Abbreviations

In the notes you will also see the abbreviations RG, AG, and LS. These refer, respectively, to the Res Grammaticae (Appendices in this resource), Allen and Greenough’s Latin Grammar, and Lewis & Short’s Latin Dictionary.

RG provides a handy summary of essential Latin grammar. But AG and LS are powerful resources for improving your knowledge of Latin. I have designed some specific exercises to help familiarize you with these reference works.

AG is what is known as a “systematic grammar.” This means that all of Latin grammar is collected together and arranged according to broad categories (morphology, grammar, and syntax) instead of broken down into bite-sized pieces and distributed over any number of chapters, as in a textbook. Essentially, AG is like an encyclopedia of Latin, and it will be a valuable resource as you move forward in consolidating your knowledge of the language.  AG is available on-line at: dcc.dickinson.edu/allen-greenough

LS is, as you might imagine, a dictionary, but it is far more comprehensive (and informative) than the glossary in your learning text — or other on-line dictionaries (e.g., Whitakers, No Dictionaries, Wiktionary, etc.). It is available, along with many other high-quality dictionaries, via the exceptional Logeion.

Metrical Support

A schematic way of representing the elements of a poetic line that contains Dactyls (long-short-short) and Spondees (short-short). The rhythm of the first line of the passage, DSSSDS, is Dactyl-Spondee-Spondee-Spondee-Dactyl-Spondee. The macrons in this passage show those vowels that are long by nature but others, like the ‘u’ in aliud are long by position. You can find more about Latin meter in Appendix I.