Latin from scratch #19: Relative time and participles

In the nineteenth module of the Latin from Scratch course, we’ll study the morphology and the syntax of participles. For this we need to understand relative time, which will be even more important in the next module about infinitives.

Classes on relative time and participles

36. Relative time (15m 18s)
37. Participles: morphology (09m 35s)
38. Participles: syntax (18m 00s)

Practice: morphosyntactic analysis and translation (19)

In this occasion we will translate a few isolated sentences (mostly from Julius Caesar’s Gallic War) with some editing. Important: don’t freak out with the last paragraph: little by little!

Antonius ense destricto adversum hostes impetum fecit.

Caesar, milites in contione hortatus, multam praedam post victoriam eis pollicitus est.

Helvetii confertissima acie reiecto nostro equitatu phalange facta sub primam nostram aciem successerunt.

Id oppidum Aurunci primo possederunt, inde Achaei Troia domum redeuntes.

Caesar magnis nocturnis diurnisque itineribus contendit occupatoque oppido ibi praesidium conlocat.

Lucio Domitio Apio Claudio consulibus discedens ab hibernis Caesar in Italiam, ut quotannis faciebat, legatis imperat, quos legionibus praefecerat, uti quam plurimas possent hieme navium aedificationem veterumque refectionem curarent.

Caesar primum suo, deinde omnium, ex conspectu remotis equis, ut aequato omnium periculo spem fugae tolleret, cohortatus suos proelium commisit. Milites e loco superiore pilis missis facile hostium phalangem perfregerunt. Ea disiecta gladiis destrictis in eos impetum fecerunt. Galli magnum ad pugnam impedimentum habebant, quod pluribus eorum scutis uno ictu pilorum transfixis et conligatis, cum ferrum se inflexisset, neque evellere neque sinistra impedita satis commode pugnare poterant, multi ut diu iactato bracchio praeoptarent scuta e manu emittere et nudo corpore pugnare. Tandem vulneribus defessi et pedem referre et, quod mons suberat circiter mille passuum, eo se recipere coeperunt. Capto monte et succedentibus nostris Boii et Tulingi, qui hominum milibus circiter XV agmen hostium claudebant et novissimis praesidio erant, ex itinere nostros latere aperto adgressi circumvenerunt. Id conspicati Helvetii, qui in montem sese receperant, rursus instare et proelium redintegrare coeperunt.

Here you have the statements of the words appearing in the translation for this module. It is important for you to learn the vocabulary. To compel you to do so, I won’t usually repeat words from previous modules.

For the sentences:

• ensis, ensis — sword
• destringo, destringere, destrinxi, destrictum — draw
• adversum — against (+ accusative)
• impetus, impetus — attack
• contio, contionis — assembly
• hortor, hortari, hortatus sum — exhort
• confertus, conferta, confertum — tight
• acies, aciei — line of battle
• reicio, reicere, reieci, reiectus — reject, repel, drive back
• equitatus, equitatus — cavalry
• phalanx, phalangis — phalanx (type of battle array)
• prima acies — vanguard, first line of battle
• succedo, succedere, successi, successum — attack, pounce on
• Aurunci, Auruncorum — Aurunci (Italic tribe)
• possideo, possidere, possedi, possessum — possess
• inde — then, next
• Achaei, Achaeorum — Achaeans (= Greeks)
• rediens, redeuntis — present participle from redeo (irregular) ‘go/come back’
• praesidium, praesidii — fortification, garrison
• discedo, discedere, discessi, discessum — leave
• hiberna, hibernorum — winter camp(s)
• quotannis — every year, yearly
• praeficio, praeficere, praefeci, praefactum — put in charge
• uti = ut
• hiems, hiemis — winter
• aedificatio, aedificationis — construction, building
• refectio, refectionis — restoration, renovation
• curo, curare, curavi, curatum — take care, worry (about)

For the big paragraph:

• conspectus, conspectus — sight
• removeo, removere, removi, remotum — remove
• aequo, aequare, aequavi, aequatum — make equal
• tollo, tollere, sustuli, sublatum — remove
• cohortor, cohortari, cohortatus sum — exhort
• committo, committere, commisi, commissum — start, bring together
• pilum, pili — pilum, javelin (spear to be thrown)
• perfringo, perfringere, perfregi, perfractum — break, wreck
• quod — because
• ictus, ictus — blow, stroke
• transfigo, transfigere, transfixi, transfixum — pierce
• conligo, conligare, conligavi, conligatum — join, connect
• ferrum, ferri — iron
• inflecto, inflectere, inflexi, inflexum — fold
• evellere — translate as ‘take out’, ‘remove’
• impedio, impedire, impedivi, impeditum — hinder
• pugnare — translate as ‘fight’
• poterant — translate as ‘they could’
• diu — long time
• bracchium, bracchii — arm
• praeopto, praeoptare, praeoptavi, praeoptatum — prefer
• emittere — translate as ‘drop’
• nudus, nuda, nudum — naked
• tandem — finally
• defessi — from defetiscor, but just translate as ‘exhausted’
• pedem referre — translate as ‘retreat’
• subsum, subesse, suffui — there is/are
• circiter — approximately
• eo — there
• recipere — retreat
• coepi, coepisse, coeptum — start (to)
• succedo, succedere, successi, successum — chase
• Boii, Boiorum — Boii (Gallic tribe)
• Tulingi, Tulingorum — Tulingi (Gallic tribe)
• claudo, claudere, clausi, clausum — close
• novissimus, novissima, novissimum — the ones at the rearguard
• latus, lateris — side
• adgredior, adgredi, adgressus sum — attack
• circumvenio, circumvenire, circumveni, circumventum — surround
• conspicor, conspicari, conspicatus sum — notice, realize
• rursus — again
• instare — translate as ‘take the position’
• redintegro, redintegrare, redintegravi, redintegratum — reinstate, restore, reenter, rejoin

Review of the translations

Once you have finished with the analysis and translations, now it’s time to review them on the screen.

⚠️ Even if you think you’ve done everything correctly, it is very important for you to always check the review, since that’s where we actually practice and check what we have learned. You’ve already seen that the analysis-translation process is quite systematic and strict at first, precisely so we can absorb everything we’re doing.

In the following video (⏳ 26m 20s ⌛) I analyze and translate the sentences:

And now let’s go for the big paragraph (⏳ 44m 16s ⌛):

In the next module we’ll study the infinitives.

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