What is Latin
Latin is an old language that Romans spoke long ago. It helps us understand many English words and science terms today.
Alphabet and pronunciation
Latin uses the same letters as English with a few differences. In ancient times there were 23 letters. J U W were added later. V is used for both U and V sounds. Pronounce vowels clearly: a as ah, e as eh, i as ee, o as o, u as oo.
Nouns and cases basics
In Latin nouns show who or what by endings. The two easy cases to start are nominative for the subject and accusative for the object.
- nominative is the subject form
- accusative is the object form
First declension example
Most 1st declension nouns are feminine and often end with a in the nominative singular.
- puella = the girl
- puellam = the girl as object
Word order and a simple sentence
Latin usually follows a flexible order but a common pattern is Subject Object Verb, like Puella librum legit.
- Puella = the girl
- librum = the book as object
- legit = reads
To be and basic verbs
The verb to be has several forms you will see: sum I am, es you are, est he/she/it is.
Try it yourself
Translate and guess the parts of these sentences. Try making a new sentence with puella and librum.
- Puellam librum legit
- Puer est discipulus
Mini glossary
- nominative subject
- accusative object
- declension endings