Ch 3 · Lesson 24Latin · Chapter 3 · Lesson 24 · Grammar primer
Heus, ecce, quaeso: talking to someone
Hey is , look is , come on is age, and please is a little clause: , , sis. Latin has no word for yes, and corrects what was just said.
The short version
Latin please is a little clause, not one word
, .
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Latin has no word that simply means please. It tucks a clause into the command: (I ask), (literally I will love you), sis ( , if you want) or ( , if you would). Cicero writes to his friend Atticus.
Roman conversation runs on small words that carry no news: a shout to get attention, a please, a groan, an oath. Most never change their ending. Here is the whole set, by job:
| Job | Words |
|---|---|
| calling, pointing | |
| please | |
| yes, no, rather | |
| linking a reply | |
| feelings | |
| mild oaths | |
Calling and pointing
is hey; is hey, what?!, a little indignant; is surprise at someone who has just appeared. goes with a name in the vocative.
| Word | Example | English |
|---|---|---|
| , Marce! . | Hey, Marcus! Come here. |
| , ? | Hey, you, what are you doing? |
| , Marce! ? | Oh, Marcus! You here? |
| Marce, ! | O Marcus, come! |
| . | Here is the man. |
| Priamus! | Look, there is Priam! |
| , . | Come on, tell me. |
is Pilate in the Vulgate (John 19:5). Priamus! is Aeneas, seeing Troy's king painted on a wall in Carthage (Vergil, Aeneid 1.461): points with feeling, simply points.
is the command of . To several people it is usually , and Vergil's Anchises opens a speech with (Aeneid 6.756).
Please: quaeso, amabo, sis, sodes
Latin has no single word for please. It tucks a little clause into the command:
| Word | Example | Literally |
|---|---|---|
| , . | tell me, I ask |
| , . | come, I'll love you |
| , . | listen, if you want |
| , . | come here, if you would |
is worn down, and is . Cicero opens a letter to his friend Atticus with , , Ciceronem : please look after our Cicero (Ad Atticum 2.2).
Yes, no and on the contrary
Latin has no word for yes. You repeat the verb, or say , or . The firm no is .
| Word | Example | English |
|---|---|---|
| ? . | Are you coming? Yes. |
| , . | Sure, I'll come. |
| ? . | Do you want to? Not at all. |
| ? . | Alive? More than that: he even comes into the senate. |
corrects what was just said: no, rather, or more than that. The example is Cicero against Catiline (In Catilinam 1.2), a few words after , !.
Going further: Linking a reply: second-place words and the rest of the guide, when you want them. This lesson does not need them.
Practice
Practise this lesson
8-question session
One question at a time, mixed across the exercises in this lesson. Miss one and it comes back round before the end.
New words in this lesson
- heushey!, hey there!
- ehohey!, what?! (indignant)
- ehemoh!, ah! (surprise)
- oO!, oh!
eccebehold, look; see here- enlook!, see!, there!
quaesoplease; I ask, I beg- amabo teplease (literally, I shall love you)
- sodesplease, if you would
sanecertainly, indeed; truly
minimeby no means, not at all; least, very little
immoon the contrary, rather; indeed, in fact
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