Ch 7 · Lesson 9Latin · Chapter 7 · Lesson 9 · Grammar primer
Was called: the perfect passive, and by whom
, he was called: the participle plus , agreeing with its subject ( ). And the doer: a for a person, a bare ablative for a thing.
The short version
The perfect passive is two words, and it means was, not is
.
Why?Hide
The present, imperfect and future passives just swap the personal endings for -r, -ris, -tur, -mur, -mini, -ntur, so becomes . From the perfect onwards Latin changes method entirely and uses the fourth principal part plus a form of . means the city was captured, not is captured, because the participle is already finished and only supplies the frame. That mistranslation is the standard one.
By a person is a or
; .
Why?Hide
English says by for both. Latin puts a person who does the action into a or plus the ablative, and a thing into a bare ablative: a , by the king, but , by a sword. Use before a vowel or h: , by the enemy.
The perfect passive: two words
For the three perfect-stem tenses Latin takes the fourth principal part, the perfect participle, and adds a form of :
| Tense | Latin | English |
|---|---|---|
| perfect | | he was called |
| pluperfect | | he had been called |
| future perfect | | he will have been called |
The participle agrees with the subject
It declines like , , , so it matches its subject in gender, number and case:
| Subject | Latin | English |
|---|---|---|
| masculine | . | The boy was called. |
| feminine | . | The city was captured. |
| neuter | . | The war was waged. |
| masc. plural | . | The soldiers were sent. |
| neut. plural | . | The words were said. |
The third of Genesis turns on this agreement, with feminine:
Dixitque : . .- And God said: Let there be light. And light was made. (Genesis 1:3, in the Vulgate)
Now and then the participle describes a state rather than an event. Caesar's famous opening is one:
Gallia .- Gaul, as a whole, is divided into three parts. (Caesar, Gallic War 1.1)
Participles to know on sight
| Verb | Participle | ... est means |
|---|---|---|
| | it was said |
| | it was made, done |
| | he was sent |
| | he was taken |
| | he was seen |
| | he was led |
| | it was written |
| | he was beaten |
| | it was given |
Who did it: a or ab, or a bare ablative
English says by for both a person and a thing. Latin does not.
Liber puellae a puero datur: the book is given to the girl by the boy. A puero (by the boy) is a or ab plus the ablative, because the giver is a person. Liber (the book) is the subject; puellae (to the girl) is dative.
.- The book is given to the girl by the boy.
| Doer | Latin | Example |
|---|---|---|
| a person | | . |
| a thing | ablative, no preposition | . |
The first is we were beaten by the king, the second he was beaten by a sword. Ask whether the doer could have chosen to act: armies and gods count as persons, swords and rivers do not.
Use before a vowel or h, and usually before a consonant:
.- The city was captured by the enemy.
Going further: The passive endings: -r, -ris, -tur 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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