Chapter 1 Notes

Vocabulary
• Vocabulary is one of the
most important building
blocks of any foreign
language
•If you do not know
the meanings of
words, you will
struggle tremendously
 Make the study and mastery
of vocabulary a priority!
• Make flashcards & review
them frequently
• Play the vocabulary
games on the Latin
websites
 Derivatives
(Etymology)
•Etymology – the
study of the
origins and
roots of words
 Did you know that
the majority of
English words have
Latin roots?
If you know one Latin
word/root, you have a
key to unlock
meanings for a
number of English
words in which that
root appears…
BE SURE YOU ARE CLEAR ABOUT
THE TERMS “DERIVATIVE” AND
“DEFINITION”
• DERIVATIVE: AN ENGLISH
WORD THAT COMES FROM
A LATIN ROOT
• DEFINITION: MEANING OF A
WORD, EITHER LATIN OR
ENGLISH
 Knowing the relationship of Latin roots
to English words can help you in 2 ways:

1. Latin meanings are easier

to remember
2. Your English vocabulary
improves
 REMEMBER: English derivatives
must be SPELLED like the Latin
word and have a related MEANING
 For example:
• arbore – Latin for “tree” –
English derivatives include:
arbor, arboreal, arboretum

• BUT NOT  arbitrate; art; tree

Ecce 1 – Parts of Speech
3 Parts of Speech
2.Noun
3.Adjective
4.Verb
Noun: Person, place,

thing
puella or
girl idea
arbor tree
Cornelia Cornelia
villa country house
aestate summer
Adjective: Describes nouns

laeta happy
vicina neighboring
altera a second
 Verb: word that denotes action or
existence
habitat she lives
she is living
she does live
scribit she writes
she is writing
she does write
sedet she sits
she is sitting
she does sit
est she is
 Translation Issues
Verbs – Present Tense
There are 3 ways to translate a
present tense Latin verb into
English. All 3 are correct; the
choice of translation is yours.
Is /does /-s
e.g. amat – she loves, she is loving,
she does love
Definite and Indefinite Articles

Latin does not have definite

and indefinite articles
(the/a/an). You must
supply the appropriate
article in your translation.
Word Order
–Adjectives
follow nouns
–Verb at end of
sentence