Table Of Content®
Latin For Dummies
by Clifford A. Hull, Steven R. Perkins,
and Tracy Barr
®
Latin For Dummies
Published by
Wiley Publishing, Inc.
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Copyright © 2002 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Published simultaneously in Canada
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2002103270
ISBN: 978-0-7645-5431-5
Printed in the United States of America
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About the Authors
Clifford A. Hull has been a Latin teacher for more than 23 years. He received a bachelor of arts
degree, BA (Honours)(Latin) degree, and an HED (Higher Education Diploma) from the
University of Stellenbosch (South Africa). He taught Latin and Classical Culture in South Africa at
the high school and university levels for ten years. He came to the United States of America where
he received an MA in Classical Studies, an MA in Classical Archaeology, and an MLS in Library
and Information Science from Indiana University. Over the past 13 years he has taught Latin,
Greek, Medical Terms, and Classical Mythology at both the high school and college levels. At the
present time, he teaches Latin and Classical Greek at Park Tudor School in Indianapolis, Indiana,
and Classical Mythology at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. His main interests
are Latin grammar, epigraphy, Roman architecture, especially Roman houses and buildings,
archaeology, and Morris Minor cars.
Steven R. Perkins is an award-winning Classics instructor who has published numerous articles
on Latin pedagogy. A member of Phi Beta Kappa and a former Texas Latin Teacher of the Year, he
has taught Latin from the middle school through university levels. (To be honest, I hate this self-
praise business, though I know it is helpful to add credibility for the book. Just to back up a bit of
what I just said, I was awarded for excellence in Classics from Indiana University, was
recognized for outstanding Classics instruction at the University of Texas, was twice recognized
by the Austin Texas school board, was twice listed in Who’s Who Among America’s High School
Teachers, and was awarded the silver chalice from Classics Technology on the Web for an article
based on a conference presentation.)
Tracy Barr has been a part of the Dummies phenomenon for almost a decade. In that time, she has
served as editor, editorial manager, writer, and consultant to the folks who write and edit For
Dummies books. Most recently, she helped write World War II For Dummies with Keith D.
Dickson and Vocabulary For Dummies with Laurie Rozakis. She lives and works in Indianapolis.
Authors’ Acknowledgments
Clifford A. Hull: Many thanks to all the people at Wiley for making this book possible, especially
to Tracy Barr, whose help was invaluable. Thanks also to Esmeralda St. Clair for her help and
input. Thanks to my co-author, Steve Perkins, and to his wife, Melissa. I would like to give special
recognition and much appreciation to my wife, Lynn Thomsen, and my son, Clifford P. Hull, for all
the time, help, patience, encouragement, love, and support they gave me. I could not have done this
without them. Lastly, I would like to dedicate this book to the memory of my father, Stanley
Clifford Hull. I love you, Dad.
Steven R. Perkins: I would like to thank my wife and Latin colleague, Melissa, for her loving
support and critique throughout this project. “Ad exemplum tu mihi semper ades.” Thank you, too,
Austin, for helping Daddy type his manuscript.
Tracy Barr: I would like to thank the following people: Steve Perkins and Clifford Hull, who
made the writing a joy; Roxane Cerda, who made my participation in the project possible, and Tim
Gallan and Esmeralda St. Clair, who made the editing (relatively) painless. I would also like to
thank Larry, Adam, Sarah, Mary, and Alex for sundry reasons that have absolutely nothing to do
with writing or Latin.
Publisher’s Acknowledgments
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Editorial Assistant: Melissa Bennett
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Composition
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Indexer: Maro Riofrancos
Special Help Rev. Dennis M. Duvelius, FSSP
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Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher, Consumer Dummies
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Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services
Contents
Title
Introduction
About This Book
Conventions Used in This Book
Foolish Assumptions
How This Book Is Organized
Icons Used in This Book
Where to Go from Here
Part I : Getting Started
Chapter 1: You Already Know a Little Latin
Latin: Not as Dead as You May Have Hoped
Familiarity Breeds Comfort: Latin You Already Know
From A to Z: The Latin Alphabet
Soundin’ Like a Roman: Pronunciation
Talkin’ the Talk
Chapter 2: The Nitty Gritty: Basic Latin Grammar
Bending the Rules: All about an Inflected Language
Latin Nouns (Or Why You Should Love Your English Teacher)
Talkin’ the Talk
Lights! Camera! Action! Introducing Verbs
Talkin’ the Talk
Making Connections through Conjunctions
Chapter 3: Salve! Hello! Greetings and Introductions
Hello, Goodbye: Roman Salutations and Farewells
Being There: Esse (To Be)
Saying Where You’re From
Identifying Yourself
Talkin’ the Talk
Asking Questions
The Preposition Proposition
Playing the Numbers
Talkin’ the Talk
Part II : Latin in Action
Chapter 4: The Roman Family and Social Structure
Keeping It in the Family
Talkin’ the Talk
Throwing on Meaning with Adjectives
Talkin’ the Talk
Perfecting the Past and the Future
Talkin’ the Talk
Chapter 5: Food and Housing in Roman Life
Living to Eat and Eating to Live
Talkin’ the Talk
Dining Practices
To Be or To Eat: That’s the Real Question
Talkin’ the Talk
Welcome Home!
Chapter 6: The Roman Calendar
Planning Ahead with the Roman Calendar
Oh, That Able Ablative!
Talkin’ the Talk
Expressing Subjunctive Moodiness
Pleading Insanity: The Insanity Clause
Talkin’ the Talk
