Latin for Beginners · Lesson LXV · Part 13: The subjunctive: forms and purpose clauses
65. The subjunctive of possum; verbs of fearing
Goal: Your child conjugates possum in the subjunctive and translates fear clauses, where nē means 'that' and ut means 'that not'.
You'll need
- The book (the lesson pages)
- A notebook and pencil
- Index cards from earlier lessons
What's in the book
The subjunctive of possum (§ 369, with the full verb in § 495), verbs of fearing (§§ 370 and 371) with the rule (§ 372), and seven Latin and six English sentences (§ 373, on the next page).
The lesson, step by step
Warm up
Your child gives the present subjunctive of sum: sim, sīs, sit, sīmus, sītis, sint.
possum
possum is pot- plus sum, so its subjunctive is easy: possim, possīs, possit, possīmus, possītis, possint. Read its other subjunctive tenses in § 495 together.
Verbs of fearing
This one seems backwards. If you fear something will happen, you don't want it: Latin uses nē. If you fear it won't happen, you do want it: Latin uses ut.
Timeō nē veniat: I fear that he will come.
Timeō ut veniat: I fear that he will not come.
So after a verb of fearing, nē means 'that' or 'lest' and ut means 'that not'.
Latin to English
Translate the seven sentences. Two of them:
Vereor ut hostium impetum sustinēre possim.
Caesar numquam timuit nē legiōnēs vincerentur.
Ask each time: what is feared, that it will happen, or that it won't?
English to Latin
Write the six sentences. The first four are a set: that they are not coming, lest they are coming, that they had come, that they had not come. The last uses an infinitive: being afraid to do something is not the same as fearing that something will happen.
Wrap-up
Ask your child to explain why nē means 'that' after timeō. Memorize the rule in § 372 and the subjunctive of possum.
Answers to the book's problems
1. Caesar feared that the punishment of the captives would not please the Gauls. 2. The Romans themselves greatly feared that the Helvetii would march through the province. 3. They feared that enough grain could not be sent. 4. I fear that I cannot withstand the attack of the enemy. 5. He feared that the baggage had been captured by the enemy. 6. Caesar never feared that the legions would be conquered. 7. The legions did not fear to fight.
Worked out for this site from the scan. If a number in your copy differs, trust the book.