More questions LII

[Lcoll]

1. We've learned "possum, etc..." but haven't done anything with it. (I realize this is okay, but the girls are getting antsy.) After the children have learned the four principle parts, including the infinitive (Lesson XII & XIII) is it proper to make a sentence such as: Possum amare, I am able to love? Would this be correct? (I have a sixth and eigth grader. They want to know.)

2. We've learned "Me paenitet." What would the Latin response be for "I forgive you?"

3. In recitation, when doing the declensions such as the third that have a dash for variation, how do you say the "blank?" ( "hmmm" is, i,em, e, es, um, ibus, es, ibus?)
Also, should they practice declining both ways for the third declension (Including the irregular ium for irregular nouns?)

4. Have you ever thought of having a section on the CD just to do all the recitation froms with their example verb/noun?

5. Finally, for Lesson X (prepositions), could you give just a few more examples showing the difference between "in" with abl. and "in" with acc? My adult brain is having a hard time grasping this and mastering it.

Thanks for your patience. Leah

[Maria]

Hi Leah,

I'll try to answer some of your questions.


1. We've learned "possum, etc..." but haven't done anything with it. (I realize this is okay, but the girls are getting antsy.) After the children have learned the four principle parts, including the infinitive (Lesson XII & XIII) is it proper to make a sentence such as: Possum amare, I am able to love? Would this be correct? (I have a sixth and eigth grader. They want to know.) I'm pretty sure "Possum amare" ("I am able to love") is a proper sentence. However, I not so sure it would be very advisable to start using constructions you haven't learned yet. And so in these cases you might want to restrict yourself to sentences exactly like "possum amare."


2. We've learned "Me paenitet." What would the Latin response be for "I forgive you?" I suppose "Te dimitto" for "I forgive you" would be okay.


3. In recitation, when doing the declensions such as the third that have a dash for variation, how do you say the "blank?" ( "hmmm" is, i,em, e, es, um, ibus, es, ibus?)
Also, should they practice declining both ways for the third declension (Including the irregular ium for irregular nouns?) Yes, in recitation just say "blank" for any dashes; for example: blank, is, i, em, e, es, um, ibus, es, ibus. As for declining the third declension, they should decline lex, pars, and flumen; for the endings they should decline once for the masculine/feminine endings and once for the neuter. When reciting the masculine/feminine endings they should include ium (blank, is, i, em, e, es, um, ium, ibus, es, ibus.)


5. Finally, for Lesson X (prepositions), could you give just a few more examples showing the difference between "in" with abl. and "in" with acc? My adult brain is having a hard time grasping this and mastering it. When in indicates movement, it is used with the acc. In other words, there should be something moving/going towards another thing. When in doesn't indicate any movement, it is used with abl. Just think of it this way: if there is no movement, use the abl.; otherwise, use the acc. For example, if I wanted to say, "Christ is in glory in heaven," I would see that there is no idea of something moving and so I would choose the ablative. On the other hand, if I wanted to say, "Christ is ascending into heaven," I would choose the acc. because I see that movement towards something is indicated.


Hope this helps,
Maria