The Complete Latin Course by Sharpley, G D A;

Short description:

The ideal introduction to the world of ancient Rome for students and armchair enthusiasts alike, this text presents a comprehensive survey of the language, life and customs of a culture that continues to influence our own.

Long description:

The Complete Latin Course is a comprehensive introduction to Latin for students and armchair enthusiasts alike. This modern, user-friendly text offers a series of fascinating glimpses into the world of ancient Rome, and sets you up to read Virgil, Cicero, Juvenal, Tacitus and many other authors in the original Latin.

The story of Rome is told by the ancient authors themselves. Authentic texts help to guide the student through the mechanics of Latin, whilst giving insights into the history of Rome, her culture and society, her gods, her games, her power struggles and the eventual fall of empire.

Originally published as Essential Latin, this extensively revised and expanded second edition features:

• Reading passages from Latin prose authors, including Cicero, Petronius, Pliny, Sallust, Suetonius and Tacitus, and from poets (Catullus, Horace, Juvenal, Martial, Ovid and Virgil) with guidance on reading aloud and meter.


• A detailed step-by-step approach to Latin grammar, with engaging activities and exercises.


• A companion website with a full answer key for exercises, translations, grammar reference tables for the USA, the UK, Europe and elsewhere, additional exercises, word lists and other supports: http://www.lingua.co.uk/latin/materials/complete-latin

 Ideal for classroom use or independent study, The Complete Latin Course will prove an invaluable resource for undergraduate and postgraduate students, adult learners and anyone interested in comprehensively developing their knowledge of Latin.

Praise for the First Edition

‘Latin passages are judiciously gleaned from the canon of Latin literature.’ The Classical Review

Praise for the Second Edition

‘A joy to read…most engaging. I especially enjoy the artistic interweaving of culture, myth, history and literature. Complete Latin is a good tool for hooking students on the classical world with its people and their problems, its language and traditions. The writer moves the text along the learning curve with such speed that he dispels any sense of boredom or drudgery… In sum, this text is based on sound and proven methodology and pedagogical principles. It may well usher in a new and happier era of classical studies.’ Pauline Nugent, Missouri State University, USA

Table of Contents:

Introduction The Latin alphabet 1. Myth, legend and history Nouns and verbs; Nouns: subjects and objects; Negative; Articles the and a; Word order; ‘Object’ of est; Verbs; and; Cases; Nominative case; Accusative case; English pronouns to add in translation; his, her or their in place of the/a. 2. The Republic Genitive case; Dative case; Ablative case; Prepositions; Vocative case; est and sunt. 3. Carthage Singular and plural: Nominative and Accusative plural; Genitive, dative and ablative plural; Gender; Neuter nouns; puella, servus, vīnum. 4.  Greece Questions; Adjectives; bonus,-a,-um; Nouns: puer, magister, vir; Adjectives: miser,-era,-erum; noster,-tra,-trum; Adjectives as nouns. 5. New factions and old families Genitive and dative expressing ownership; Past participles; Past participles with est or sunt; Translating past participles; sum, esse.  6. The Republic under strain Verbs; 1st conjugation: present tense; Separate pronouns as subjects; The infinitive;  The perfect tense; Principal parts; Missing words or words ‘understood’; More adjectives acting as nouns.  7. Friends and enemies 2nd conjugation verbs: present and perfect tenses; 3rd declension nouns; Him, her and them; His and her.  8 Civil War 3rd declension nouns (neuter); 3rd declension adjectives; Possessive adjectives.  9. The Ides of March 3rd, 4th and Mixed conjugation verbs: present and perfect tenses; All present and perfect tenses. 10. A woman in politics 4th declension nouns; -us endings; domus; Irregular verbs: sum, possum, volō, eō, ferō; Verbs followed by an infinitive. 11. Politics and marriage Imperfect tense; Imperfect tense of irregular verbs; Pluperfect tense; Numbers. 12. The sweetness of peace 5th declension nouns; Future tense; Future tense of irregular verbs; Imperatives; Uses of the accusative; Uses of the ablative.13, Dissenting voices Future perfect tense; Tenses review; Principal parts review; Compound verbs. 14. Songs and suppers Passive voice; Present, future and imperfect passive; Perfect and pluperfect passive; 1st and 2nd person pronouns. 3rd person pronouns: hic, ille, is, sē, ipse. 15. Tales of love Introducing the subjunctive; Present subjunctive; Deponent verbs; 16. Women: warriors, drunks and literary critics Imperfect subjunctive; ut and nē; Purpose clauses; Sequence of tenses; Indirect commands; Result clauses; ut with the indicative; Perfect subjunctive; Pluperfect subjunctive; cum; Verbs of fearing; Indirect questions; Summary: ut and nē. 17. Family ties Interrogative pronoun and adjective; Relative pronoun and adjective; Correlative pronouns; Indefinite pronoun and adjective; Summary: quis/ quī; More adjectives: alius, tōtus, nūllus, ūllus and sōlus.  18. Slavery quod; quam; aliquis; alter; quisquis; quisquam; quisque; quīdam; quō and quā.  19. Education Adjectives; Adverbs; Comparison; Comparative adverbs; The superlative; Superlative adverbs. 20. Negotium: Life at work Past participles; Ablative absolute; Present participles; Future participles; Translating participles.  21. Otium: Life at leisure Conditional clauses; Translating conditionals; Partitive genitive; Irregular verbs: volō, nōlō, mālō; Irregular verb: fiō.   22 Fugit irreparabile tempus Infinitives; Reported speech; Accusative & Infinitive; Infinitives: present, past and future; Translating the Accusative & Infinitive; ‘Third party’ subjunctive; More on sē and suus.  23. On the edge of the world English gerunds; Latin gerunds; Gerundives.  24. Gods and spirits Impersonal verbs; Transitive and intransitive verbs; Revision of the uses of the subjunctive  25. Rough justice Words working in pairs; Cases review: nominative, accusative, genitive  26. Christianity Cases review: dative, ablative. Pronunciation of classical Latin   Timeline of Latin writers   Grammar summary   Index of examples   Grammar index   Abbreviations   Latin > English vocabulary  English > Latin vocabulary