AP Latin › Grammatical and Syntactic Terminology in Vergil
inter quas Phoenissa recens a vulnere Dido
errabat silva in magna; quam Troius heros
ut primum iuxta stetit agnovitque per umbras
obscuram, qualem primo qui surgere mense
aut videt aut vidisse putat per nubila lunam, 5
demisit lacrimas dulcique adfatus amore est:
'infelix Dido, verus mihi nuntius ergo
venerat exstinctam ferroque extrema secutam?
funeris heu tibi causa fui? per sidera iuro,
per superos et si qua fides tellure sub ima est, 10
inuitus, regina, tuo de litore cessi.
"Vidisse . . . lunam" (line 5) is an example of what sentence construction?
Indirect statement
Conditional sentence
Relative clause
Ablative absolute
In this phrase, you have a main verb—"putat"—followed by the infinitive "vidisse."The infinitive, however, is governing the rest of the phrase "per nubila lunam,"which all function as the object of "vidisse." This is an example of an indirect statement, which is a type of phrase typically introduced by some sort of thinking verb like "putat" and is characterized by the presence of an accusative subject and an infinitive main verb. No subject is present here, however, because that is all being handled by the verb "vidisse." The phrase translates as: She thought that she saw the moon through the clouds.
(Passage adapted from the Aeneid by Vergil, 6.450-460)
Laocoon, ductus Neptuno sorte sacerdos,
sollemnis taurum ingentem mactabat ad aras.
Ecce autem gemini a Tenedo tranquilla per alta
(horresco referens) immensis orbibus angues
incumbunt pelago pariterque ad litora tendunt; 5
pectora quorum inter fluctus arrecta iubaeque
sanguineae superant undas, pars cetera pontum
pone legit sinuatque immensa volumine terga.
Fit sonitus spumante salo; iamque arva tenebant
ardentisque oculos suffecti sanguine et igni 10
sibila lambebant linguis vibrantibus ora.
Diffugimus visu exsangues. Illi agmine certo
Laocoonta petunt; et primum parva duorum
corpora natorum serpens amplexus uterque
implicat et miseros morsu depascitur artus. 15
What is the case of the underlined word "corpora" in line 14?
Accusative plural
Ablative singular
Nominative plural
Nominative singular
The word "corpora"comes from the third declension, neuter noun "corpus," "corporis."The ending "-a" can only be nominative or accusative plural for words like this. "Corpora" cannot be the subject of this sentence, however, because both of the verbs are singular and it is not referring to any group of things. Therefore, we know that "corpora" must be in the accusative case. In fact, it is the direct object of the verb "implicat_."_
(Passage adapted from the Aeneid by Vergil, 2.201-215)
Laocoon, ductus Neptuno sorte sacerdos,
sollemnis taurum ingentem mactabat ad aras.
Ecce autem gemini a Tenedo tranquilla per alta
(horresco referens) immensis orbibus angues
incumbunt pelago pariterque ad litora tendunt; 5
pectora quorum inter fluctus arrecta iubaeque
sanguineae superant undas, pars cetera pontum
pone legit sinuatque immensa volumine terga.
Fit sonitus spumante salo; iamque arva tenebant
ardentisque oculos suffecti sanguine et igni 10
sibila lambebant linguis vibrantibus ora.
Diffugimus visu exsangues. Illi agmine certo
Laocoonta petunt; et primum parva duorum
corpora natorum serpens amplexus uterque
implicat et miseros morsu depascitur artus. 15
What is the tense, voice, and mood of "fit"in line 9?
Present passive indicative
Present active subjunctive
Present passive subjunctive
Future active indicative
The word "fit"comes from the verb "fio," "fieri," "factus sum,"a passive deponent verb (passive form of "facio," "facere"). This is the present active indicative form of that word.
(Passage adapted from the Aeneid by Vergil, 2.201-215)
1 Quod genus hoc hominum? Quaeve hunc tam barbara morem
2 permittit patria? Hospitio prohibemur harenae;
3 bella cient, primaque vetant consistere terra.
4 Si genus humanum et mortalia temnitis arma
5 at sperate deos memores fandi atque nefandi.
6 Rex erat Aeneas nobis, quo iustior alter,
7 nec pietate fuit, nec bello maior et armis.
In line 6, what case is "nobis"?
Dative of possession
Ablative of agent
Dative of agent
Ablative of comparison
You have to use context here, because "nobis" could be either ablative or dative. There is no passive verb, so we can eliminate “ablative of agent.” Without a comparative adjective, we can also eliminate “ablative of comparison.” We are left with the two datives. Because the clause has a nominative, a form of "sum," and a dative noun (or in this case, pronoun), "nobis" is a dative of possession.
(Passage adapted from The Aeneid of Vergil 1. 539-546)
inter quas Phoenissa recens a vulnere Dido
errabat silva in magna; quam Troius heros
ut primum iuxta stetit agnovitque per umbras
obscuram, qualem primo qui surgere mense
aut videt aut vidisse putat per nubila lunam, 5
demisit lacrimas dulcique adfatus amore est:
'infelix Dido, verus mihi nuntius ergo
venerat exstinctam ferroque extrema secutam?
funeris heu tibi causa fui? per sidera iuro,
per superos et si qua fides tellure sub ima est, 10
inuitus, regina, tuo de litore cessi.
The phrase "per umbras obscuram" (line 3-4) is an example of which of the following?
Pleonasm
Hysteron Proteron
Metaphor
Zeugma
In lines 3 and 4, Vergil uses the words "per umbras obscuram"to emphasize the difficulty Aeneas is having seeing Dido. She is referred to as "obscuram"—shadowy or barely visible, but, as is stated in the previous lines, we already know that Dido is walking away from Aeneas and that he is viewing her through shadows. The addition of "obscuram" is a little redundant. This redundant or superfluous use of words is an example of pleonasm_._
(Passage adapted from the Aeneid by Vergil, 6.450-460)
Sic pater Anchises, atque haec mirantibus addit:
'aspice, ut insignis spoliis Marcellus opimis
ingreditur victorque viros supereminet omnis.
hic rem Romanam magno turbante tumultu
sistet eques, sternet Poenos Gallumque rebellem, 5
tertiaque arma patri suspendet capta Quirino.'
atque hic Aeneas (una namque ire videbat
egregium forma iuvenem et fulgentibus armis,
sed frons laeta parum et deiecto lumina vultu)
'quis, pater, ille, virum qui sic comitatur euntem? 10
filius, anne aliquis magna de stirpe nepotum?
qui strepitus circa comitum! quantum instar in ipso!
"Filius" in line 11 is an example of __________.
prolepsis
tmesis
simile
oxymoron
The word "filius" appears in this line/sentence much sooner than it normally would. It would make the most sense for "filius"to appear before "magna" in this sentence. This use of a word sooner than expected is called prolepsis_._
(Passage adapted from the Aeneid by Vergil, 6.854-865)
Sic pater Anchises, atque haec mirantibus addit:
'aspice, ut insignis spoliis Marcellus opimis
ingreditur victorque viros supereminet omnis.
hic rem Romanam magno turbante tumultu
sistet eques, sternet Poenos Gallumque rebellem, 5
tertiaque arma patri suspendet capta Quirino.'
atque hic Aeneas (una namque ire videbat
egregium forma iuvenem et fulgentibus armis,
sed frons laeta parum et deiecto lumina vultu)
'quis, pater, ille, virum qui sic comitatur euntem? 10
filius, anne aliquis magna de stirpe nepotum?
qui strepitus circa comitum! quantum instar in ipso!
The phrase "insignis spoliis opimis" (line 2) is an example of __________.
ablative absolute
ablative place where
ablative of accompaniment
ablative of comparison
In the phrase "insignis spoliis opimis,"we have the use of an adjective denoting some sort of action (participle) and a noun in the ablative case in order to indicate a completed action. This is characteristic of an ablative absolute.
(Passage adapted from the Aeneid by Vergil, 6.854-865)
1 Quod genus hoc hominum? Quaeve hunc tam barbara morem
2 permittit patria? Hospitio prohibemur harenae;
3 bella cient, primaque vetant consistere terra.
4 Si genus humanum et mortalia temnitis arma
5 at sperate deos memores fandi atque nefandi.
6 Rex erat Aeneas nobis, quo iustior alter,
7 nec pietate fuit, nec bello maior et armis.
In line 1, what is the grammatical function of "hominum"?
Partitive genitive
Genitive of quality
Adjective describing genus
Direct object
The noun "homo, hominis", meaning man, is a third declension noun. It is thus genitive plural, which allows you to eliminate both "direct object" (which would have to be accusative), and "adjective describing genus". Don’t get it confused with second declension nouns! A genitive of quality describes a trait or a quality of something or someone, for example, “A man of great virtue.” This genitive is modifying "genus," or type, race, rendering the translation race of men. Thus, it is denoting part of something, not describing something.
(Passage adapted from The Aeneid of Vergil 1. 539-546)
Sic pater Anchises, atque haec mirantibus addit:
'aspice, ut insignis spoliis Marcellus opimis
ingreditur victorque viros supereminet omnis.
hic rem Romanam magno turbante tumultu
sistet eques, sternet Poenos Gallumque rebellem, 5
tertiaque arma patri suspendet capta Quirino.'
atque hic Aeneas (una namque ire videbat
egregium forma iuvenem et fulgentibus armis,
sed frons laeta parum et deiecto lumina vultu)
'quis, pater, ille, virum qui sic comitatur euntem? 10
filius, anne aliquis magna de stirpe nepotum?
qui strepitus circa comitum! quantum instar in ipso!
In line 1, "pater"is an example of __________.
an appositive
an adjective
a name
a direct object
In this sentence, "pater"is being used to describe Anchises, but is a nominative noun, just like the word "Anchises." When you use one noun to rename another, it is acting as the appositive of that noun.
(Passage adapted from the Aeneid by Vergil, 6.854-865)
Laocoon, ductus Neptuno sorte sacerdos,
sollemnis taurum ingentem mactabat ad aras.
Ecce autem gemini a Tenedo tranquilla per alta
(horresco referens) immensis orbibus angues
incumbunt pelago pariterque ad litora tendunt; 5
pectora quorum inter fluctus arrecta iubaeque
sanguineae superant undas, pars cetera pontum
pone legit sinuatque immensa volumine terga.
Fit sonitus spumante salo; iamque arva tenebant
ardentisque oculos suffecti sanguine et igni 10
sibila lambebant linguis vibrantibus ora.
Diffugimus visu exsangues. Illi agmine certo
Laocoonta petunt; et primum parva duorum
corpora natorum serpens amplexus uterque
implicat et miseros morsu depascitur artus. 15
"Referens"in line 4 is an example of a __________.
present active participle
perfect passive participle
future active participle
future passive participle
All words that end in the "-ns," "-ntis" endings in Latin are examples of present active participles.
(Passage adapted from the Aeneid by Vergil, 2.201-215)