How to Construct the Latin Vocabulary Cards

Honors Latin I

10-7-06

Write all new vocabulary words on index cards.

• Keep these vocabulary cards together.

• Don’t lose them or have them scattered.

• Review the vocabulary cards at least once daily.

• As you master the words, you need to attend only to those words you do not know.

What exactly should I include on the vocabulary cards?

What to include for nouns

• Nominative singular form (entire word) , e.g., fēmina, vir

• Genitive singular form, e.g., fēminae, virī• gender(s) of the noun: m., f., or n.

• glosses (with or w/o quotes)

• Don’t include the derivates (in parentheses in Wheelock’s)

• āra, -ae, f., “altar”

Example of a Noun on Two Sides of Vocabulary Card

āra, ārae, f.

altar

What to include for verbs• 1st principal part = first-person singular

present indicative active, e.g., amō• 2nd principal part = infinitive, e.g., amāre• 3rd principal part = first-person singular

perfect indicative active, e.g., amāvī• 4th = perfect passive participal, e.g., amātus

amō, amāre, amāvī, amātus

What to include for verbs

• At the least, include the macrons for the second principal part of the verb.

• It’s best to inclūde all mācrons, but you need not inclúde the áccent marks.

What to include for verbs

• In addition to the principal parts, provide the glosses from Wheelock’s, e.g.,

• amō, amāre, amāvī, amātus, “love”

• moneō, monēre, monuī, monitus, “warn”

• dēleō, dēlēre, delēvī, dēlētus, “destroy”

Example of a Verb on Two Sides of Vocabulary Card

amō, amāre, amāvī, amātus

to love

What to include for adjectives

• This description will be supplemented when we get to third-declension adjectives.

• Include the nominative singular masculine form, as well as the nominative singular feminine and neuter forms, e.g., validus, valida, validum

• When we get to Chapter Four, you may start to include only the ending of the feminine and neuter, e.g., validus, -a, -um

What to include for adjectives

• Even after Chapter Four, you must include more than the ending for some adjectives*, e.g., pulcher, pulchra, pulchrum could be written as pulcher, -chra, -chrum

* Adjectives that end in –er in the nom. sg. masc., or otherwise have nom. sg. masc. forms from which it’s difficult to determine the adjective base

What to include for adjectives

•As for verbs and nouns, include the glosses from Wheelock’s

What to include for adverbs

• Include the adverb and at least one gloss.

•semper, “always”

•subitō, “suddenly”

•deinde, “finally”

What to include for prepositions

• Include the preposition, the case(s) it governs, and glosses

• For prepositions that govern the accusative and ablative, distinguish the glosses for each case, e.g., in, acc. with motion, e.g., “into,” “onto,”; abl., no motion, e.g., “in,” “on”

• in, “into,” “onto” (acc. for motion); “in,” “on” (abl., no motion)

What to include for conjunctions

• Include the conjunction and its glosses

• et, “and”

• sed, “but”

• aut … aut: “either … or”

• nec … nec: “neither … nor”

• neque … necque “neither … nor”