of the words:
agmen, agminis, n., line of march, column; prīmum agmen, the van; novissimum agmen, the rear
passus, passūs, m., a pace, five Roman feet; mīlle passuum, a thousand (of) paces, a Roman mile
premō, premere, pressī, pressus, press hard, harass
vexō, vexāre, vexāvī, vexātus, annoy, ravage (vex)
Latin to English
Read Caesar in Gaul. Two of its sentences:
Caesar bellum in Galliā septem annōs gessit.
Tōtum diem ācriter pugnātum est.
For each time phrase, ask: how long (accusative) or when (ablative)?
English to Latin
Write the seven sentences. They include miles, feet and hours: decide each time between accusative and ablative.
Wrap-up
Ask: 'for three hours', 'in three hours', 'ten miles'. Memorize the rule and the new words.
Answers to the book's problems
Caesar in Gaul (sentences not numbered in the book): Caesar waged war in Gaul for seven years. In the first year he conquered the Helvetii, and in the same year many tribes of the Germans surrendered to him. For many years the Germans had been harassing the Gauls, and the German leaders had often been leading their forces across the Rhine. They did not come one at a time, but many thousands of men were hurrying into Gaul. For this reason the chiefs of Gaul called a council and decided to send envoys to Caesar. Caesar, as soon as he heard this report, gathered his forces without delay. At daybreak he bravely joined battle with the Germans. The whole day there was fierce fighting. Caesar himself led the line of battle on the right wing. A great part of the German army fell. After great slaughter a few fled many miles to the river.
Worked out for this site from the scan. If a number in your copy differs, trust the book.