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FORMATION OF COMPOUND WORDS.

243. Compound words are those which consist of two or more words, each of which by itself conveys a distinct notion; but a compound word, nevertheless, expresses only one idea, made up of those contained in the separate words of which it consists. Thus from de and scribo we make the compound describo; and from pater and familia we make paterfamilias.

There are some compound words which, although they express only one idea, are yet treated as two distinct words (for example, in declension), and even admit of other words being inserted between them—as respublica, resquepublica; jus jurandum, jusve jurandum; senatus-consultum, unusquisque, alteruter, and some others. These may be termed spurious compounds. But there are some genuine compounds, especially verbs compounded with a preposition, which in poetry are sometimes separated from each other by the insertion of a particleet illigatus, we find inque ligatus; for insalutatusque, we find inque salutatus. The same is occasionally the case with the compound adverbs hactenus, eatenus, quadamtenus; as in Horace -quadam prodire tenus. Adjectives compounded with per are sometimes separated even by prose writers-as per mihi mirum visum est for permirum mihi visum est. The same is likewise the case with quicunque, qualiscunque, and quilibet.

-as for

244. The class of words to which a compound belongs is determined by the last of the words of which it consists-that is, if the last be a substantive, the whole compound is a substantive; if the last be a verb, the whole is a verb; and if the last be an adjective, the whole is an adjective.

245. The first part of a compound word is either a noun (substantive, adjective, or numeral), an adverb, or a preposition, and in a very few cases a verb.

There is besides a number of inseparable particles which have a distinct meaning, but do not occur by themselves, being found only prefixed to other words - namely, amb (about, around); rě, or red (back, again); sẽ (aside); dis (in different directions, the English dis in distribute); and the negatives in (the English in or un, as in infallible, unjust) and ve.

246. When the first word of a compound is a noun, the second is usually appended to the stem of the first; should the noun belong to the first, second, or fourth declensions, the vowels a and u are omitted; and if the second begins with a consonant, i is usually inserted between the two as a connecting vowel |—as magnanimus (from magnus and animus), corni ́ger (from cornu and gero.)

247. When the first word of a compound is a preposition or the negative in, the vowel of the second word (ă, ě, or ae) is very often changed as amicus, inimicus; arma, inermis; barba, imberbis. But this is not always the case; for maneo makes permaneo; traho, contraho; &c.

It sometimes happens that a compound word belongs to a class of words different from the last part or element, and in this case the last receives a suitable termination to mark the class to which the whole belongs as the adjective maledicus, from male and dico; opifex, from opus and facio. Sometimes, however, the addition of such a termination is unnecessary-asin crassipes, from crassus and pes; discolor, from dis and color.

Sometimes the last word in a compound assumes a derivative suffix, without which it cannot form a compound—as exardesco, from ex and ardeo; latifundium, from latus and fundus; Cisalpinus, from Cis and Alpes.

SYNTAX.

248. Syntax is that part of grammar which teaches how to combine words so as to form sentences.

249. All the rules of syntax may be arranged under two heads:-1. The rules of concord or agreement; 2. The rules of government and dependence.

RULES OF CONCORD BETWEEN SUBSTANTIVES AND WORDS WHICH QUALIFY THEM-APPOSITION.

250. Adjectives, pronouns, and declinable numerals, qualifying a substantive or a substantive pronoun in the same clause, must agree with it in gender, number, and case-as

pater bonus, a good father. mater cara, a dear mother.

duae arbores, two trees.
domus mea, my house.

251. When one adjective (participle or pronoun) belongs to two or more substantives, it agrees either with the one nearest to it only, or it is repeated before each substantive—as

Omnes agri et maria, or omnes agri et omnia maria.

All lands and seas, or all lands and all seas.

If the substantives signify persons of different genders, the qualifying word must be in the masculine plural; but if any of them signify things without life, the qualifying word must be in the neuter plural.

When an adjective, a pronoun, or a numeral occurs in a different clause from that in which the substantive or substantive pronoun stands, it can agree with the substantive or substantive pronoun only in gender and number, the case being dependent on the nature of the clause in which it occurs as Amicus adest, sed eum non video, The friend is here, but I do not see him.

252. Relative pronouns, which generally occur in a different clause from that containing the substantive to which they refer, agree with it only in gender and number; but when a relative is joined to its substantive, it agrees with it in case also-as

quo die veneram,

on which day I had come; that is, on the day on which I had come.

When a relative pronoun refers to more than one substantive, it is usually put in the plural. If the substantives denote living beings of different genders, any of which are masculine, the relative takes the gender of the masculine-as matres et parvuli liberi, quorum utrorumque aetas misericordiam requirit; mothers and little children, the age of both of whom demands our sympathy.

If there be no masculine, but only feminines and neuters, the relative takes the feminine.

When substantives are names of inanimate objects, the relative is usually in the neuter plural as otium atque divitiae, quae prima mortales putant; ease and riches, which mortals regard as the principal things.

Sometimes, however, the relative agrees in number and gender only with the last of several substantives that is, with the one nearest to it-as eae fruges atque fructus, quos terra gignit, where the quos agrees only with fructus.

Sometimes several names of inanimate things may be of the same gender, and the relative, instead of taking their gender in the plural, appears in the neuter plural-as inconstantia et temeritas, quae digna certe non sunt deo.

When a relative refers to a common noun joined to a proper name, it may agree either with the former or with the latter. nus, qui fluit, and flumen Rhenus, quod fluit.

-as flumen Rhe

When a relative refers to a whole clause, and not to a single word, the neuter singular is used, before which the pronoun id is frequently added, the clause being treated as a neuter substantive -as sapientes contenti sunt rebus suis, quod est summum bonum; si a vobis deserar, id quod non spero.

When a relative pronoun refers to a substantive, which is explained by another in a clause containing the verb sum or a verb of naming, the relative may agree either with the preceding substantive or with the explanatory one which follows- - as animal, quod homo vocatur, or qui homo vocatur; veni ad locum, quem Pylas vocant, or quas Pylas vo

cant.

253. One substantive may be in apposition to another, or take the place of a qualifying word: when qualifying another substantive, it generally stands after it, and must agree with it in case-as

Cicero orator interfectus est,

Cicero the orator was slain.

254. If the substantive which stands in apposition has two genders, it generally takes that of the substantive which it explains-as

aquila regina avium,

the eagle, the king of birds (because aquila is feminine.)

255. In other cases the apposition cannot agree in gender or number with the apposite substantive—as

Tullia, deliciae meae,

Tullia, my delight.

256. When plural names of places have such words as urbs, caput, in apposition to them, these words are always used in the singular-as

Athenae, urbs Græciae,

Athens, a city of Greece.

AGREEMENT BETWEEN SUBJECT AND PREDICATE.

257. Every sentence consists of two parts: the subject, which is the person or thing spoken of; and the predicate, or that which is said of the subject.

As the Latin verb, in ordinary circumstances, does not require the addition of a personal pronoun, a sentence sometimes consists of a single word- —as dormio, I am sleeping; eo, I go; sedet, he is sitting; dicunt, ferunt, they say.

The personal pronouns are expressed in Latin only when they are emphatic -as ego feci, non ille, I have done it, not he.

The subject of a sentence, when it is expressed, is generally a substantive, an adjective, or a pronoun; the two latter of which, however, must be regarded as representing substantives: pater amat filium; ego curro ; boni virtutem colunt. But any word which is used as a substantive may be made the subject of a sentence, as is most frequently the case with the infinitive of a verb -as errare humanum est, where errare is the subject; in errore perseverare turpe est, where the expression in errore perseverare is the subject.

258. The subject of a sentence is generally in the nominative case; but when the verb is in the infinitive, the subject is always in the accusative-as

credo eum bonum esse virum,

I believe him to be a good man.

Here the first sentence consists of the word credo, and the subject of the infinitive esse is eum, which is accordingly in the accusative.

259. The predicate consists either of a verb or of a noun (adjective or substantive), joined to the subject by means of the verb esse-as

arbor crescit,

urbs est splendida,

mors non est calamitas,

the tree is growing.

the town is splendid.

death is not a misfortune.

260. When the predicate is a verb, it agrees with its subject in number and person- -as

[blocks in formation]

Every substantive in the singular represents the third person singular, and every substantive in the plural the third person plural; e. g., pater aegrotat, the father is ill; patres aegrotant, the fathers are ill.

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