Latin for beginners (1911)/Part II/Lesson XXXVIII

by Benjamin Leonard D'Ooge

Layout 2

LESSON XXXVIII

THE RELATIVE PRONOUN AND THE INTERROGATIVE PRONOUN

219. Sentences are simple, compound, or complex.

a. A simple sentence is a sentence containing but one statement, that is, one subject and one predicate: The Romans approached the town.

b. A compound sentence is a sentence containing two or more independent statements: The Romans approached the town | and | the enemy fled.

Note. An independent statement is one that can stand alone; it does not depend upon another statement.

c. A complex sentence is a sentence containing one independent statement and one or more dependent statements: When the Romans approached the town | the enemy fled.

Note. A dependent or subordinate statement is one that depends on or qualifies another statement; thus the enemy fled is independent, and when the Romans approached the town is dependent or subordinate.

d. The separate statements in a compound or complex sentence are called clauses. In a complex sentence the independent statement is called the main clause and the dependent statement the subordinate clause.

220. Examine the complex sentence

The Romans killed the men who were taken

Here are two clauses:

a. The main clause, The Romans killed the men

b. The subordinate clause, who were taken

The word who is a pronoun, for it takes the place of the noun men. It also connects the subordinate clause who were taken with the noun men. Hence the clause is an adjective clause. A pronoun that connects an adjective clause with a substantive is called a relative pronoun, and the substantive for which the relative pronoun stands is called its antecedent. The relative pronouns in English are who, whose, whom, which, what, that. 221. The relative pronoun in Latin is quī, quae, quod, and it is declined as follows:

	Singular			Plural
	MASC.	FEM.	NEUT.	MASC.	FEM.	NEUT.
Nom.	quī	quae	quod	quī	quae	quae
Gen.	cuius	cuius	cuius	quōrum	quārum	quōrum
Dat.	cui	cui	cui	quibus	quibus	quibus
Acc.	quem	quam	quod	quōs	quās	quae
Abl.	quō	quā	quō	quibus	quibus	quibus

1. Review the declension of is, <a href = "#sec114">§ 114, and note the similarity in the endings. The forms quī, quae, and quibus are the only forms showing new endings.

Note. The genitive cuius and the dative cui are pronounced co͝oi´yo͝os (two syllables) and co͝oi (one syllable).

222. The Relative Pronoun is translated as follows:^[1]

	Masc. and Fem.	Neut.
Nom.	who, that	which, what, that
Gen.	of whom, whose	of which, of what, whose
Dat.	to or for whom	to or for which, to or for what
Acc.	whom, that	which, what, that
Abl.	from, etc., whom	from, etc., which or what

a. We see from the table above that quī, when it refers to a person, is translated by some form of who or by that; and that when it refers to anything else it is translated by which, what, or that.

223. Note the following sentences:

The Romans killed the men who were taken

The Romans killed the woman who was taken

Rōmānī interfēcērunt virōs quī captī sunt

Rōmānī interfēcērunt fēminam quae capta est

In the first sentence who (quī) refers to the antecedent men (virōs), and is masculine plural. In the second, who (quae) refers to woman (fēminam), and feminine singular. From this we learn that the relative must agree with its antecedent in gender and number. In neither of the sentences are the antecedents and relatives in the same case. Virōs and fēminam are accusatives, and quī and quae are nominatives, being the subjects of the subordinate clauses. Hence

224. Rule. Agreement of the Relative. A relative pronoun must agree with its antecedent in gender and number; but its case is determined by the way it is used in its own clause.

225. Interrogative Pronouns. An interrogative pronoun is a pronoun that asks a question. In English the interrogatives are who? which? what? In Latin they are quis? quid? (pronoun) and quī? quae? quod? (adjective).

226. Examine the sentences

a. Who is the man? Quis est vir?

b. What man is leading them? Quī vir eōs dūcit?

In a, who is an interrogative pronoun. In b, what is an interrogative adjective. Observe that in Latin quis, quid is the pronoun and quī, quae, quod is the adjective.

227. 1. The interrogative adjective quī, quae, quod is declined just like the relative pronoun. (See § 221.)

2. The interrogative pronoun quis, quid is declined like quī, quae, quod in the plural. In the singular it is declined as follows:

	Masc. and Fem.	Neut.
Nom.	quis, who?	quid, what? which?
Gen.	cuius, whose?	cuius, whose?
Dat.	cui, to or for whom?	cui, to or for what or which?
Acc.	quem, whom?	quid, what? which?
Abl.	quō, from, etc., whom?	quō, from, etc., which or what?

Note. Observe that the masculine and feminine are alike and that all the forms are like the corresponding forms of the relative, excepting quis and quid.

228.

EXERCISES

I.

1. Quis est aeger? Servus quem amō est aeger.
2. Cuius scūtum habēs? Scūtum habeō quod lēgātus ad castellum mīsit.
3. Cui lēgātus suum scūtum dabit? Fīliō meō scūtum dabit.
4. Ubi Germānī antīquī vīvēbant? In terrā quae est proxima Rhēnō Germānī vīvēbant.
5. Quibuscum^[2] Germānī bellum gerēbant? Cum Rōmānīs, quī eōs superāre studēbant, Germānī bellum gerēbant.
6. Quī virī castra pōnunt? Iī sunt virī quōrum armīs Germānī victī sunt.
7. Quibus tēlīs cōpiae nostrae eguērunt? Gladiīs et pīlīs nostrae cōpiae eguērunt.
8. Ā quibus porta sinistra tenēbātur? Ā sociīs porta sinistra tenēbātur.
9. Quae prōvinciae ā Rōmānīs occupātae sunt? Multae prōvinciae ā Rōmānīs occupātae sunt.
10. Quibus virīs deī favēbunt? Bonīs virīs deī favēbunt.

GERMANI ANTIQUI

II.

1. What victory will you announce?
2. I will announce to the people the victory which the sailors have won.
3. The men who were pitching camp were eager for battle.
4. Nevertheless they were soon conquered by the troops which Sextus had sent.
5. They could not resist our forces, but fled from that place without delay.

229. The Faithless Tarpeia (Concluded)^[3]

Tarpēia, commōta ōrnāmentīs Sabīnōrum pulchrīs, diū resistere nōn potuit et respondit: "Date mihi^[4] ōrnāmenta quae in sinistrīs bracchiīs geritis, et celeriter cōpiās vestrās in Capitōlium dūcam." Nec Sabīnī recūsāvērunt, sed per dūrās magnāsque castellī portās properāvērunt quō^[5] Tarpēia dūxit et mox intrā validōs et altōs mūrōs stābant. Tum sine morā in^[6] Tarpēiam scūta graviter iēcērunt; nam scūta quoque in sinistrīs bracchiīs gerēbant. Ita perfida puella Tarpēia interfecta est; ita Sabīnī Capitōlium occupāvērunt.

————————

References

1. 1. This table of meanings need not be memorized. It is inserted forreference when translating.
2. cum is added to the ablative of relative, interrogative, and personal pronouns instead of being placed before them.
3. Explain the use of the tenses in this selection.
4. to me.
5. quō = whither, to the place where. Here quo is the relative adverb. We have had it used before as the interrogative adverb, whither? to what place?
6. upon.