Salvēte, sodālēs.
Latin verbs can be grouped based on their endings. In Lesson 50 we saw that there are verbs that end in -at when they are singular (puer cantat the boy is singing) and -ant when they are plural (puerī cantant the boys are singing). And that there are verbs that end in -et when they are singular (puella rīdet the girl is laughing) and -ent when they are plural (puellae rīdent the girls are laughing). The time has come to meet the other two groups of verbs:
Verbs like discēdit end in -it and -unt. Other verbs you’ve met that end in -it and -unt are pōnit and sūmit.
from Handy Latin Tables Pars Prīma, page 25.
Verbs like dormit end in -it and -iunt. Other verbs you’ve met that end in -it and -iunt are audit and venit.
from Handy Latin Tables Pars Prīma, page 26.
You may be wondering what this term indicātīvus means. At the moment that’s not important - you can just think of them as ‘normal’ verbs. What is important, however, is that you understand what is meant by imperātīvus. Imperātīvus is the form of the verb that you use to tell somebody to do something. You met imperative verbs (that’s their name in English) for the first time in Lesson 41 (Capitulum Quartum, line 23). Here are some imperative verbs from Capitulum Quartum, along with their meanings:
Dāvum vocā! Call Davus! Venī! Come! Salūtā dominum! Greet the master! Salvē, domine! Be well, master!* Tacē et audī! Be silent and listen! Respondē, Dāve! Respond, Davus! Interrogā Mēdum! Ask Medus! Respondē, serve! Answer, slave! Sacculum tuum in mēnsā pōne! Put your purse on the table! Vidē! Look! Sūme sacculum tuum et discēde! Take you purse and leave! *Used as a greeting.
You will note that these imperative verbs have four different endings (-ā, -ē, -e and -ī) These relate to the same four groups discussed above. But before saying more about that, you need to understand that ALL of the imperatives in Capitulum Quartum were used to tell only one person to do something. This is called the imperātīvus singulāris. If we want to tell more than one person to do something (imperātīvus plūrālis) we use a different set of endings. You will see these endings in today’s reading.
The good news is that this can all be displayed in one handy table. Here are all of the regular verb endings that you will need to know for quite a while. I hope you find it helpful.
from Handy Latin Tables Pars Prīma, page 27.
Now READ Capitulum Quīntum lines 51-55. Remember, eōs means them, and in this reading refers to the boys.
Satis est. See you again soon.