Trent University - Continuing Education

Why would I want to learn Latin? No one speaks it anymore. This might’ve been your reaction when reading the title of this course. But this isn’t really true. While no one may speak Latin in its original form, many modern languages, including French and Spanish, have deep roots in the Latin language. Many words in use today in English have come to us from Latin. Learning Latin will definitely help improve your vocabulary, spelling, and grammar. Understanding a new language, even one this old, will expose you to new ways of thinking and perceiving the world. You’ll also have the opportunity to read and appreciate ancient texts in their original form.

In this course, you’ll learn fundamental Latin grammar, syntax, and vocabulary, as well as read various passages from ancient authors. We’ll be working primarily from chapters 1–4 of Wheelock’s Latin. However, I’ll also provide additional exercises and readings. As the information in this course will be cumulative, if you only want to attend a few sessions, I suggest coming in the first few weeks.

Week 1 – Introduction: Common Latin Phrases

In this session, you’ll be introduced to the history of the Latin language, pronunciation, and we’ll look at common Latin words and phrases you already know. By the end of the class, you’ll actually be reading short Latin sentences!

Week 2 – Verbs

This week, we’ll look at verbs, including terms such as person, number, tense, mood, and voice. We’ll also start learning some basic vocabulary from the first chapter of Wheelock’s Latin. 

Week 3 – Vocabulary

For this class, the focus will be on vocabulary building and reading original ancient Roman sentences.

Week 4 – Nouns and Cases

In this session, we’ll talk about how nouns are formed in this inflected language (the word ending, rather than word order, determines the meaning).

Week 5 – Agreement of Adjectives and Syntax

For this class, we’ll concentrate on adjective endings and how sentences are formed. You’ll be able to write your own sentences and read a few in the original Latin.

Week 6 – Second Declension Masculine Nouns and Adjectives

This week, the focus will be on learning a new group of nouns and adjectives, as well as how to construct more complex sentences.

Week 7 – The Verb “To Be”

In many languages, the most complex verb is “to be.” For this class, we’ll concentrate on learning this irregular verb. Also, we’ll look at new types of adjectives.

Week 8 – Final Readings

For the final class, we’ll take everything we’ve learned and read some fun Latin texts in the original format.