Ch 10 · Lesson 20Latin · Chapter 10 · Lesson 20 · Grammar primer
The gerund: ars amandi
, the art of loving; , for reading; , by reading. Latin's -ing word, built on -nd-, with no nominative. The gerundive and delenda are the next two lessons.
The short version
The gerund is Latin's -ing,
discimus.
Why?Hide
Add -nd- to the present stem and you have a verbal noun: , of loving; , for reading; , by reading. It has no nominative, because the infinitive is the subject instead: errare , to err is human.
Latin builds two things on one stem, the present stem plus -nd-. The gerund is a verbal noun, the English -ing. The gerundive is a verbal adjective that agrees with a noun and means to be done. One question tells them apart: does it agree with a noun?
| Gerund | Gerundive | |
|---|---|---|
| It is | a noun: -ing | an adjective: to be done |
| Its forms | neuter singular, 4 cases | every gender, number and case |
| Voice | active: loving | passive: to be loved |
| Example | : the art of loving | : a book to be read |
| With a verb | : for reading | Carthago delenda : it must be destroyed |
The -nd- stem
Take the present stem and add -nd-. Third and fourth conjugation slip in an -e- first, exactly as they do for the present participle ().
| Conjugation | Verb | -nd- stem |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | | amand- |
| 2nd | | vidend- |
| 3rd | | ducend- |
| 3rd -io | | capiend- |
| 4th | | audiend- |
Inscriptions and writers aiming for an old-fashioned tone sometimes spell it -und-: faciundum is .
The gerund takes neuter singular endings on that stem. The gerundive takes the endings of , , . So can be either, and only the sentence decides.
The gerund: a verbal noun
English turns a verb into a noun with -ing: the art of writing, by reading. Latin uses the gerund, but only in four cases:
| Case | Gerund | Example |
|---|---|---|
| genitive | | : the art of loving |
| dative | | rare: . |
| accusative | | : for reading |
| ablative | | |
The dative is the rare one. (they were present at the writing) is the formula at the foot of a Roman senate decree, naming the witnesses.
There is no nominative, because the infinitive already does that job:
Errare .- To err is human.
So English reading is useful is an infinitive in Latin. The gerund only appears when the -ing word is in another case.
What the gerund does
| Use | Latin | English |
|---|---|---|
| with a noun | | the hope of winning |
| with | | for the sake of seeing |
| purpose | pugnandum | for fighting, to fight |
| means | | by reading and writing |
| while | | while reading |
(for the sake of) normally follows its genitive: .
Going further: The gerundive: a verbal adjective and the rest of the guide, when you want them. This lesson does not need them.
Practice
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One question at a time, mixed across the exercises in this lesson. Miss one and it comes back round before the end.
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