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Table of Contents:
IMPORTANT RULES OF SYNTAX
[*] 594.
- A noun used to describe another, and denoting the same person or
thing, agrees with it in Case (§ 282).
- Adjectives, Adjective Pronouns, and Participles agree with their
nouns in Gender, Number, and Case (§ 286).
- Superlatives (more rarely Comparatives) denoting order and
succession—also
medius
, (
cēterus
), reliquus—usually designate not what object, but what part of
it, is meant (§ 293).
- The Personal Pronouns have two forms for the genitive plural,
that in -um being used partitively, and that in -ī oftenest objectively
(§ 295. b).
- The Reflexive Pronoun (
sē
), and usually the corresponding possessive (
suus
), are used in the predicate to refer to the subject of the
sentence or clause (§ 299).
- To express Possession and similar ideas the Possessive Pronouns
must be used, not the genitive of the personal or reflexive pronouns
(§ 302. a).
- A Possessive Pronoun or an Adjective implying possession may
take an appositive in the genitive case agreeing in gender, number, and
case with an implied noun or pronoun (§ 302. e).
- A Relative Pronoun agrees with its Antecedent in Gender and
Number, but its Case depends on its construction in the clause in which
it stands (§ 305).
- A Finite Verb agrees with its Subject in Number and Person
(§ 316).
- Adverbs are used to modify Verbs, Adjectives, and other Adverbs
(§ 321).
- A Question of simple fact, requiring the answer
yes or no, is
formed by adding the enclicic -ne to the
emphatic word (§ 332).
- When the enclitic -ne is added to
a negative word,—as in
nōnne
,— an affirmative answer is
expected. The particle
num
suggests a negative answer
(§ 332. b).
- The Subject of a finite verb is in the Nominative (§
339).
- The Vocative is the case of direct address (§ 340).
- A noun used to limit or define another, and not meaning the same person or thing, is put in the Genitive
(§ 342).
- The Possessive Genitive denotes the person or thing to which an
object, quality, feeling, or action belongs (§ 343).
- The genitive may denote the Substance or Material of which a
thing consists (§ 344).
- The genitive is used to denote Quality, but only when the
quality is modified by an adjective (§ 345).
- Words denoting a part are followed by
the Genitive of the whole to which the part
belongs (Partitive Genitive, § 346).
- Nouns of action,
agency, and feeling govern the
Genitive of the object (Objective Genitive, §
348).
- Adjectives denoting desire,
knowledge, memory,
fulness, power, sharing,
guilt, and their opposites; participles in -ns when used as adjectives; and verbals in
-āx, govern the Genitive
(§ 349. a, b, c).
-
Verbs of remembering and forgetting take either the Accusative or the Genitive of the
object (§ 350).
-
Verbs of reminding take with the Accusative of the person a
Genitive of the thing (§ 351).
-
Verbs of accusing, condemning, and acquitting take the Genitive of the charge or penalty(§ 352).
- The Dative is used of the object indirectly
affected by an action (Indirect Object,
§ 361).
- Many verbs signifying to favor,
help, please, trust,
and their contraries; also, to believe,
persuade, command,
obey, serve, resist,
envy, threaten, pardon,
and spare, take the Dative (§ 367).
- Many verbs compounded with
ad
,
ante
, con, in,
inter
,
ob
, post,
prae
,
prō
,
sub
, super, and some with
circum
, admit the Dative of the indirect object (§ 370).
- The Dative is used with
esse
and similar words to denote Possession (§ 373).
- The Dative of the Agent is used with the Gerundive, to denote
the person on whom the necessity rests (§ 374).
- The Dative often depends, not on any particular word, but on the general
meaning of the sentence (Dative of Reference,
§ 376).
- Many verbs of taking away and the like take the
Dative (especially of a person) instead of the
Ablative of Separation (§ 381).
- The Dative is used to denote the Purpose or End, often with
another Dative of the person or thing affected (§ 382).
- The Dative is used with adjectives (and a few adverbs) of fitness, nearness, likeness,
service, inclination, and their
opposites (§ 384).
- The Direct Object of a transitive verb is put in the Accusative
(§ 387).
- An intransitive verb often takes the Accusative of a noun of
kindred meaning, usually modified by an adjective or in some other
manner (Cognate Accusative, § 390).
-
Verbs of naming, choosing,
appointing, making,
esteeming, showing, and the like, may take
a Predicate Accusative along with the direct object (§ 393).
- Transitive verbs compounded with prepositions sometimes take
(in addition to the direct object) a Secondary Object, originally
governed by the preposition (§ 394).
- Some verbs of asking and teaching may take two Accusatives, one of the Person, and
the other of the Thing (§ 396).
- The subject of an Infinitive is in the Accusative (§
397. e).
- Duration of Time and Extent of Space are expressed by the
Accusative (§§ 424.
c, 425).
- Words signifying separation or privation are followed by the Ablative
(Ablative of Separation, § 400).
- The Ablative, usually with a preposition, is used to denote the
source from which anything is derived or
the material of which it consists (§
403).
- The Ablative, with or without a preposition, is used to express
cause (§ 404).
- The Voluntary Agent after a passive verb is expressed by the
Ablative with ā or
ab
(§ 405).
- The Comparative degree is often followed by the Ablative
signifying than (§ 406).
- The Comparative may be followed by quam, than. When
quam
is used, the two things compared are put in the same case
(§ 407).
- The Ablative is used to denote the means or instrument of an action
(§ 409).
- The deponents,
ūtor
,
fruor
,
fungor
,
potior
, and
vēscor
, with several of their compounds, govern the Ablative
(§ 410).
- Opus and
ūsus
, signifying need, are followed by
the Ablative (§ 411).
- The manner of an action is denoted by
the Ablative, usually with
cum
unless a limiting adjective is used with the noun (§
412).
-
Accompaniment is denoted by the Ablative,
regularly with
cum
(§ 413).
- With Comparatives and words implying comparison the Ablative is
used to denote the degree of
difference(§ 414).
- The quality of a thing is denoted by
the Ablative with an adjective or genitive Modifier (§ 415).
- The price of a thing is put in the
Ablative (§ 416).
- The Ablative of Specification denotes that in
respect to which anything is or
is done (§ 418).
- The adjectives
dīgnus
and
indīgnus
take the Ablative (§ 418. b).
- A noun or pronoun, with a participle in agreement, may be put
in the Ablative to define the time or circumstances of an action (Ablative
Absolute, § 419).
- An adjective, or a second noun, may take the place of the
participle in the ablative absolute construction (§
419. a).
- Time when, or within
which, is denoted by the Ablative; time how
long by the Accusative (§ 423).
- Relations of Place are expressed as follows:—
- 1. The place from which, by the
Ablative with
ab
,
dē
,
ex
.
- 2. The place to which (or end of motion), by the Accusative with
ad
or in.
- 3. The place where, by the Ablative
with in (Locative Ablative).
(§ 426.)
- With names of towns and small islands, and with
domus
and
rūs
, the relations of place are expressed as
follows:—
- 1. The place from which, by the
Ablative without a preposition.
- 2. The place to which, by the
Accusative without a preposition.
- 3. The place where, by the Locative.
(§ 427.)
- The Hortatory Subjunctive is used in the present tense to
express an exhortation, a command, or a concession.(§§ 439, 440).
- The Optative Subjunctive is used to express a wish. The present tense denotes the wish as
possible, the imperfect as unaccomplished in
present time, the pluperfect as unaccomplished in past time
(§ 441).
- The Subjunctive is used in questions implying (1) doubt, indignation, or (2) an
impossibility of the thing's being done
(Deliberative Subjunctive, § 444).
- The Potential Subjunctive is used to suggest an action as
possible or conceivable(§ 446).
- The Imperative is used in commands and
entreaties (§ 448).
- Prohibition is regularly expressed in classic prose (1) by
nōlī
with the Infinitive, (2) by cavē with
the Present Subjunctive, (3) by
nē
with the Perfect Subjunctive (§ 450).
- The Infinitive, with or without a subject accusative, may be
used with
est
and similar verbs (1) as the Subject, (2) in Apposition with
the subject, or (3) as a Predicate Nominative (§ 452).
- Verbs which imply another action of the same
subject to complete their meaning take the Infinitive without
a subject accusative (Complementary Infinitive,
§ 456).
- The Infinitive, with subject accusative, is used with verbs and
other expressions of knowing,
thinking, telling, and perceiving (Indirect Discourse, see
§ 459).
- The Infinitive is often used for the Imperfect Indicative in
narration, and takes a subject in the Nominative (Historical
Infinitive, § 463).
- SEQUENCE OF TENSES. In complex sentences, a primary tense in the main clause is followed by the Present
or Perfect Subjunctive in the dependent clause; a secondary tense by the Imperfect or Pluperfect (§
483).
- Participles denote time as present,
past, or future with respect to
the time of the verb in their clause (§ 489).
- The Gerund and the Gerundive are used, in the oblique cases, in
many of the constructions of nouns (§§ 501-507).
- The Supine in -um is used after
verbs of motion to express Purpose (§ 509).
- The Supine in -ū is used
with a few adjectives and with the nouns
fās
,
nefās
, and
opus
, to denote Specification (§ 510).
-
Dum
,
modo
, dummodo, and
tantum ut
, introducing a Proviso, take the Subjunctive (§ 528).
- Final clauses take the Subjunctive introduced by
ut
(
utī
), negative
nē
(
ut nē
), or by a Relative Pronoun or Relative Adverb (§
531).
- A Relative Clause with the Subjunctive is often used to
indicate a characteristic of the antecedent,
especially where the antecedent is otherwise undefined (§ 535).
-
Dīgnus
,
indīgnus
,
aptus
, and
idōneus
, take a Subjunctive clause with a relative
(rarely with
ut
) (§ 535. f).
- Clauses of Result take the Subjunctive introduced by ut, so that (negative,
ut nōn
), or by a Relative Pronoun or Relative Adverb (§
537).
- The Causal Particles
quod
,
quia
, and
quoniam
take the Indicative when the reason is given on the authority
of the writer or speaker; the Subjunctive when the reason is given on the
authority of another (§ 540).
- The particles
postquam
(
posteāquam
),
ubi
,
ut
(ut prīmum,
ut semel),
simul atque
(
simul ac
, or
simul
alone) take the Indicative (usually in the perfect or the historical present)
(§ 543).
- A Temporal clause with cum,
when, and some past tense of the Indicative dates or defines the
time at which the action of the main verb occurred (§
545).
- A Temporal clause with
cum
and the Imperfect or Pluperfect Subjunctive describes the circumstances that accompanied or preceded the
action of the main verb (§ 546).
-
Cum
Causal or Concessive takes the Subjunctive (§ 549).
- For other concessive particles, see § 527.
- In Indirect Discourse the main
clauseof a Declaratory Sentence is put in the Infinitive with
Subject Accusative. All subordinate clauses
take the Subjunctive (§ 580).
- The Present, the Perfect, or the Future Infinitive is used in
Indirect Discourse, according as the time indicated is present, past, or future with reference to the verb of saying etc. by
which the Indirect Discourse is introduced (§ 584).
- In Indirect Discourse a real
questionis generally put in the Subjunctive; a rhetorical question in the Infinitive (§ 586).
- All Imperative forms of speech take the Subjunctive in Indirect
Discourse (§ 588).
- A Subordinate clause takes the Subjunctive when it expresses
the thought of some other person than the writer or speaker
(Informal Indirect Discourse, § 592).
- A clause depending on a Subjunctive clause or an equivalent
Infinitive will itself take the Subjunctive if regarded as an integral part of that clause
(Attraction, § 593).
- For Prepositions and their cases, see §§
220, 221.
- For Conditional Sentences, see § 512 ff. (Scheme in § 514.)
- For ways of expressing Purpose, see § 533.