Writing School Work and Poems

Practicing And About The Language: Stage 6 and 7

Stage 6

About the Language:

A. All the stories in the first five stages were set in the present, and in every sentence, the verbs were in the present tense. Study the following examples:

Present Tense: 

Singular: servus laborat. The slave works or The slave is working

Plural: servi laborant. The slaves work or the slaves are working

B. In stage 6, because the stories happened in the past, you have met the imperfect tense and the perfect tense. Study the different endings of the two past tenses and their English translations:

Imperfect Tense: 

poeta recitabat: A poet was reciting

Metella in horto sedebat: Metella was sitting in the garden

Plural:

servi in foro ambulabant: The slaves were walking in the forum

Pompeiani vinum bibebant: The Pompeians were drinking wine

Perfect Tense:

Singular:

Coquus intravit: The cook entered

Clemens clamorem audivit: Clemens heard the uproar

Plural: 

amici Caecilium salutaverunt: The friends greeted Caecilius 

iuvenes ad tabernam festinaverunt: The young men hurried to an inn

C. Compare the endings of the imperfect and perfect tenses with the endings of the present tense.

Present:  Portat (s)    Portant (p)

Imperfect: Portabat (s)   Portabant (p)

Perfect: Portavit (s) Portaverunt (p)

You can see that in the imperfect and the perfect tenses, as with the present tense, the singular ends in -t and the plural in -nt.

D. Notice how Latin shows the difference between is, are, and was, were.

Present: Caecilius est in tablino (s) / servi saunt in culina (p)

Imperfect: Caecilius erat in foro (s) / servi erant in via (p)

E. In the following examples, you will see that the imperfect tense is often used of an action or situation which was going on for some time.

infans in cubiculo dormiebat: The baby was sleeping in the bedroom

pater et mater aberant: The father and mother were away 

F. The perfect tense, on the other hand, is often used as a completed action or an action that happened once.

Agricola mercatorem pulsavit: The farmer punched the merchant 

Pompeiai agricolam laudaverunt: The Pompeians praised the farmer.

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Practicing the Language:

Questions:

1. Duo fures (The two thieves)

2. Mercator erat senex and avarus et multam pecuniam habebat. (The merchant is an old man and a miser and has a lot of money)