VOCABULARY (VOCĀBVLA)
mē – me, myself
quid – what
nihil – nothing
nōn – not
saepe – often
sī – if
amō, amāre, amāvī, amātum – to love, amābō tē – please
cōgitō, cōgitāre, cōgitāvī, cōgitātum – think, ponder, consider, plan
dēbeō, dēbēre, dēbuī, dēbitum – owe, ought, must, should
dō, dare, dedī, datum – give, offer
errō, errāre, errāvī, errātum – wander, err, go astray, make a mistake, be mistaken
laudō, laudāre, laudāvī, laudātum – praise
moneō, monēre, monuī, monitum – remind, advise, warn
salveō, salvēre – be well, be in good health, salvē, salvēte – hello, greetings
servō, servāre, servāvī, servātum – preserve, save, keep, guard
cōnservō, cōnservāre, cōnservāvī, cōnservātum – preserve, conserve, maintain
terreō, terrēre, terruī, territum – frighten, terrify
valeō, valēre, valuī, valitūrum – to be strong, have power, be well, valē, valēte – goodbye
videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsum – see, observe, understand
vocō, vocāre, vocāvī, vocātum – call, summon
I.M.O. this is a lot of vocabulary for the first chapter in a beginner’s book. However, many of the words presented here have cognates in English, making these words a little easier to understand. As part of my practice, I will attempt to conjugate the verbs above in the present active indicative form (note that I’m not bothering with long vowel marks for this exercise):
amō
| Person | Singular | Plural |
| 1st | amō | amāmus |
| 2nd | amās | amātis |
| 3rd | amat | amant |
cōgitō
| Person | Singular | Plural |
| 1st | cōgitō | cōgitāmus |
| 2nd | cōgitās | cōgitātis |
| 3rd | cōgitat | cōgitant |
dēbeō
| Person | Singular | Plural |
| 1st | debeo | debemus |
| 2nd | debes | debetis |
| 3rd | debet | debent |
dō
| Person | Singular | Plural |
| 1st | do | damus |
| 2nd | das | datis |
| 3rd | dat | dant |
errō
| Person | Singular | Plural |
| 1st | erro | erramus |
| 2nd | erras | erratis |
| 3rd | errat | errant |
laudō
| Person | Singular | Plural |
| 1st | laudo | laudamus |
| 2nd | laudas | laudatis |
| 3rd | laudat | laudant |
moneō
| Person | Singular | Plural |
| 1st | moneo | monemus |
| 2nd | mones | monetus |
| 3rd | monet | monent |
salveō
| Person | Singular | Plural |
| 1st | salveo | salvemus |
| 2nd | salves | salvetis |
| 3rd | salvet | salvent |
servō
| Person | Singular | Plural |
| 1st | servo | servamus |
| 2nd | servas | servatis |
| 3rd | servat | servant |
cōnservō
| Person | Singular | Plural |
| 1st | conservo | conservamus |
| 2nd | conservas | conservatis |
| 3rd | conservat | conservant |
terreō
| Person | Singular | Plural |
| 1st | terreo | terremus |
| 2nd | terres | terretis |
| 3rd | terret | terrent |
valeō
| Person | Singular | Plural |
| 1st | valeo | valemus |
| 2nd | vales | valetis |
| 3rd | valet | valent |
videō
| Person | Singular | Plural |
| 1st | video | videmus |
| 2nd | vides | videtis |
| 3rd | videt | vident |
vocō
| Person | Singular | Plural |
| 1st | voco | vocamus |
| 2nd | vocas | vocatis |
| 3rd | vocat | vocant |
Now that I think I’ve memorized the present active indicative conjugation (-o, -s, -t, -mus, -tis, -nt) I’m ready to try out the translation excercises:
TRANSLATION (TRANSLATIO)
1. Labor me vocat. – Labor calls me.
2. Mone me, si erro- amabo te! – Warn me if I err, please.
3. Festina lente. – Make haste, slowly!
4. Laudas me; culpant me. – You praise me, they blame me.
5. Saepe peccamus. – We often sin.
6. Quid debemus cogitare? – What should we think?
7. Conservate me! – Conserve me!
8. Rumor volat – A rumor is flying.
9. Me non amat. – She doesn’t love me.
10. Nihil me terret. – Nothing scares me.
11. Apollo me saepe servat. – Apollo often saves me.
12. Salvete!- quid videtis? Nihil videmus. – Hello! What do you see? We see nothing.
13. Saepe nihil cogitas. – You often think nothing.
14. Bis das, si cito das. – You give twice, if you give quickly.
15. Si vales, valeo. – If you are well, I am well.
16. What does he see? – Quid videt?
17. They are giving nothing. – Nihil dant.
18. You ought not to praise me. – Non me laudare debes.
19. If I err, he often warns me. – Si erro, saepe me monet.
20. If you love me, save me, please! – Si me amas, salve me, amabo te!
Maecenas et Vergilius me hodie vocant. Quid cogitare debeo? Quid debeo respondere? Si erro, me saepe monent et culpant; si non erro, me laudant. Quid hodie cogitare debeo?
Maecenas and Vergilius summon me today. What should I think? What should I respond? If I err, they often warn and blame me; if I don’t err, they praise me. What should I think today?
One thing I just realized is that since this seems to be a student book, I have no way of checking if my responses are correct. Now on to see if I find an answer key. Valete!
#latin #foreign-language #language-learning