7/30/2019 Latin Accusative Case

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Syntax Anticipation: Accusative First

Learning how to anticipate meaning in the right way makes all the difference for understandingquickly and easil y. In English, we usually expect t he fol low ing order, w it h the (direct ) object at t he end:

Subj ect Verb Obj ectThe girl sees the roses.The boy cal ls the sailor.

Therefore, in Lat in, i f w e hear t he object f i rst , w e need to "leave a blank space in our understanding" forthe subject . We of ten know the object is f i rst i f we f ind an accusative at t he st art. (You obviously havet o learn how t o recognize t he accusative endings.)

For example, i f you hear ross or nautam at the start of a sentence, you should have a feel ing that somesubj ect is needed. You should instinctively feel what you feel about roses in t he fi rst English sent ence orsailor in t he second sentence, namely t hat something else is acting on it (or him, or her, or them) andt hat t his person, place, or t hing is not being highlighted as the source of t he act ion in the idea beingexpr essed. So if you hear ross or nautam starting a sentence, you should feel what t he fol lowing tableindicates:

Subj ect Verb Obj ect? ? roses.? ? sailor.

That is aft er an init ial ross or nautam, you should have the kind of ant icipati on that fol l ows t hequestions:

"Well , what happens t o t he roses? Who does what to them?"

"Well, what happens t o the sai lor? Who does what t o him ?"

The st ruct ure of t he meaning is somet hing l ike what w e feel w hen we hear someone saying: "HimI j ustdon't l ike. " Him is t he (direct ) obj ect. Someone or somet hing else has to be the agent.

When you get t his feel ing for t he Latin obj ects that are given f irst, you are then prepared to interpr et t herest of t he sentence more quickly:

Ross videt puella. Nautam puer vocat .

Not ice that t he subject may or may not come second. The verb may or may not come at t he end. Theseare other pat t erns for you have to "get a feel for. " And Lat in might not even express t he subj ect w it h anentir e word, but only in a personal verb-ending:

Ross vident . = They see the roses. Nautam vocmus. = We cal l t he sai lor.

Your task, t hen, is to read and say aloud and hear yourself saying the Latin, while underst anding themeaning, unt i l you feel very familiar wit h a part icular pat t ern of w ords as an expression of t he part icularmeaning of t he sentence. Pract ice comprehension!

Time spent doing this even with simple and obvious sentences will reward you later with many hours savedas you att ain t he abi l i t y t o underst and Lat in sent ences much more quickly and easi ly.

Ant icipating in the right way makes all the diff erence. Start wit h small uni ts of meaning and pract icethem until they become automat ic.