In English we form many adverbs by adding -ly to adjectives: nice, nicely; happy, happily. In Latin, most first and second declension adjectives are turned into adverbs by adding -ē to the same stem that we used for declining the adjective. (That's a long ē: rhymes with hay or say in English.) For example:
| Adjective | Meaning | Adverb | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| altus, alta, altum | high, deep | altē | highly, deeply |
| latus, lata, latum | wide | latē | widely |
| longus, longa, longum | long | longē | by far |
| pulcher, pulchra, pulchrum | beautiful | pulchrē | beautifully, nobly |
| liber, libera, liberum | free | liberē | freely |
There are irregular adverbs that don't follow this pattern, like bene and male that we've already learned, and adverbs like diu and hodie that aren't formed from an adjective. But in general, when you want to form an adverb from a first and second declension adjective and you haven't already learned a specific form for it, you form it this way.
Remember that adverbs are not inflected, so there are no additional endings to learn once you know how to form them.
We learned earlier that the imperfect tense is used to show actions going on in the past but not necessarily completed. The perfect tense is used to show actions that have been completed. It's more or less what we think of as the “past tense” in English, and is translated in English by the simple past or by saying something has been done:
The perfect tense is the only tense of the ten or so we'll be learning that doesn't use the regular personal endings that we're familiar with (-o, -s, -t, -mus, -tis, -nt). It has a special set of its own:
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| 1st person | -ī | -imus |
| 2nd person | -istī | -istis |
| 3rd person | -it | -ērunt |
You can see similarities to the regular endings, but enough differences that these are best memorized as a separate set. These endings are added to the perfect stem that we learned about in the last lesson, which we find by dropping the -i from the third principal part. For example, the third principal part of amo (I love) is amavi, so:
| amavi | I loved, I have loved | amavimus | we loved |
|---|---|---|---|
| amavisti | you loved | amavistis | you loved |
| amavit | he loved | amaverunt | they loved |
We're learning some words in this lesson that have special military meanings in the plural, and a couple that are only used in the plural (like scissors or pants in English). These words are common in military writings like Caesar's, although they may have non-military meanings when used elsewhere.
| Plural word | Normal meaning | Military meaning |
|---|---|---|
| auxilia | helps, sources of aid | auxiliary troops: cavalry, artillery, everyone but the legions |
| copiae | riches, resources, extras | available forces or troops |
| impedimenta | hindrances | baggage (stuff which slows down the troops) |
Arma can mean weapons or arms in general, but in contrast with tela it has a specific meaning of “defensive arms” or weapons used to defend oneself up close. Tela means offensive weapons used for attacking, especially bows and other missile weapons.
Arma and castra are used only in the plural, so remember that they are neuter plural, not feminine singular. It may seem strange to think of “camp” as a plural word, but they thought of a camp as a collection of things: walls, soldiers, buildings, etc. So they used a plural word, the same way we say “scissors” to refer to an implement having two blades, even though we always use it in one piece.
I find it interesting that anima was used to mean both mind and spirit, when nowadays we make such a distinction between the two.
When we get to the third declension, I'll be able to introduce more words from prayers and scripture, and get away from this classical military focus somewhat.
Marcus was a lieutenant. With (his) troops he seized many towns. (His) fame was great; men and women praised (him) widely. (His) horse was called Magnus. He was a little horse, but (his) spirit was great. Marcus always gave Magnus much grain and water. They were good friends. Now they live in a small farmhouse in Spain.
The perfect tense is kind of a pain, with its special endings that aren't used anywhere else, but it's a very commonly used tense in Latin (as in English), so it's important to learn it well. Next lesson: a couple more tenses, but much simpler ones.
Marcus was a lieutenant. With (his) troops he seized many towns. (His) fame was great; men and women praised (him) widely. (His) horse was called Magnus. He was a little horse, but (his) spirit was great. Marcus always gave Magnus much grain and water. They were good friends. Now they live in a small farmhouse in Spain.
Marcus erat legatus. Cum copiis multa oppida occupavit. Fama erat magna; viri feminaeque late laudaverunt. Equus appellavit Magnus. Erat parvus equus, sed anima erat magna. Marcus multum frumentum aquamque Magno semper dedit. Boni amici erant. Nunc in parva villa in Hispania habitant.