On the Flu
Latin Grammar: Parsing Verbs
Nam cum vapores proveniunt ad cerebrum, ingrossantur et frequenter ultra debitum, et tunc causatur catarrhus secundum Philosophum propter frigiditatem cerebri, sicut in maiori mundo ex magna condensatione vaporum per frigus medii interstitii arteris causatur pluvia. Et propter hoc magnitudo cerebri est causa somnolentiae, et haec non provenit nisi ex eius frigiditate, per quam ingrossantur vapores.
Parsing Verbs
An extremely important skill in Latin is being able to parse verbs. To parse a verb means to identify the 5 components of a verb: its person, number, tense, mood, and voice.
- Person refers to the number of the verb: is it first person, second, or third?
- Number refers to whether the verb is singular or plural.
- Tense is the time frame that the verb is in: present, perfect, future, etc.
- Mood refers to indicative or subjunctive.
- Voice refers to active or passive.
Being able to parse a verb is crucial in understanding the syntax and meaning of a given Latin passage.
For practice, parse the following verbs from the passage. (Example answer: 3rd person plural, present subjunctive active.)