Lectio vicesima altera

Paenula tibi convenit

The coat suits you

Quid! Sine paenulā1 domō exīre nōn dubitās!

What! You dare (don’t hesitate) to leave home (to go out from home) without a coat!

Paenulam in sarcinīs collocāre neglēxī2. Regiōnēs merīdiānās semper tepidās esse crēdēbam.

I neglected to put [my] coat in the luggage. I thought (was thinking) the southern regions were (to be) always warm.

Errāvistī! Aquilō saepe nōbīs āërem3 frīgidum affert. Propter hunc ventum hodiē temperiēs frīgida est.

You were wrong (erred)! The North wind often brings us cold air. Because-of this wind, the temperature is cold today.

Ubi paenulam emere possum?

Where can I buy a coat?

Nōn dēsunt tabernae in hāc viā. Vēnī mēcum4! Ecce taberna Olīvae: ille mercātor mihi amīcīsque meīs vestēs lautās pretiō modicō vēndit.

There are many (Not there-is-shortage-of) shops on this street. Come with me! Here’s Oliva’s shop. That shopkeeper (merchant) sells elegant clothes to me and my friends at a moderate price.

Salvē Olīva! — Salvēte Domnī! Quid vōbīs?

Hello Oliva! — Hello gentlemen! What [can I do] for you?

Fac videāmus5 paenulās. Ecce paenulae! Quanta6 paenulārum cōpia!

Let us see (make we-may-see) [some] coats! — Here-are the coats! — What-a-great abundance of coats!

Quod est jūdicium tuum dē istīs paenulīs cinereīs? Quid dē illā fuscā?

What do you think (is your judgment) about those grey coats? What about that darkish one over there?

Color hujus paenulae mihi nōn displicet. Eam probēmus7!

The colour of this coat does not displease me. Let’s try it!

Haec paenula tibi mīrō modō convenit.

That coat suits you wonderfully (in-a-wonderful manner).

Et cum paenulā, vīsne alia vestīmenta? Subūculam, mastrūcam, brācās, pallium8? Quid dē hōc petasō?

And with the coat, do want [some] other clothing? A *shirt, a *jacket, trousers, a cloak? What about this hat?

Haec paenula mihi satisfacit. Possumne eam cursuālī perscrīptiōne9 solvere?

This coat satisfies me. Can I pay for it with a postal check?

Perscrīptiōnem implet et eam Olīvae porrigit.

He fills out the check and hands (extends) it to Oliva.

Notes

  1. Paenula: (gen. paenulae), the (traveling) overcoat.

  2. Neglexi: perfect of negligo, -is, -ere.

  3. Aër (gen. aëris), the air. Think of “aerial”.

  4. Mecum = cum me, with me; similarly tecum, with you; secum, with him/herself/themselves; nobiscum, with us; vobiscum, with you[pl.].

  5. Videam, videas etc.: subjunctive of video, -es, -ere, to see. Fac: imperative (irregular) of facio, -is, -ere, to make. [There are two other similar imperatives: duc, from ducere = to lead; dic, from dicere = to say.]

  6. Quantus, -a, -um, is an adjective meaning how big, how large, how great; it agrees therefore with copia, abundance, and becomes quanta.

  7. Probemus: subjunctive of probo, -as, -are. The verbs whose infinitive is in -are make the present subjuntive in -em, -es, -et, etc. (probem, probes, etc.). We shall discuss this again.

  8. Mastruca, f., (gen. mastrucae) the (sheepskin) jacket. Bracae, f. pl. (gen. bracarum), the trousers: plural noun (does not have a singular). Pallium, n., (gen. pallii), the cloak (a city cloak or a cloak of a Greek cut).

  9. Perscriptio cursualis, payment by postal check.

This lesson provides us with a complete outline of the forms of the first declension. The 1st declension includes mainly feminine nouns and also some masculine nouns such as nauta, the sailor; agricola, the farmer; communista, the communist.

Singular: Plural:

Nominative PAENULa (P 10), subject PAENULae (P 7)

Accusative PAENULam (P 4), direct object PAENULas (P 7)

Genitive PAENULae (P 9), possessive PAENULárum (P 7)

Dative PAENULae, indirect object PAENULis

Ablative: PAENULá (P 1), adverbial phrase PAENULis (P 8)

Note the long á which makes it possible to recognize the ablative singular from the nominative singular.

In the 1st declension, the dative and the genitive have the same form in the singular. Olivae, in phrase 13, is a dative. In the plural, the dative and the ablative are the same as each other in all declensions; they are always in -is for the first two declensions. We haven’t mentioned the vocative of this declension: its form is like that of the nominative.

Finally, the locative has, in the singular, the same form as the genitive (ROMae, MASSiLIae, etc.). In the plural, the locative does not exist: in its place, one uses the ablative: ATHeNis, in Athens; this noun being plural and having ATHeNae as the nominative.

Dictionaries indicate the genitive of nouns: it is enough today for you to remember that if it is in -ae, the word belongs to the 1st declension. Henceforth, when we introduce nouns to you, we will adopt the usual dictionary presentation. Examples:

Paenula, ae, f.: feminine noun;

Agricola, ae, m., masculine noun.

There are no neuters (n.) in the first declension.

If you do not understand the sense of the abbreviations, refer to the table on page XVI (French version; XVII in the Italian one).

Exercitatio

Olīva sine morā paenulās affert.

Olive brings the coats without delay.

Quod est jūdicium vestrum dē istīs brācīs rubrīs?

What [do you think] (is your judgement) about those red trousers.

Brācae rubrae hominī gravī nōn conveniunt.

Red trousers are not suitable for a serious person.

Subūcula sub mastrūcā induitur.

A shirt is put on (worn) under a jacket.

Induit sē mastrūca super subūculam.

He puts on (covers himself with) the shirt over the jacket.

Illārum paenulārum colōrēs mihi placent.

[I like] the colours of those coats (please me).

Hoc vestīmentum mastrūca dīcitur, illud autem pallium.

This garment is called a jacket, that on-the-other-hand [is called] a cloak.

Graecī palliō induēbantur, Rōmānī autem toga.

The Greeks wore (were covered with) the “pallium”, the Romans on-the-other-hand [wore] the “toga”.

Hī «gēns togāta», illī autem «gēns palliāta» vocābantur.

The later (these) [were called] the “toga-clad (toga-ed) people”, the former (those) on-the-other-hand were called the “pallium-clad [pallium-ed] people”.