Latin III/Gerundive Lesson 2
Salvēte omnēs! Welcome back to Latin for Wikiversity. This lesson introduces the passive periphrastic construction, which uses the gerundive with forms of sum to express necessity or obligation. This is one of Latin's most distinctive ways to express what "must" or "ought to" be done.
The Passive Periphrastic
[edit | edit source]The passive periphrastic construction combines:
- A gerundive (-ndus, -nda, -ndum) agreeing with the subject
- A form of sum in any tense
This creates expressions of necessity, obligation, or duty. For example:
- Liber legendus est = The book must be read
- Pāx quaerenda erat = Peace had to be sought
- Hostēs vincendī erunt = The enemies will have to be conquered
When there is no clear subject, the neuter singular gerundive is used impersonally:
- Pugnandum est = It is necessary to fight
- Festīnandum erat = It was necessary to hurry
- Deliberandum erit = It will be necessary to deliberate
New Vocabulary
[edit | edit source]| Latin | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| cōnsilium, cōnsiliī, n. | plan, advice, council | |
| fidēs, fideī, f. | faith, trust, loyalty | |
| memoria, memoriae, f. | memory, remembrance | |
| officium, officiī, n. | duty, obligation | |
| perīculum, perīculī, n. | danger, risk |
New Sentences
[edit | edit source]| Latin | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Mihi legendum est. | I must read. | Impersonal construction with dative of agent |
| Tibi currendum est. | You must run. | Another dative of agent example |
| Pāx omnibus quaerenda est. | Peace must be sought by everyone. | Dative plural of agent |
| Memoria exercenda est. | Memory must be exercised. | Personal construction |
| Perīcula vītanda erant. | Dangers had to be avoided. | Past tense |
| Cōnsilium capiendum erit. | A plan will have to be made. | Future tense |
| Fides servanda est. | Faith/loyalty must be kept. | Common Roman saying |
| Officia nobīs agenda sunt. | Duties must be done by us. | Plural subject with dative |
| Magistrō audiendum est. | The teacher must listen. | Dative of agent |
| Librī discipulīs legendī sunt. | Books must be read by the students. | Plural subject with dative |
| Mihī scribendum erat. | I had to write. | Past tense impersonal |
| Epistula tibi mittenda erit. | The letter will have to be sent by you. | Future tense |
| Nōbīs festīnandum est. | We must hurry. | Impersonal with plural agent |
| Vincendum aut moriendum est. | We must conquer or die. | Famous Roman saying |
Practice
[edit | edit source]| Practice and learn the words and phrases in this lesson | |
|---|---|
| Step one | First learn the words using this lesson: |
| Step two | Next try learning and writing the sentencing using this: |
| Note that the Memrise stage covers the content for all lessons in each stage. If you are skipping previous stages you may need to manually "ignore" the words in previous levels (use the 'select all' function) | |
In our next set of lessons, we will begin exploring subordinate clauses in Latin. Valēte omnēs!