Ch 10 · Lesson 21Latin · Chapter 10 · Lesson 21 · Grammar primer
The gerundive: ad urbem capiendam
, a book to be read: the gerundive agrees with its noun and is passive. And where English has -ing with an object, Latin uses it instead: , to capture the city.
The short version
Agreement tells a gerund from a gerundive
;
Why?Hide
Both are built on the stem plus -nd-, and when reading, the test is one question: is it agreeing with anything? A -nd- form with no noun to match is a gerund, a verbal noun with no nominative because the infinitive already covers that job: , , . A form matching a noun in gender, number and case is a gerundive. And where you would expect a gerund with an object, Latin usually flips it.
means to capture the city
.
Why?Hide
Where English has an -ing with an object, Latin usually makes the object the noun and the -nd- word a gerundive agreeing with it: , not . It looks passive, but translate it actively, as a purpose.
The gerundive: a verbal adjective
The gerundive declines like and agrees with its noun in gender, number and case. Its meaning is passive and looks ahead: to be read, needing to be done.
| Latin | English |
|---|---|
| a book to be read |
| a thing to be done |
| words to be heard |
English still uses a handful of them: an is things to be done, a a thing to be remembered.
Keep it apart from the present participle in -ns, which is active and happening now:
| Latin | English |
|---|---|
| a loving man |
| a man to be loved |
With sum: must
Add a form of and the gerundive says something has to be done. The person who has to do it goes in the dative:
Carthago delenda .- Carthage must be destroyed..- I have to read the book.
This is the passive periphrastic, and it has its own page.
Gerundive attraction
A gerund is a noun, so in principle it can take an object (the first column, rare in practice). After a preposition Latin almost never lets it. In the genitive and ablative it sometimes does, but the usual choice is to make the object the noun and turn the gerund into a gerundive agreeing with it, in the same case.
| Gerund + object | What Latin writes | English |
|---|---|---|
| | to capture the city |
| | to take the city |
| | in waging war |
The meaning does not change, and it stays active. looks passive, but read it as to capture the city, not to the city to be captured:
.- They sent envoys to ask for peace.
Gerund or gerundive?
| Step | Ask | If yes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Does it agree with a noun? | gerundive |
| 2 | Is a form of | must: who has to is in the dative |
| 3 | Is it inside | purpose: translate actively |
| 4 | Neuter, alone, no noun to match? | gerund: an -ing word |
Going further: The -nd- stem and the rest of the guide, when you want them. This lesson does not need them.
Practice
Practise this lesson
10-question session
One question at a time, mixed across the exercises in this lesson. Miss one and it comes back round before the end.
Latin · Free printables
Worksheets for this lesson
Worksheets with answer keys built in. Open any one to view, print or save.
Free for members
The printable worksheets, infographics and PDFs are free with an account. Start a free week and download as many as you like.
Start your free weekLesson 21 of 36 in this chapter