Kilo Lingo
Latin grammar Part of Chapter 3

CEFR A1-A2

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Test yourself (16 questions)

Latin Interjections and Conversation Words: heus, ecce, edepol

By Michael McGettrickUpdated 21 October 2026

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:

JobWords
calling, pointing, , , , , ,
please, , ,
yes, no, rather, , , ,
linking a reply, , , ,
feelings, , , ,
mild oaths, ,

Quick check

Now use it: three quick questions on the chart above. The full practice is further down.

Pick the right one

0/3

Pick the Latin for the English.

  1. Hey, Marcus! (you want him to turn round)

  2. Woe is me!

  3. Do you want to come? Not at all.

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.

WordExampleEnglish
, 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:

WordExampleLiterally
, .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 .

WordExampleEnglish
? .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 , !.

Linking a reply: second-place words

(for) stands first. (for, you see), (but, and now), (but, indeed) and (so) do not: in classical prose they sit second in their clause, after the first word or phrase ( does open sentences in Sallust and Livy).

First
Second
Rest
  • . - But I am staying.
  • . - For I know this.
  • . - So you are coming.

More on how these join clauses in Latin connectors.

Feelings: eheu, vae, euge, papae

WordExampleEnglish
, ?Oh dear, what have I done?
!Woe to the conquered!
! .Well done!
! !Wow! What a big ship!

takes the dative of whoever will suffer: , woe is me. (An accusative, me, turns up in comedy and Seneca, but the dative is the rule.) is a Gaul's taunt in Livy (5.48.9).

and are both alas. Horace's ode on growing old opens fugaces, Postume, Postume, labuntur (Odes 2.14): alas, Postumus, the fleeting years slip by.

Mild oaths: hercle, ecastor, edepol

Romans swore by gods the way English says honestly. Which god depended on who was speaking:

OathByWho says it
, Herculesmen
, Castorwomen
, Polluxmen and women

Aulus Gellius records the rule: in neque Romanae per Herculem deiurant neque Castorem, in old writings Roman women do not swear by Hercules, nor men by Castor ( Atticae 11.6).

  • . - I really don't know.
  • , ! - Honestly, you did well!

Common mistakes

WrongRightWhy
!! takes the dative
Marcus! Marce! goes with the vocative
. . is never first
. . sits second
? .? . corrects; it does not mean no

What to do next

  1. Learn , and first: they cover most scenes.
  2. Read a page of Plautus and count the s.
  3. Check where and sit in the next Latin you read.

See also

Practise: test yourself

Sort into groups

0/6

What is each word doing?

Tap a word, then the group it belongs in.

Pick the right one

0/4

Pick the Latin for the English.

  1. Hey, Marcus! (you want him to turn round)

  2. Woe is me!

  3. Do you want to come? Not at all.

  4. Look, here comes Marcus!

Put the words in order

0/3

Enim, autem and igitur sit second. Put the words in order.

  1. But I am staying.

    Your sentence is empty.

  2. For I know this.

    Your sentence is empty.

  3. So you are coming.

    Your sentence is empty.

Spot the mistake

0/3

Each sentence has one wrong word. Tap it.

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Frequently asked questions

What does mean in Latin?
Hey, or hey there: it calls someone to get their attention, usually with a name or after it: , Marce! or ! Vergil gives it to Venus, disguised as a huntress, when she meets Aeneas and Achates (Aeneid 1.321).
How do you say please in Latin?
Four ways, all tucked into a command. is I ask (dic, ). is literally I will love you, and Cicero uses it to Atticus. is short for , if you want, and for , if you would. None of them is a separate word like English please; each is a small clause of its own.
What does mean?
By Pollux: a mild oath that by the time of Plautus meant little more than really or honestly. Aulus Gellius ( Atticae 11.6) says was used by men and women alike, while and were men's oaths and and women's.
What does mean in Latin?
corrects what was just said, either to deny it (no, rather...) or to go further (more than that...). Cicero's famous example: ? in , alive? Why, he even comes into the senate (In Catilinam 1.2).
What is the difference between and ?
Both mean for, giving the reason for what you have just said. stands first in its clause; , in classical prose, sits second: , but . , and are second-place words in the same way.