Introduction to Latin/Simple Grammatical Concepts

A Little Grammar
Some of you may already be perfectly familiar with the following grammar information. These concepts will be necessary in order to complete the first (and subsequent) units, so make sure you know this stuff before moving on.

The Sentence
A normal sentence can be divided into various parts of speech.

NOUN - person, place, or thing (or the NAME of a person, place, or thing)

VERB - describes the subject's activity/state of being

ADJECTIVE - modifies a noun

ADVERB - modifies a verb

Hopefully you all are familiar with these very basic concepts already, so I'm not going to go into any more detail. (If you aren't, please feel free to contact a teacher for help).

Direct/Indirect Object

The direct object in a sentence receives the direct action from the verb.

For example: The hoplite carries the shield.

The indirect object receives the action from the verb indirectly.

For example: The hoplite gives a shield to the man.

Indirect objects will often be attached to a 'to/for' in English.

Transitive/Intransitive Verbs

Verbs, among other things, can be transitive or intransitive. A transitive verb can take a direct object.

For example: The hoplite carries the shield.

An intransitive verb cannot take a direct object.

For example: The man smiles.


 * There will be further grammar provided as you progress through the lessons, but for now this will suffice.

Exercises
A. Point out the direct object and indirect object in each English sentence. (Note: There are not necessarily both a direct and indirect object in each sentence.)

1. I love you.

2. The farmer harvested his field today.

3. Scipio is baking a cake.

4. Scipio baked his grandma a cake.

5. The soldier gave flowers to the girl.

6. I wanted to tell you a story.

7. Lucius always buys cookies for his daughter Rosa.

8. The sailor sailed to the island and found some buried treasure.

9. Marcus likes to play the lyre for his girlfriend, who loves music of all kinds.

10. We need to go to the store and find her some clothes for her vacation.

B. State whether each verb is transitive or intransitive.

1. I love you.

2. Scipio is baking a cake.

3. Let's go to the city.

4. I was born in Ostia.

5. The criminal was borne across the county-line.

6. The book is read by you.

7. You are reading a book.

8. The earth orbits around the sun.

9. The crowd quickly gathers at the festival.

10. I moved all of my belongings to my new house when I moved to Germania.


 * If anyone wants an answer key, let me know and I will provide one.