Ch 1 · Lesson 12Latin · Chapter 1 · Lesson 12 · Grammar primer
Domine! The vocative, and at home: the locative
Calling someone usually uses the nominative, except that -us turns into -e () and -ius into -i (). And two odd forms for at a place: Romae, .
The short version
, Brute?
Why?Hide
When you speak to someone directly, Latin uses the vocative, and it is almost always the nominative again: , . The one place it changes is the second declension: -us becomes -e (, Brute) and -ius shrinks to -i (). is the exception and stays .
The vocative, and the locative
The vocative is usually the nominative again:
, !- Hello, girl! (does not change)
The one place it differs is the second declension. Nouns in -us switch to -e, and nouns in - shrink to -i:
, .- Lord, I am not worthy. (), Brute?- You too, Brutus? (Brutus), !- Hello, son! ()
is the exception and stays .
There is also a seventh case, the locative, for "at" a place. It survives on the names of towns and a couple of everyday words, so learn it as vocabulary:
Romae .- I am at Rome..- I am at home.
Mistakes English speakers make
| Wrong | Right | Why |
|---|---|---|
| as subject | as object | -um marks the object, wherever it stands |
| | takes the ablative |
| | ad takes the accusative |
. | . | being somewhere is ablative |
! (calling) | ! | -us nouns change in the vocative |
Going further: Why the word order is free and the rest of the guide, when you want them. This lesson does not need them.
Practice
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Lesson 12 of 42 in this chapter