PREPARATORY WORK FOR LATIN AS
1.
Translation practice
Look over the following translation hints before looking at the story below:
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Some of the unfamiliar vocab. is given here – but not all! Do NOT panic if
you see a word that you do not know – and do NOT launch in and guess
wildly, at the expense of the sense of the rest of the sentence!
Instead, USE what you know to help work out what you don’t know – often
you will be able to make sense of the unknown word(s) in CONTEXT when
you have worked out all you can in a sentence.
BREAK UP a long sentence into smaller, more manageable sections – it is
easier to slay a mighty monster claws by claws (get it?!) than all at once!
Work GRAMMATICALLY – don’t translate a singular verb as plural, or a
genitive noun as the subject…
READ lots of mythology (often the subject of unseen translations) and USE
your knowledge to PICTURE and make sense of the story.
Make sure what you write MAKES SENSE! This might well involve simply
THINKING HARD!
Now have a go at translating the story, and identify the following constructions:
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purpose clause
indirect command
result clause
pluperfect subjunctive (explain why)
passive verb
deponent verb
present participle
perfect passive participle
ablative absolute
indirect statement (accusative and infinitive).
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divitiae, -arum f.pl.
- riches, wealth
comparo, -are
- obtain
cano, -ere, cecini, cantum - sing
puppis, -is f.
- stern, ship
reor, reri, ratus sum
- think
delphinus, -i m.
- dolphin
tergum, -i n.
- back
excipio, -ere, -cepi, -ceptum
- take up, pick up
incolumis, -e
- safe
confiteor, -eri, confessus sum
- confess
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2.
Translating from English into Latin
This is an option at AS – not compulsory, but an excellent way of learning grammar – and
great fun! Success depends on:
o identifying the construction you need to use in each sentence, and checking in your
grammar notes the rules for it;
o close attention to detail in getting the form and ending of every word correct:
- check the conjugation and principal parts of every verb. Check tense,
person, mood and voice;
- check the gender and declension of every noun. Take particular care with
the stem change in 3rd declension nouns. Ask yourself what case a noun
needs to be in, and why. Look out for prepositions (which case do they
take?) and agreement of adjectives.
Study the constructions you have identified in the translation above and use them to help you
have a go at translating the following examples into Latin:
i)
I set out from Sicily in order to return to Rome.
ii) The master was so delighted by the beautiful slave girl that he sang a sweet song.
iii) The astonished sailors begged to return home.
iv) The poet, when he found out their plan, believed that he would die.
v) The dolphin, rejoicing, picked up the poet and carried him on his back.
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3.
Translation of Latin Verse
You don’t have to tackle unseen verse translation until A2 – but you have studied verse texts
at GCSE, and will be studying some elegiac poetry for AS, so it is a good idea to get a taste
for what to look out for in translating poetry.
Essentially, the same rules of common sense apply as outlined in section 1 above. In fact, the
style used in poetry is very often more straightforward than in prose – HURRAH! You are
likely, however, to face more unfamiliar vocabulary, and, because of the metre, the word
order can appear less obvious – note particularly that adjectives are very often separated from
their nouns.
Find out the story of Bacchus (Dionysus) and Ariadne. Then have a go at translating as much
of this passage as you can, noting anything that strikes you about the poetic style or the
challenges of translating poetry.
It takes a little while to get used to the technique of translating verse, so DON’T PANIC if
you find this tricky – I am not expecting a complete translation!
ARIADNE, ABANDONED ON THE ISLAND OF NAXOS, VIEWS HER
SITUATION WITH ANXIETY AND SADNESS.
careo, -ere + abl.
- lack
cingo, -ere
- surround
navita = nauta
tellus, -uris f.
- land, earth
prodo, -ere, prodidi, proditum - betray
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4.
Principal Parts
Everyone’s favourite bit of Latin grammar! Here is a list of some of the most common and
important irregular principal parts. Have a go at learning them, concentrating particularly on
recognising the perfect and supine forms. You are welcome to add any favourites of your
own! 
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5.
Preparatory work on set texts
You will study one prose and one verse set text for AS:
PROSE – Cicero, pro Milone
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This is a speech by the orator Cicero, defending a magistrate called Milo on a charge
of the murder of another magistrate, Clodius. This happened in 52 BC, at a critical
point in the history of the late Roman Republic, with the Civil War between Caesar
and Pompey, leading to the collapse of the Republic, only three years away. In his
passionate defence of Milo, Cicero pleads for the rule of law as a vital counterweight
to the anarchy that gang warfare on the streets of Rome had created.
Find out a few facts about the following characters and their role in the political
power struggles of the late Roman Republic:
 Cicero
 Pompey
 Caesar
 Clodius
 Milo
VERSE – A selection of love elegy by the poets Propertius, Tibullus and Ovid
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These poems depict the bitter-sweet love affairs of the poet-lovers and their
mistresses, from the heartbreak of rejection to the elation at love reciprocated. Their
sophisticated poems combine intense emotion with wit and irony, celebrating the life
of love and their mistresses.
Find out a few facts about each poet: who was his mistress? Where did he come
from and how did he fit into the Augustan political and literary scene? What themes,
ideas and scenarios did he explore in his poetry?
Explore a little the genre of love elegy. Find an English love poem (a Shakespeare
Sonnet, perhaps) and compare the thoughts and ideas you find there with those of the
Roman elegists.
Mrs A. Nightingale
June 2016
[email protected]
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