Acts of Random Latin Learning

I have tried and failed to get very far in learning Latin. I have been using one set of texts, but only got through book one of three. This year I am going to try some new texts and this page will document how this goes.

This year I am using the Lingua Latina set of texts as they have been recommended on a couple of websites, particularly the Latinium website. I bought the first book, the dialogues and the additional exercises. The thing that recommends this as a starter is that it is repetitive and also has pictures which explain the text (and no English). My current schedule is to start a new chapter on a Saturday, and read through it a couple of times and start the exercises, which I will finish through the week. Thursday, which is when I have no time, I will read the one page dialogue, and on Friday I will listen to a You Tube recording.

Progress to Date

I still haven't finished Chapter 16. I have gone back to look at passive verbs. Whilst Lingua Latina is great for vocab, it is less good at explaining grammar. I am wondering whether I should tackle that first before starting the chapter. Anyway, I have resorted to the other text book for this. I also watched the always excellent Latin Tutorial videos on You Tube which explain things in a way that make sense and can even sometimes make things stick in my head.

I have almost finished Chapter 16 but have slowed right down on the exercises and gone back to try and learn how to deal with passive verbs to help with the whole deponent verb thing. I think I have about half of it in my head, then realise I don't actually understand how to work out which is a deponent verb - I don't think there is an easy way to be honest. I might have the fifth declension sorted now. Possibly not third and fourth though. More revision I think for the next week.

Back to Chapter 16. This has deponent verbs in it - which are apparently active verbs disguised as passive. As I haven't really covered passive verbs that much it has become clear that after I finish the bits from this chapter it is back to the other book to go through deponent verbs as well as active and passive voices / verbs. Then I think some time for revision maybe.

The older books have shown me that I know very little Latin, and why I got demoralised as whilst I can read some Latin now, I certainly can't translate English into Latin. I have tried to pick up fourth declension nouns again, and numerals, plus expressions of time. I am struggling to remember which tense is which. As I seem to be making little progress and am in danger of becoming demoralised I am going to swap back to Lingua Latina for a chapter and then come back and do these three chapters again and maybe do a better job and will continue this way - perhaps alternating a chapter from each.

I am taking a break from Lingua Latina and picking up the books I had been using before. These are much more about battles and wars and are more demanding - which is probably why I gave up last time. I think it is some of the frustration of getting the exercises wrong repeatedly that did it last time. But I plan to just do a couple of chapters at a time, this week I have been revisiting third declension adjectives and worrying that I didn't remember my verbs. I did, but then realised that I still struggle between imperfect and perfect tenses - I feel some more video tutorials coming on. It is useful to do this other book though because there is quite a lot of translation from English into Latin, whereas Lingua Latina is all Latin to English.

Chapter 15 has been a lot easier than chapter 14. The grammar is mainly about verbs, and I can remember these, mostly. I have been reading about Marcus going to school, being hit with a cane so he can't sit down, and then his fellow pupils, Sextus and Titus also being hit with a cane. It has done a fairly good job of including all the singular and plural, first, second and third person verbs, for all four main verb families and also essere - all in one chapter.

Chapter 14 has been about the hours of the day, and also clothes, well togas and shoes. Mostly it is being about particples, which are apparently third declension adjectives. Still not in my head properly though. I have had a sneaky peak at the next chapter which includes Marcus getting hit with a cane and verbs for the grammar bit which I think I can still remember.

This chapter has been hard, lots of confusion about which case to use for time, and lots of repetition about months - which are so close to English that remembering them is not difficult. Remembering about nones and idus and kalendas though is more tricky. I haven't enjoyed it and have dragged my feet a bit. It has also included the fifth declension - I don't think there are any more, fingers crossed.

Having spent a week revising the first six chapters I got bored and have started chapter 13 which is about the months and days and nights - which all seem to have remarkably similar names to the English months. There isn't much grammar in this one - it is mainly the fifth declension and superlatives - which is a relief after the last chapter.

Chapter 12 was hard going. The passages were very long, and then there was the longest section of grammar I have come across yet. Lots of comparisons - longer and heavier or short and light swords - which are best (the answer is whatever the Romans are carrying obviously)? I am going to go back and review all of the vocab as I am struggling with some of the declensions and a couple of other bits of grammar that have appeard. Julia and Marcus don't seem to understand why Roman soldiers are fighting the Germans, but apparently the Germans are barbarians, and Rome is more beautiful than Germany - so there you have it.

Chapter 11 is finished - not sure why the doctor decided to bleed Quintus' arm and it appears that his parents don't either even though they held his arm still and held the poculum under his arm to catch the blood. The word stultus did appear, and I think correctly. There wasn't much grammar last week, more about different declensions of nouns. This week I have started Chapter 12 which is longior than Chapter 11. It has comparisons, dative partitive and adjectives in it, and lots and lots of vocab. This week we are learning about Roman soldiers, the arms they carry and how long their swords are as apparently Aemilia's brother is a foot soldier fighting the barbarians in Germania. I still haven't finished it and it is making my head hurt - but I don't need my arm bleeding.

Chapter 10 finally finished and now onto Chapter 11 where Qunitus is being prodded and poked by a doctor - or maybe a quack. Lots more infinitives in use including with the accusative with dicit and videt and iubetting going on. I am part way through but we have established that Quintus has a red tongue, a rotten tooth and a sore foot, looking ahead there seems to be a scalpel and his arm involved.

Chapter 10 is quite long, or feels it. I have struggled a bit with the active and passive infinitives as I expected and went back to watch some You Tube videos but still have some work to do on this. I've learned how to use infinitives - seems very like Italian, which is not entirely a surprise but it does make this a bit easier to grasp. Marcus has continued his ways, and thought his brother was dead. Fortunately he isn't, unlike the birds in the nest. Julia is still about and this time playing with her dog. I've found a couple of podcasts I might try and listen to - if I find the time.

Chapter 8 has been finished as has Chapter 9. Chapter 9 introduced third declensions which, with a lot of narrative about sheep and dogs and shepherds, I think I have now got sorted. Fortunately the little black sheep that wandered from the meadow to the woods whilst the shepherd had a nap was not eaten by the wolf with the eyes shining like gemstones and the teeth like pearls; saved in the nick of time by the sheepdog who did not fear the wolf. I have started Chapter 10 - we are onto birds, beasts and fish, with a couple of gods (Mercury and Neptune) thrown in. Later Quintus will be climbing a tree to look at a bird's nest (at the instigation of his brother Marcus) and then falls out of the tree with the nest. Grammar includes the active and passive infinitives so I think this may be a bit trickier.

Chapter 8 is ongoing. I have been back watching videos about this and that. I was getting a bit confused with the grammar section as I didn't realise that he, she, it could also mean that. So I still have that bit to do. In this one there was a lot of pointing at rings and necklaces and I still think that Medus is an idiot. Looking forward to Chapter 9 with shepherds, sheep, dogs and wolves.

Chapter 7 finished and I did get a little bored with this one, but Chaper 8 promises to be difficult. Lots more hic, haec, hoc, plus small words that are not really easy to explain in a book with no translation - thankfully I do have a dictionary now. In this chapter we are back with runaway slave - thief Medus. He is in Rome with girlfriend Lydia and has blown all his cash to buy her a ring - seems like even more of an idiot than first appeared. The grammar section in this one is very long - I think this chapter might take more than a week to get through.

I am still getting the hang of the comparisons, but have moved on to start Chapter 6 and have finished reading the text. The main grammar point this time is the use of the dative. Julius has returned from his trip and the heavy sacks being carried by his slaves are filled with apples and pears which he has been giving to his children and to his servants (in the dative). Julia, his daughter was missing and concerned about her ugly nose (thanks Marcus) but she did point out that it isn't as ugly as that (comparison here) of the slave Syra (being nice runs in the family). In and out of and the use of ille has been introduced as well as the dreaded hic, haec, hoc. I expect there is a lot more of this to come next time.

Chapter 5 introduced prepositions that take the ablative, as well as some verbs. This week, in Chapter 6 it looks like we are moving onto the prepositions that take the accusative as well as introducing some more verbs. In this one Julius is going back home after not finding Medus the slave and his money in Tusculum, and Medus the slave is on his way with the money up to Rome. As I have had a long week at work and ended up working in a couple of evenings I am a bit behind on my plans and still working through the exercises. I have learnt about the active and passive, and am almost there memorising is, ea, id as well as qui, quae, quod (I think). Lots of new vocab and comparisons with words like nam and tam coming in. Not sure I have the hang of the comparisons, but getting there with the preopositions introduced this week.

Onto Chapter 5 and I am learning about Roman houses and gardens. I have just started and there is a lot of id, ea, eo, is etc. to get my head round. Looking ahead to the end of this chapter I think Marcus is up to his old tricks and possibly is going to throw his brother in the impluvium - and he is making fun of his little sister and calling her ugly. I don't like Marcus.

I have been through the first three chapters, and the associated exercises and am part way through chapter 4 - in which Medus the slave nicks the money from his master's sacculus.

I have struggled with when to use eius and when to use suum, but I think I am there. I already have some knowledge of the cases and some of the verb endings from previous attempts but I am struggling with vocubulary. At least I now know the origin of the word vobaulary.