We learned earlier that the imperfect of first conjugation verbs like voco (I call) is formed by adding the tense-sign -ba- (vocabat: he was calling), and the future is formed with the tense-sign -bi- (vocabit: he will call). The imperfect and future forms of sum (I am) reflect the 'a' and 'i' of those tense-signs, but without the 'b'. Sum also has the irregular stem er- for the imperfect and future, so it is conjugated in these two tenses like so:

As you can see, the same alterations are made in the endings as with the regular first conjugation verbs we saw before: the -m ending for the first person singular imperfect; dropping the -i- tense-sign before the -o ending in the first person singular future; and changing the -i- to -u- in the third person plural future. As long as we remember that the stem is er- and the tense-signs are missing the 'b', we're all set.

• bene, well
• crās, tomorrow
• cūr, why?
• diū, long, for a long time
• herī, yesterday
• hodiē, today
• iam, now, already
• ibi, there, in that place
• interim, meanwhile
• male, badly
• nunc, now
• posteā, afterwards
• saepe, often
• semper, always
• tum, then, at that time
• ubi, where, when; where?

All the vocabulary words in this lesson are adverbs. An adverb is a word that modifies a verb, an adjective, or an entire sentence. The great thing about adverbs in Latin is that they aren't inflected—they don't have special endings for anything. Once we learn the word and the meaning, that's all there is to know about them.

• ubi can be used to mean where in a relative sense: Where there's smoke, there's fire; or as an interrogative: Where are the horses?

a. Translate:

1. Puellae semper amabunt equos.
2. Agricolae in agris cras erunt.
3. Heri legatus gladium magnum portabat.
4. Pueri pugnant; postea erunt boni amici.
5. Ubi in silva feminae ambulabant cum viris?
6. Diu nautae male navigabant; nunc bene navigant.
7. Cras ad oppidum ambulabimus; interim sumus in villa.
8. Tum erant multa et magna bella.
9. Post bellum erimus in Italia.
10. Agricolae et nautae non saepe amici sunt.

b. Translate:

1. I will be in Germany tomorrow.
2. Marcus, were you on the island yesterday?
3. Tomorrow we will carry grain to the horses; today water.
4. The boys are already good friends.
5. The messenger will be in the small town for a long time.
6. The envoys were in Europe for a long time; today they will sail toward Italy.
7. We are watching the wild horses; afterwards we will give the horses grain and water.
8. The good boys will always be friends.
9. At that time, the men were walking out of the town toward the fields.
10. I was in the forest with the men.

c. Translate the story:

Puer et puella ad insulam heri navigabant. Erant feri equi in insula. Puer frumentum equis portat et puella aquam. Erat amicus poeta in insulam. In parva villa in silva habitabat. Dona puero et puellae dabat. Puer et puella equos in campo diu spectabant. Postea ad patriam navigabant. Cras, in ludis erunt et poeta frumentum et aquam equis dabit.

d. Think of an English word related to each Latin word in the vocabulary.

Short lesson this time, because it's important for the different forms of sum to sink in. Also, our first actual story! There will be more stories, now that we know enough words to piece whole paragraphs together.

1. Puellae semper amabunt equos. - Girls will always love horses.
2. Agricolae in agris cras erunt. - The farmers will be in the fields tomorrow.
3. Heri legatus gladium magnum portabat. - Yesterday, the lieutenant was carrying a great sword.
4. Pueri pugnant; postea erunt boni amici. - The boys were fighting; afterwards they will be good friends.
5. Ubi in silva feminae ambulabant cum viris? - Where in the forest were the women walking with the men?
6. Diu nautae male navigabant; nunc bene navigant. - The sailors were sailing badly for a long time; now they sail well.
7. Cras ad oppidum ambulabimus; interim sumus in villa. - Tomorrow we will walk to town; meanwhile we are in the farmhouse.
8. Tum erant multa et magna bella. - Then there were many great wars.
9. Post bellum erimus in Italia. - After the war we will be in Italy.
10. Agricolae et nautae non saepe amici sunt. - Farmers and sailors are not often friends.

1. I will be in Germany tomorrow. - Cras in Germania ero.
2. Marcus, were you on the island yesterday? - Eras, Marce, in insula heri?
3. Tomorrow we will carry grain to the horses; today water. - Cras frumentum equis portabimus; hodie aquam.
4. The boys are already good friends. - Pueri semper boni amici sunt.
5. The messenger will be in the small town for a long time. - Nuntius in oppido parvo diu erit.
6. The envoys were in Europe for a long time; today they will sail toward Italy. - Legati in Europa diu erant; hodie ad Italiam navigabunt.
7. We are watching the wild horses; afterwards we will give the horses grain and water. - Equos feros spectamus; postea equis frumentum et aquam dabimus.
8. The good boys will always be friends. - Pueri boni semper amici erunt.
9. At that time, the men were walking out of the town toward the fields. - Tum viri ex oppido ad agros ambulabant.
10. I was in the forest with the men. - Eram in silva cum viris.

The boy and girl were sailing to the island yesterday. There were wild horses on the island. The boy carried grain for the horses and the girl carried water. There was a friendly poet on the island. He was living in a small farmhouse in the forest. He would give gifts to the boy and the girl. The boy and girl were watching the horses on the plain for a long time. Afterwards, they began sailing to their native land. Tomorrow, they will be at the games and the poet will give the horses grain and water.

Puer et puella heri ad insulam navigabamus. Erat feri equi in insula. Puer frumentum equis portabat et puella aquam portabat. Erat poeta amicus in insula. In parva villa in silva habitabamus. Dona puero et puellae dabat. Puer et puella equos in campo diu spectabant. Postea ad patriam navigabant. Cras erunt in ludis et poeta equis frumentum et aquam dabit.

(It doesn't seem like many of these adverbs carried over into English, but I was able to come up with something for a few.)

• bene, well - beneficial
• crās, tomorrow
• cūr, why?
• diū, long, for a long time
• herī, yesterday
• hodiē, today
• iam, now, already
• ibi, there, in that place
• interim, meanwhile - interim
• male, badly - malefactor
• nunc, now
• posteā, afterwards
• saepe, often
• semper, always - Semper Fidelis, the USMC motto (Ok, that's cheating; it's still Latin. )
• tum, then, at that time
• ubi, where, when; where?