19 Translating Sentences
“The sentences in this chapter will become more complex than those we have studied so far. To understand and translate them correctly, you need to follow a routine. With practice, it will become second nature and you will learn little shortcuts. But, for now, you need to follow these steps when translating from Latin to English or English to Latin: I. Read, II. Mark Up, III. Translate and Reorder for English.”
How to Translate from Latin to English (B)
- Read: read the Latin.
- Mark Up: identify the Case, Number, and Gender of Nouns, Pronouns, and Adjectives; the Person, Number, Tense of Verbs.
- Translate each word: put the Subject before the Verb, followed by any Predicate or Object. Add, where English requires it, ‘the’ or ‘a’.
Latin-to-English Examples
- Līber sum.
- Līber (nom. sing. masc.) sum (1st person sing. pres.).
- Child (pred.) I (subj.) am. >>> I am a child.
- Vīta mē bene parāre docet.
- Vīta (nom. sing. fem.) mē (acc. sing.) bene parāre (infin.) docet (3rd sing. pres.).
- Life (subject) me (object) well to prepare teaches. >>> Life teaches me to prepare well.
English-to-Latin Examples
- Life is a road.
- Life (subj.) is (3rd sing. pres.) a road (pred.).
- Vīta (subj. nom.) est (3rd sing. pres.) via (pred. nom.). >>> Via est vīta. (Remember: Latin often puts the predicate or most important word first.)
- When I will see him, he will be a man.
- When I (subj.) will see (1st sing. fut.) him (obj.), he (subj.) will be (3rd sing. fut.) a man (pred.).
- Cum ego (subj. nom.) vidēbō (1st sing. fut.) eum (obj. acc.), is (subj. nom.) erit (3rd sing. fut.) vir (pred. nom.). >>> Cum (ego) eum vidēbō, (is) vir erit. (Remember: subject pronouns are not obligatory in Latin. Also, Latin likes to put the verb at the end of a clause.)
“TODAY, IN YOUR NOTEBOOK, WRITE OUT STEPS II. AND III. FOR EACH SENTENCE.”
The Senate, not the people, is the enemy. (1)
Puer nōn es, et dea nōn sum. (2)
Do you see? Life is a road, and the road waits for us. (3) “The verb ‘waits for’ is
manet.”