Module 2 - Sentence Patterns


Sentence Patterns:

Tips for Determining Sentence Structure | Practice Opportunity


Sentence Patterns

Translating Latin sentences becomes much easier if you can recognize certain structural patterns that tell us what to expect in a sentence. Key to identifying what structural pattern a sentence follows is the main verb. The type of verb that appears in the sentence tells us what other grammatical items we need to fill out the rest of the sentence.

Below you will find a discussion of several very common sentence structures as well as guidelines for how to distinguish them by looking at the verb.


Intransitive Sentences

Intransitive sentences feature a subject and an intransitive verb. An intransitive verb is a verb that expresses an action or state of being, but does not act directly upon an object: for example, sneezing, dancing, running, raining, etc. As a result, an intransitive verb (and, thus, an intransitive sentence) does not take a direct object (on which, see Transitive Sentences below).

Below are some examples of intransitive sentences in Latin and English:

NB: It might be tempting to think that a sentence like “The girl ran three miles” has a direct object. However, “three miles” is the shortened form of “for three miles”, an adverbial phrase that describes the word “ran.” We’ll learn more about phrases that express concepts of space and time in Module 3.

To summarize, intransitive sentences must have a:

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Transitive Sentences

Transitive sentences require a direct object, in addition to a subject and verb, to complete the meaning of the sentence.

For example, let’s consider the verb facere (“to make” in English). If I were to say agricola fēcit - “the farmer made”, the sentence would feel incomplete. You would be thinking, “What is he making? Pizza? Cake? A fence?”

Thus, we need to add a direct object to tell us what the farmer was making. In English, we would indicate this by putting what the farmer made immediately after the verb (e.g., “the farmer made pizza”). However, because Latin is an inflected language whose word order is highly variable, we can’t do this. Rather, Latin indicates that a noun is functioning as a direct object by putting it in the accusative case. Thus, the Latin version of the sentence looks like this:

Agricola pizzam fecit.

Head to the noun paradigm charts and adjective paradigm charts to familiarize yourself with the accusative endings in the singular and plural of each declension and adjective grouping.

Below are some further examples of transitive sentences with accusative direct objects:

Sometimes, you will want to specify the recipient of the action of the verb. For instance, in the sentence “the farmer gave the girl a pizza”, the girl receives the pizza that the farmer gives. Pizza is still the direct object - the farmer is giving the pizza (not the girl). In this sentence, the word “girl” is an indirect object, the recipient of the action done by the main verb. In Latin, we signal the indirect object by using the dative case, which we usually translate as “to/for X”. So in Latin “the farmer gave the girl a pizza” looks like this:

Literally, the sentence is “The farmer gave a pizza to the girl.”

Head to the noun paradigm charts and adjective paradigm charts to familiarize yourself with the dative endings in the singular and plural of each declension and adjective grouping.

To summarize, transitive sentences must have a:

And sometimes have an:

Practice Opportunity

The following noun-adjective pairs are all in the nominative case and either singular or plural. Change each pairing into the accusative and dative while maintaining the same number using the noun paradigm charts and adjective paradigm charts from Module 1.

  1. urbs prīma

  2. fortis dux

  3. exempla omnia

  4. sapiēns vir

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Passive Sentences

Passive sentences feature a subject and, unsurprisingly, a passive verb. Because the subject of a passive verb is being acted upon, passive sentences do not feature a direct object. Below are some examples of simple passive sentences:

Sometimes, passive sentences feature a construction known as the ablative of agent which tells us who performed the action of the main verb (since the subject is receiving the action of the verb, rather than performing it). We can recognize the ablative of agent by the preposition ā/ab followed by a noun in the ablative case. Below are the examples from above with an ablative of agent:

Head to the noun paradigm charts and adjective paradigm charts to familiarize yourself with the ablative endings in the singular and plural of each declension and adjective grouping.

Passive sentences can also feature an indirect object in the dative case as well. For example, we might see a sentence like the following:

To summarize, passive sentences must have a:

And sometimes have an:

Practice Opportunity

The following noun-adjective pairs are all in the nominative case and either singular or plural. Change each pairing into the ablative while maintaining the same number using the noun paradigm charts and adjective paradigm charts from Module 1.

  1. urbēs prīmae

  2. fortēs ducēs

  3. exemplum omne

  4. sapiēntēs virī

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Linking Sentences

Linking sentences, which we have already met, require a subject, linking verb, and predicate nominative which matches the subject in number and case and, in the case of adjectives as predicate nominatives, gender. The most common linking verb in English and Latin is “to be” (sum, esse, fui, futurus), though there are other linking verbs we will see throughout the semester. Below are some examples of linking sentences:

In each of the sentences above, what is the subject, and what is the predicate nominative?

To summarize, linking sentences must have a:

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Tips for Determining Sentence Structure

The most important thing to do when determining sentence structure is to look at the main verb. If the verb is passive, we know that the sentence structure is going to be passive; if the verb is a linking verb (i.e. a form of sum), then we know the sentence structure is going to be linking. It is more difficult to differentiate between transitive and intransitive verbs. While some Latin verbs are used only transitively (verbs like “to carry”) and or only intransitively (verbs like “to rain”), a large number of verbs can be used both transitively or intransitively. In these cases, you will want to see if there is a direct object in the accusative case (transitive) or not (intransitive).

Practice Opportunity

Determine the sentence structure of the following sentences; identify any nouns in the accusative, dative, or ablative cases; and translate the sentence.

  1. soror mea tristis est.

  2. pulchra carmina audiēbāmus.

  3. agricolae ā nostrō duce mittuntur.

  4. vēnistis!

  5. rex fīliō suō potestātem dābit.

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