CHAPTER 13: TRANSLATE

The ending of the noun determines its parse; its parse determines its construction; its construction determines its translation.  The ghost translation next to each construction is designed to give you a rough idea of how to translate, but it is up to you to determine the best translation.   

construction	GHOST TRANSLATION
	SG	PL
S	~	~s
POSS	of ~	of ~s
IO	to/for ~	to/for ~s
DO	~	~s
DB	... ~	... ~s

… = From, with, in or by if no preposition precedes the noun.
Ex1.  Nocte:  “by night.”
Ex2.  In nocte:  “in the night.”
Ex3.  Gladiō:  “with a sword.”
Ex4.  Sine gladiō:  “without a sword.”
Ex5.  Porcī:  “of the pig,” “pigs.”
Ex6.  Puero:  “to/for the/a boy.” 
 

1st	2nd (m.)	2nd (n.)	3rd	3rd	3rd (n.)	4th	5th	case	no.	construction	translation
a	us	um	*	is	*	us	ēs	nom.	sg.	S	~
ae	ī	ī	is	is	is	ūs	eī	gen.	sg.	POSS	of ~
ae	ō	ō	ī	ī	ī	uī	eī	dat.	sg.	IO	to ~
am	um	um	em	em	*	um	em	acc.	sg.	DO	~
ā	ō	ō	e	ī (e)	e	ū	ē	abl.	sg.	DB	... ~
a	e	um	*	is	*	us	ēs	voc.	sg.	DA	~!
ae	ī	a	ēs	ēs	a	ūs	ēs	nom.	pl.	S	~s
ārum	ōrum	ōrum	um	ium	um	uum	ērum	gen.	pl.	POSS	of ~s
īs	īs	īs	ibus	ibus	ibus	ubus	ēbus	dat.	pl.	IO	to ~s
ās	ōs	a	ēs	ēs	a	ūs	ēs	acc.	pl.	DO	~s
īs	īs	īs	ibus	ibus	ibus	ubus	ēbus	abl.	pl.	DB	... ~s

Example 1.  Rex is construed as S and its definition is “king.” How is rex translated?  If we fill in the tilda with the definition, we get “king,” “a king” or “the king.”

Example 2.  Rēgis is construed as POSS.  How is it translated?  If we fill in the tilda with the definition, we get “kings” or “the kings.”

Example 3.  Rēgī is construed as IO.  How is it translated?  If we fill in the tilda with the definition, we get “to king,” “to a king,” “to the king,” “for king,” “for a king,” “for the king.”

Example 4.  Rēgem is construed as DO.  How is it translated?  If we fill in the tilda with the definition, we get “king,” “a king” or “the king.”

Example 5.  Rēge is construed as DB.  How is it translated? 
If there is no preposition in front of it, we translate as “from/with/in/by king,” “from/with/in/by a king” or “from/with/in/by the king.”  Eventually we have to choose one of the prepositions.
If there is a preposition, we use it and translate rēge as “king,” “a king” or “the king.”
Furthermore, note that gladiō means “with a sword,” cupiditāte means “by desire,” noctu means “at night,” etc.  How do you know which is the right translation?  There are no had and fast rules.  Eventually, you will notice patterns.  For instance, 
gladiō means “with a sword,” because a sword is an instrument.  However, rēge does not mean "with a king," because a king is not an instrument.  To say "with a king," we might say cum rēge.

Translate.  It does not matter whether you use the definite or indefinite article, as that will be determined by the whole sentence in which the word appears.
1.  poētīs 
2.  Perseō
3.  Perseus
4.  fīlius
5.  Iovis
6.  deōrum
7.  avus  
8.  Acrisius
9.  Perseum
10.  nepōtem
11.  ōrāculum
12.  puerum
13.  somnō
14.  mātre
15.  arcā
16.  arcam
17.  mare
18.  Perseī
19.  māter
20.  tempestās
21.  sinū
22.  mātris
23.  Alcmēnae
24.  Graeciā
25.  hominum
26.  rēgīna
27.  deōrum
28.  Alcmēnam
29.  serpentīs
30.  puerī
31.  cubiculum
32.  Alcmēnae
33.  frātre
34.  scūtō
35.  serpentēs
36.  scūtum

CHAPTER 12: CONSTRUE

After you have parsed a noun, you must construe it, i.e., assign it a construction.  A construction is an interpretation of the noun’s role in the sentence.  Latin, like English, has many constructions, with which we will concern ourselves with only a few at first.

The most important constructions are as follows.
Subject (S):  Focus of sentence or doer of action.
Possessor (POSS):  Owner of something.
Indirect Object (IO):  Recipient or beneficiary of something.
Direct Object (DO):  Something that undergoes change in place or state.
Dustbin (DB):  None of the above.  DB is the place-holder for three different constructions:  separation, means, location.  Only the sentence in which the word appears can allow us to infer which construction is relevant.  Such inferences will not be without controversy—the syntax of the ablative case has been a hotbed of controversy for a long time.
Direct Address (DA):  Person or thing addressed.
The constructions are assigned based on the case.  To do so, simply use the table furnished below.

1st	2nd (m.)	2nd (n.)	3rd	3rd	3rd (n.)	4th	5th	case	no.	construction
a	us	um	*	is	*	us	ēs	nom.	sg.	S
ae	ī	ī	is	is	is	ūs	eī	gen.	sg.	POSS
ae	ō	ō	ī	ī	ī	uī	eī	dat.	sg.	IO
am	um	um	em	em	*	um	em	acc.	sg.	DO
ā	ō	ō	e	ī (e)	e	ū	ē	abl.	sg.	DB
a	e	um	*	is	*	us	ēs	voc.	sg.	DA
ae	ī	a	ēs	ēs	a	ūs	ēs	nom.	pl.	S
ārum	ōrum	ōrum	um	ium	um	uum	ērum	gen.	pl.	POSS
īs	īs	īs	ibus	ibus	ibus	ubus	ēbus	dat.	pl.	IO
ās	ōs	a	ēs	ēs	a	ūs	ēs	acc.	pl.	DO
īs	īs	īs	ibus	ibus	ibus	ubus	ēbus	abl.	pl.	DB

Exercise  
Construe.  If more than one construction is possible, supply both.
1.  poētīs 
2.  Perseō
3.  Perseus
4.  fīlius
5.  Iovis
6.  deōrum
7.  avus  
8.  Acrisius
9.  Perseum
10.  nepōtem
11.  ōrāculum
12.  puerum
13.  somnō
14.  mātre
15.  arcā
16.  arcam
17.  mare
18.  Perseī
19.  māter
20.  tempestās
21.  sinū
22.  mātris
23.  Alcmēnae
24.  Graeciā
25.  hominum
26.  rēgīna
27.  deōrum
28.  Alcmēnam
29.  serpentīs
30.  puerī
31.  cubiculum
32.  Alcmēnae
33.  frātre
34.  scūtō
35.  serpentēs
36.  scūtum