Introduction

This is a collection of notes on classical Latin grammar that I prepared to help me to translate some nineteenth century mathematical writings from Latin into English. You may find it useful even if you don't have an interest in nineteenth century mathematics.

Online Reviews

A seventh grader reviewed my site (among Latin help sites) at http://members.tripod.com/LtnTcha/links.htm.

History

I haven't written this part yet.

Notation

Marking Vowels

Marking long vowels is a pain in HTML. Besides, except for texts marked for students, vowels are not marked in Latin texts, in particular, the Latin that I need to read. (In the oldest texts, even niceties like punctuation are not marked -- I fortunately don't have to deal with that problem.) With some reluctance, I decided generally not to mark vowels.

In the very few places where I do mark vowels, I use a circumflex accent (â) rather than a macron (¯a) because I don't know of a good way to get macrons directly above the letters in HTML.

I do mark the infinitive ending -êre of second conjugation verbs in vocabulary entries when it might not be clear from context that the verb is second conjugation, in other words, everywhere except the section on second conjugation verbs. If the -ere ending is unmarked outside the section on second conjugation verbs, then the verb is third conjugation.

The letters u and v

Classical Latin did not use separate letters to distinguish the vowel u from the consonant v. Later texts and most student textbooks do, however, make the distinction. In these notes, I distinguish between the two.

The letters i and j

Classical Latin did not use separate letters to distinguish the vowel i from the consonant j. The distinction came much later and is followed by some student textbooks. The math texts that I am reading don't make this distinction, but my dictionary does. For these notes, I generally won't use the letter j, but I reserve the right to be inconsistent. (This is a fancy way of saying that I might get careless.)

Scientific and Mathematical Vocabulary

This will get updated from time to time as I encounter new words in my reading. For the benefit of those hypocritical Luddites who surf the web despite their deathly distaste of science, mathematics, and technology, I have marked scientific and mathematical usages with (sci.) and (math.), respectively.

Obligatory Disclaimer

I am not an expert in Latin. If you are in doubt about anything in these pages, please consult a local Latin expert (human or book). There may be mistakes -- you are responsible if you make use of one of my mistakes. For example, if you flunk your Latin locative quiz because of a mistake I made, then I am truly sorry, but it's still your fault for not having double-checked. But if you do find a mistake or have a suggestion, please do let me know.
Mail comments to Eric Conrad (econrad@math.ohio-state.edu).
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Last updated: Thu Oct 23 10:13:51 EDT 1997