4 Matching Annotations
  1. Oct 2023
    1. Is there a list of every possibility a Latin verb can take on, and it's English meaning? .t3_17hvr75._2FCtq-QzlfuN-SwVMUZMM3 { --postTitle-VisitedLinkColor: #9b9b9b; --postTitleLink-VisitedLinkColor: #9b9b9b; --postBodyLink-VisitedLinkColor: #989898; }

      I've not used Mango before, but if it's like other similar apps (Duolingo, Babel, etc.) which focus primarily on spoken language and general understanding over grammar (and you've never learned other languages or had a good grounding in grammar) you're likely going to be a tad lost. These apps usually focus on spoken fluency over reading/writing which is how most Latin grammar books and high school/college courses are traditionally laid out.

      You've got options:

      • ignore your question(s) and move on with what the app presents and you'll slowly/eventually catch on naturally, which is how many apps geared toward fluency are meant to be done. Trust that eventually your questions will be cleared up, or
      • pick up a Latin grammar and begin working your way through the structured reading/writing approach, or
      • do a little of both approaches depending on what your focus for reading, writing, and speaking Latin may be.

      Your question will become much clearer to you when you've seen how verbs are parsed within a grammar textbook (using person, number, and tense) as they're very logically and rigidly structured outside of a handful of irregular verbs. (Most books present these as a grid of two columns (by number: singular/plural) and three rows (first, second, third person).) As a beginner, you'll be glad to know there hasn't been a huge jump in the state of the art in Latin for several hundred years, so even inexpensive, used copies of Wheelock, Allen & Greenough, or Jenny/Scudder/Baade or a trip to the library for one of them should help you along your way. Once you've seen some of the grammatical structure of verbs and how they work, you'll come to understand that a list like what you're looking for isn't really what you're looking for.

      You could, likely, in a couple of days have a rote memorization of most of the forms of almost all verbs such that when you encounter them, but in practice this means that you have to pick each one apart like a formula as you encounter them. You may be better off practicing/drilling each of the ones you encounter to make it an elemental part of you. This way you'll be able to sight read or listen and respond much more quickly and much faster than anyone who learns from standard grammars.

      Good luck!

  2. Mar 2023
  3. Feb 2022
  4. Jan 2022
    1. For centuries the standard work on Latin grammar was the 12th- century Doctrinale, by Alexander of Villedieu, in 2,000 lines of doggerel. Versified rules were easier to remember, though their crudity appalled Aldus Manutius when he reprinted this work in 1501.

      Alexander de Villedieu's Latin grammer Doctrinale from the 12th century was the standard work on the subject. Its 2,000 lines of doggerel were used as a mnemonic device because they were easier to remember. Famed publisher Aldus Manutius was appalled at their crude nature when he reprinted the book in 1501.