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DIAGRAMMING LATIN SENTENCES, PART I

This approach to Latin was inspired by two things:

• the technique of metaphrasing as presented in Latin for Reading: A Beginner's

Textbook with Exercises, by Glenn M. Knudsvig, Gerda M. Seligson, and Ruth S.
Craig (rev. ed., University of Michigan Press, 1986)
• the practice of diagramming sentences, which is the way I learned English
grammar

The Basics of Diagramming

Diagramming is a technique for translating Latin sentences to their English equivalents.

It is a sort of bridge to help you cross from one language to the other: on one side is a
thought expressed according to correct Latin grammar and usage, and on the other is the
same thought expressed according to correct English grammar and usage. In many cases
you won't need any help; you will be able to leap across from one language to the other.
However, if the distance seems too great, this bridge will help you cross it by following a
step-by-step procedure. The bridge can also make visible for you the steps you use
intuitively when you are able to leap across.

The Kernel: The sentence expresses a complete thought, and a kernel is the core part of
a sentence, stripped down to the basic necessities. We diagram a kernel by using blank
lines (which I call here “slots”) to designate the key elements in basic English sentences;
all kernels contain a slot for the subject (first position: S) and a slot for the verb (second
position: V). Some also contain an additional slot for the object or the complement (third
position: O or C). Every sentence will contain at least one kernel, but may contain more
than one. Compound sentences, for example, contain two kernels: “John loves
Mary, but Mary doesn't love John.” The diagram is based on the structure of English, in
which word position determines the function of words in a sentence (in Latin, word
endings rather than position determine the function of words).

Listed below are the three basic types of kernels, including the parts of speech which are
permissible in each slot and the Latin case which signals the same function as the English
word position:

Intransitive
Kernel
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Transitive
Kernel

Linking
Kernel

Apposition: Appositives are nouns which identify/rename other nouns or pronouns.

Since they have the same function in the sentence as the words they rename, they are
written in the same diagram slot with a comma between the noun and its appositive (in
Latin, appositives have the same case ending as the words they rename). For example:

“Scintilla filiam, Horatiam, vocat.”

“Scintilla calls her daughter, Horatia.”

Gapping: In gapping (symbol: Ø), the word for one of the slots in the kernel is implied
rather than stated. In an English command, for example, the subject you is gapped: “[you]
Go!” Although some gapping is permissible in English, gapping is much more frequent in
Latin; you will therefore have to fill the gaps in the diagram by determining from the
Latin context what words are implied.

Direct Address: People or things (nouns or pronouns) addressed directly by the speaker
of a sentence should be placed on a straight line above and to the left of the kernel,
followed by a comma. For example:

“Quinte, Flaccum iuva!”

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“Quintus, help Flaccus!”

Connection and Modification: All other words in the sentence serve as connectors (they
join two equal or unequal elements in the sentence) or modifiers (they describe or qualify
elements in the sentence). Connectors should be written between the elements they joing,
wherever these occur, and modifiers should be written below the kernel, in various ways
that will be described in connection with the parts of speech.

Parts of Speech in Relation to the Diagram

Verbs: Verbs express an action or a state of being. The verb is the most crucial part of
the sentence; every kernel must have a verb, and the type of verb determines the type of
kernel (intransitive, transitive, or linking). Verbs always fill the second slot in a diagram.
In Latin, verbs can be identified by special endings (e.g. third person singular -t; third
person plural -nt). Latin will occasionally gap verbs when the meaning is clear from the
context, but verbs cannot be gapped in English.

Nouns/Pronouns: A noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, or abstraction. A

pronoun stands in for or takes the place of a noun. In the diagram, nouns and pronouns
are always written on straight lines, never on slanted ones—in the first or third slots of
the kernel (subject, object, or complement); below the kernel (object of prepositions);
above and to the left of the kernel (direct address). All Latin nouns have a gender (either
masculine, feminine, or neuter) and have special endings indicating their number
(singular or plural) and their case (revealing their function in the sentence). For example:
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Adjectives: Adjectives are words that modify, or describe, nouns or pronouns; they
generally answer questions such as Which one? What kind of? or How many? In the
diagram, an adjective may fill the third slot of a linking kernel (complement) ; otherwise
an adjective should be written on a slanted line below the noun or pronoun it modifies. In
Latin, adjectives agree with their nouns in gender, number and case; their endings will
indicate different genders as well as number and case. For example:

Adverbs: Adverbs are words that modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. They
generally answer questions such as When? Where? How? Why? Under what conditions?
To what degree? In the diagram, an adverb should be written on a slanted line below the
word it modifies. In Latin, all adverbs are indeclinable (that is, they do not have case
endings).

Prepositions: A preposition is a word placed before a noun or pronoun (which is called

the object of the preposition) to form a phrase modifying another word in the sentence.
Prepositional phrases can function as adjectives, modifying nouns or pronouns; in this
case they answer the questions Which one? or What kind of? and in English must almost
always be placed right after the noun they modify. Prepositional phrases can also function
as adverbs, modifying verbs; in this case they answer the questions When? Where? How?
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Why? Under what conditions? To what degree? and can usually be placed in a number of
positions in the English sentence without changing the meaning.

In the diagram, a preposition should be written on a slanted line below the word it
modifies, whether a noun or a verb. The object of the preposition should be written on a
straight line attached to the end of the slanted line. In Latin, prepositions are indeclinable
(they do not have endings); the object of a Latin preposition will be in either the ablative
or the accusative case. Many ideas which Latin expresses by the genitive, dative, or
ablative cases without prepositions must be diagramed and translated in English as
prepositional phrases.

Continue with Part II: Steps to Follow When Diagramming.

Legacy Document: November 1999

Barbara F. McManus, Elementary Latin Syllabus
The College of New Rochelle

PART II: STEPS TO FOLLOW WHEN DIAGRAMMING

NB: Always write English words in the diagram slots, using the English meaning of the
Latin words and the proper English form as indicated by the Latin endings.

Sample Latin Sentences:

1. Pater puerorum parvorum in agris diligenter laborare debet.

2. Mater celeriter filiis, Quinto Marcoque, canem ingentem ostendit, sed non
timent.
3. Feminae in casa uxores principum sunt.
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Step 1: Write the intransitive kernel diagram. Find the Latin verb by looking for a word
or words with verb endings; write its English meaning in the verb slot, using the person,
number, and tense as determined by the Latin ending. If there is more than one kernel in
the sentence (the number of kernels is determined by the number of verbs, except in the
case of compound verbs, which fill only one verb slot), carry out each step for the first
kernel and then proceed through the same steps for each subsequent kernel. Verbs with
complementary infinitives (“I want to sing”) as well as compound verbs (“I sing and
dance”) fill a single verb slot in the kernel.

Step 2: If verb is in the third person, look for a Latin noun or pronoun with an ending in
the nominative case which agrees in number with the verb ending (e.g., pater is
nominative singular) and write its meaning (paying attention to singular or plural) in the
subject slot. If there is no Latin word in the nominative, write the gap symbol (Ø ) in the
subject slot and wait until you finish the diagram to write in the appropriate English
pronoun (he, she, it, they) as determined by the context. If the verb is in the first or
second person, write the appropriate English pronoun in the subject slot (I, we, or you).
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Step 3: Unless the verb is a linking verb, look for a Latin noun or pronoun with an
ending in the accusative case that is not following a Latin preposition taking an
accusative object (e.g., canem). If you find an accusative without a preposition, the kernel
is transitive, so draw a third blank line for the object slot and write the word's meaning
(paying attention to singular or plural) in this slot. If the verb is not linking and you do
not find an accusative direct object, the kernel is intransitive (as in sentence 1 or the
second kernel in sentence 2).

Step 4: If the verb “to be” is used, the kernel may be intransitive (with the implied
meaning “exists”); in this case the verb will usually be translated “there is” or “there
are”). More frequently, the kernel will be linking (with the implied meaning “equals”). If
you find another noun or pronoun with a nominative case ending (e.g., uxores), the kernel
is linking, so you should draw a third line for the complement slot and write in the word's
meaning (paying attention to singular or plural). The complement may also be an
adjective with nominative case endings, in which case it will also agree with the subject
in number and gender.

Step 5: After all the main slots in the diagram are filled, deal with modification. The
steps below indicate one possible order for you to proceed.

5a. Prepositional phrases: Identify all prepositions and connect each Latin preposition
to its object with an arrow (Latin case endings will be ablative or accusative, depending
on the preposition). Write the English meaning of each preposition on a slanted line
below the word modified by the prepositional phrase; then connect a straight line to the
slanted one and write the English meaning of the preposition's object.
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If the prepositional phrase functions as an adverb, it will answer the questions When?
Where? How? Why? Under what conditions? To what degree? Relating to what or
whom? and should be placed under the verb.

If the prepositional phrase functions as an adjective, it will answer the questions Which
one? or What kind of? and must follow its noun in English to make sense; it should
therefore be placed under the noun it modifies. In sentence 3, in casa tells us which
women are meant, and therefore the phrase modifies feminae.

5b. Genitive: Look for Latin nouns with endings in the genitive case and write them in
your diagram using an “of” prepositional phrase below the nouns they modify (in Latin
they will usually be appear before or after the nouns they modify (e.g., pater puerorum).
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5c. Dative or Ablative without a Preposition: These should be the last nouns/pronouns
you deal with, since you will often need the context of the sentence to help you determine
which case is being used and what the word is doing in the sentence. Most datives and
ablatives will be diagramed using adjectival or adverbial prepositional phrases (e.g.,
diagram an indirect object using a “to” prepositional phrase under the verb).

5d. Adjectives: Find all Latin adjectives and decide which noun each modifies; a Latin
adjective agrees with its noun in gender, number, and case (e.g., parvorum is masculine,
plural, genitive, agreeing with puerorum). Write the English meaning of each adjective
on a slanted line below its noun.
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5e. Adverbs: Find each Latin adverb and write its English meaning on a slanted line
below the verb, adjective, or adverb it modifies.

5f. Apposition: Look for Latin nouns that identify/rename other nouns in the kernel; in
Latin, appositives are in the same case as the nouns they rename (e.g., Quinto Marcoque
renames filiis; these nouns are all in the dative case). Write appositives in the same kernel
slot as the nouns they rename, separated by a comma.
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Step 6: Look at the completed diagram and translate it into a good English sentence,
taking into consideration the context and adding definite and indefinite articles and
appropriate English words for those that are gapped in Latin.

1. A father of small children ought to work hard in the fields.

2. The mother quickly points out the huge dog to her sons, Quintus and
Marcus, but they are not afraid.
3. The women in the house are the wives of the leaders.

Legacy Document: November 1999

Barbara F. McManus, Elementary Latin Syllabus
The College of New Rochelle