Lectio octava

Rōmam īmus

We are going to Rome

Ubi estis et quō ītis?

Where are you[pl.] and where (whither) are you[pl.] going?

In raedā sumus, Rōmam1 īmus.

We are in the car, we are going to Rome.

Rēctane2 in Ītaliam3 itis?

Are you[pl.] going directly to Italy?

Minimē! Fēriae sunt! Massiliae aliquot diēs dēmorābimur

Not at all! It is the holidays (holidays they-are)! We will remain for some days in Marseille…

et tōtam hebdomadam Genuae4.

and for a whole week in Genoa.

Massiliae, in dēversōriō noctēs agēmus5,

In Marseille we will spend the nights in a hotel (in h. nights we-will-pass),

Genuae, avus nōs domī accipiet.

In Genoa, granddad will receive us at [his] home.

Genua et Rōma in Ītaliā sunt. Avus meus Italus est.

Genoa and Rome are in Italy. My grandfather is Italian.

Eō Rōmam, is Massiliam; it domum; in dēversōrium īmus.

I am going to Rome, you are going to Marseille; he is going home; we are going into the hotel.

Sum Rōmae, es Massiliae, est domī; in dēversōriō sumus.

I am in Rome, you are in Marseille, he is at home; we are in the hotel.

Āvia it Lugdūnum birota6. Lugdūnī Rhodanum videt.

Grandmother is going to Lyon by-bicycle. In Lyon, she sees the Rhone.

Eō, is, it, īmus, itīs, eunt, īre. Agō, agis, agit, agimus, agitis, agunt, agere.

I go, you go, he goes, we go, you[pl.] go, they go, to go. I act, you act, he acts, we act, you[pl.] act, they act, to act.

Notes

  1. Romam and not Roma, further down, Italiam and not Italia. For a large number of nouns (masc. and fem.) this addition of the m corresponds both to movement towards something and to the form of the direct object. Visito Italiam, I am visiting Italy.

  2. Rectá, in a straight line; …ne, interrogative particle (see L 3, N 3). Note the displacement of the accent: rectane.

  3. In Italiam, further down (P 8), in Italiá. Whether it is the answer to the ubi? question or to the quo? question one puts the preposition in before the names of countries or things, but not in front of the names of cities, nor in front of domum or domi (home). We shall return to this point later.

  4. Genuae, another form of Genua, Genoa. We already saw Romae, in Rome. In the same way, Massilia, Marseille; Lugdunum, Lyon; but Massiliae, in Marseille; Lugduni, in Lyon; domi, at home.

  5. Agimus, we do; agemus, we will do (will pass [time], will act, etc.). The verb agere is, like faire (to do) in French or to get in English, a verb passkey. Of course, the different senses of these three verbs are far from tallying exactly. To better locate agere, be aware that its first sense is to drive before oneself: Pastor agit gregem, the shepherd leads (drives) the flock.

  6. Birota, just as Italia in in Italiá is spelled as though it was the subject, but is pronounced differently: the final á is long (a line ¯ on the vowel is generally used, which is, nevertheless, properly, a sign created to mark long syllables in metrics, not specifically long vowels by nature, which creates a great amount of confusion in many dictionaries and other reference works). This difference in pronunciation indicates that it acts as an adverbial phrase.

The notes that we give you on each lesson are there to help you, or to draw your attention to certain points which will be explained to you more precisely in due time. They should not make you waste time nor complicate your task. Above all they should not be learnt by heart. If certain notes seem obscure to you, do not linger there: you will understand them better during your future revisions. Above all do not forget to recite aloud the text of the lessons and the exercises!

Exercitatio

Raeda ad theātrum eunt.

They are going to the theatre by car.

Sorōrēs in theātrō cum āvia adsunt.

[My] sisters are in the theatre with grandmother.

Genuae ītalice loquor.

In Genoa I speak Italian.

Lugdūnī gallice loqueris.

In Lyon you speak French (in-Gaulish).

Puer stupidus irrīdet avum quī1 Massiliam it birota.

The stupid boy mocks granddad who is going to Marseille by bicycle.

Quid hodiē agitis? Nihil agimus.

What are you[pl.] doing today? We aren't doing anything (we are doing nothing).

In cinematographīō noctem agere volumus.

We want to pass the evening at the cinema.

Hominēs gravēs2 nōn estis.

You[pl.] are not serious people.

  1. Qui (pronounced kwi), relative pronoun, who/which/that.

  2. Gravis, pl., graves, adj., heavy, grave, serious.