Latin Made Easy: Your Latin Journey Begins
Easy Latin: Part 1
salve! Hello!
Today we're going learn some easy sentences. By the end of this post, you'll be able to construct basic sentences and understand a few essential Latin words. Let's get started!
Introductions
ego sum Ellen.
The sentence above means “I am Ellen”. Therefore ego sum means “I am”.
ego means "I"
sum is the verb “am"
NB: You can also say “I am” by just using the word sum on its own.
Now, let's try using some nouns to create sentences:
sum nauta
"I am a sailor"
sum rex
"I am a king"
sum miles
"I am a soldier"
Important note:
In Latin, there is no word for “the” or “a”. They just use a noun without a definite article. We have to supply the word ourselves.
“I am soldier” is not good English, so make sure you remember to add in “the” or “a” each time!
Constructing Simple Sentences
We’re going to use the three nouns above to make some more interesting sentences.
1. nauta laborat
nauta means “the sailor” as we saw above.
What could you guess laborat means? Try and think of some words we get in English from it. Does it remind you of “labour”? Good! laborat means “works”.
So nauta laborat, “the sailor works”.
2. rex numerat
rex is “the king”.
numerat: again think of English words that sound similar. Maybe it has something to do with numbers? You’re right - this verb means “counts”.
So rex numerat, “the king counts”.
3. miles ambulat.
miles means “the soldier” as we saw before.
ambulat: for this guess, don’t use the word “ambulance”, that's a false friend. What we do get from this verb in English is “amble”, which means to walk sedately.
So miles ambulat means “the soldier walks”.
New Sentences
Let's switch up these sentences and practice further. Try to translate these sentences, and then read on to see the answers.
miles numerat.
rex laborat.
nauta ambulat.
Read on when you want to check your answers!
miles numerat: the soldier counts.
rex laborat: the king works.
nauta ambulat: the sailor walks.
I have just switched the verbs with the nouns to make 3 new sentences that you have translated!
Review & Test Yourself
So let's recap what we've learnt. If you want to test yourself, don’t read on until you want to know the answers!
How do you say “I am” in Latin?
What does rex ambulat mean in English?
And how would you say “the sailor counts” in Latin?
Don’t read on until you want the answers!
Answers below!
ego sum - or just sum
“The king walks”
nauta numerat
euge! optime! Hurray, well done!
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vale!