Particles and word formation

139. Particles are the four Parts of Speech that do not admit of inflection; viz. Adverbs, Prepositions, Conjunctions, Interjections.

ADVERBS.

140. Adverbs denote manner, place, time, or degree Most adverbs are in origin case-forms which have become stereotyped by usage. The common adverbial terminations have already been given above (§ 76). The following TABLE OF CORRELATIVES is important:—

PREPOSITIONS.

141. Prepositions show relations of words. The following Prepositions govern the Accusative:—

1. Ūsque is often prefixed to ad, in the sense of even; as,—

ūsque ad urbem, even to the city.

2. Versus always follows its case; as,—

Rōmam versus, toward Rome.

It may be combined with a preceding Preposition; as,—

ad urbem versus, toward the city.

3. Like prope, the Comparatives propior, propius, and the Superlatives proximus, proximē, sometimes govern the Accusative; as,—

Ubiī proximē Rhēnum incolunt, the Ubii dwell next to the Rhine;

propius castra hostium, nearer the camp of the enemy.

142. The following Prepositions govern the Ablative:—

1. Ā, ab, abs. Before vowels or h, ab must be used; before consonants we find sometimes ā, sometimes ab (the latter usually not before the labials b, p, f, v, m; nor before c, g, q, or t); abs occurs only before tē, and ā is admissible even there.

2. Ē, ex. Before vowels or h, ex must be used; before consonants we find sometimes ē, sometimes ex.

3. Tenus regularly follows its case, as, pectoribus tenus, up to the breast. It sometimes governs the Genitive, as, labrōrum tenus, as far as the lips.

4. Cum is appended to the Pronouns of the First and Second Persons, and to the Reflexive Pronoun; usually also to the Relative and Interrogative. Thus:—

143. Two Prepositions, in, in, into, and sub, under, govern both the Accusative and the Ablative. With the Accusative they denote motion; with the Ablative, rest; as,—

in urbem, into the city;

in urbe, in the city.

1. Subter and super are also occasionally construed with the Ablative.

144. RELATION OF ADVERBS AND PREPOSITIONS.

1. Prepositions were originally Adverbs, and many of them still retain their adverbial meaning; as, post, afterwards; ante, previously; contrā, on the other hand, etc.

2. Conversely several words, usually adverbs, are occasionally employed as prepositions; as,—

clam, prīdiē, with the Accusative.

procul, simul, palam, with the Ablative.

3. Anástrophe. A Preposition sometimes follows its case. This is called Anástrophe; as,—

eī, quōs inter erat, those among whom he was.

Anastrophe occurs chiefly with dissyllabic prepositions.

CONJUNCTIONS AND INTERJECTIONS.

145. 1. Conjunctions are used to connect ideas. For Coördinate Conjunctions, see §§ 341 ff. Subordinate Conjunctions are treated in connection with Subordinate Clauses.

2. Interjections express emotion. Thus:—

1. Surprise; as, ēn, ecce, ō.

2. Joy; as, iō, euoe.

3. Sorrow and Pain; as, heu, ēheu, vae, prō.

4. Calling; as, heus, eho.

PART IV.

WORD-FORMATION.

I. DERIVATIVES.

146. Derivatives are formed by appending certain terminations called Suffixes to stems of verbs, nouns, or adjectives.

A. NOUNS.

1. Nouns derived from Verbs.

147. 1. The suffix -tor (-sor), Fem. -trīx, denotes the agent; as,—

NOTE.—The suffix -tor is occasionally appended to noun stems; as,—

gladiātor, gladiator (from gladius).

2. The suffix -or (originally -ōs) denotes an activity or a condition; as,—

3. The suffixes -tiō (-siō), Gen. -ōnis, and -tus (-sus), Gen. -ūs, denote an action as in process; as,—

vēnātiō, hunting; obsessiō, blockade; gemitus, sighing; cursus, running.

NOTE.—Rarer endings with the same force are:—

a) -tūra, -sūra; as,—

sepultūra, burial; mēnsūra, measuring.

b) -ium; as,—

gaudium, rejoicing.

c) -īdō; as,—

cupīdō, desire.

4. The suffixes -men, -mentum, -crum, -trum, -bulum, -culum, denote the means or place of an action; as,—

2. Nouns derived from Nouns.

148. 1. Diminutives end in—

as,—

NOTE 1.—It will be observed that in gender the Diminutives follow the gender of the words from which they are derived.

NOTE 2.—The endings -ellus, -illus contain the primitive form of the diminutive suffix, viz., -lo-. Thus:—

2. The suffix -ium appended to nouns denoting persons designates either a collection of such persons or their function; as,—

collēgium, a corporation, body of colleagues (collēga);

sacerdōtium, priestly function (sacerdōs).

3. The suffixes -ārium, -ētum, -īle designate a place where objects are kept or are found in abundance; as,—

4. The suffix -ātus denotes official position or honor; as,—

cōnsulātus, consulship (cōnsul).

5. The suffix -īna appended to nouns denoting persons designates a vocation or the place where it is carried on; as,—

doctrīna, teaching (doctor, teacher);

medicīna, the art of healing (medicus, physician);

sūtrīna, cobbler's shop (sūtor, cobbler).

6. Patronymics are Greek proper names denoting son of ..., daughter of .... They have the following suffixes:—

a) Masculines: -idēs, -adēs, -īdēs; as, Priamidēs, son of Priam; Aeneadēs, son of Aeneas; Pēlīdēs, son of Peleus.

b) Feminines: -ēis, -is, -ias; as, Nērēis, daughter of Nereus; Atlantis, daughter of Atlas; Thaumantias, daughter of Thaumas.

3. Nouns derived from Adjectives.

149. The suffixes -tās (-itās), -tūdō (-itūdō), -ia, -itia are used for the formation of abstract nouns denoting qualities; as,—

bonitās, goodness; celeritās, swiftness; magnitūdō, greatness; audācia, boldness; amīcitia, friendship.

B. ADJECTIVES.

1. Adjectives derived from Verbs.

150. 1. The suffixes -bundus and -cundus give nearly the force of a present participle; as,—

2. The suffixes -āx and -ulus denote an inclination or tendency, mostly a faulty one; as,—

3. The suffix -idus denotes a state; as,—

4. The suffixes -ilis and -bilis denote capacity or ability, usually in a passive sense; as,—

fragilis, fragile (i.e. capable of being broken);

docilis, docile.

2. Adjectives derived from Nouns.

a) From Common Nouns.

151. 1. The suffixes -eus and -inus are appended to names of substances or materials; as,—

2. The suffixes -ius, -icus, -īlis, -ālis, -āris, -ārius, -nus, -ānus, -īnus, -īvus, -ēnsis signify belonging to, connected with; as,—

3. The suffixes -ōsus and -lentus denote fullness; as,—

4. The suffix -tus has the force of provided with; as,—

b) From Proper Names.

152. 1. Names of persons take the suffixes: -ānus, -iānus, -īnus; as,—

2. Names of nations take the suffixes -icus, -ius; as,—

3. Names of places take the suffixes -ānus, -īnus, -ēnsis, -aeus, -ius; as,—

NOTE.— -ānus and -ēnsis, appended to names of countries, designate something stationed in the country or connected with it, but not indigenous; as,—

bellum Āfricānum, a war (of Romans with Romans) in Africa.

bellum Hispāniēnse, a war carried on in Spain.

legiōnes Gallicānae, (Roman) legions stationed in Gaul.

3. Adjectives derived from Adjectives.

153. Diminutives in -lus sometimes occur; as,—

parvolus, little;

misellus (passer), poor little (sparrow);

pauperculus, needy.

4. Adjectives derived from Adverbs.

154. These end in -ernus, -ternus, -tīnus, -tĭnus; as,—

C. VERBS.

1. Verbs derived from Verbs.

155. 1. INCEPTIVES OR INCHOATIVES. These end in -scō, and are formed from Present Stems. They denote the beginning of an action; as,—

2. FREQUENTATIVES OR INTENSIVES. These denote a repeated or energetic action. They are formed from the Participial Stem, and end in -tō or -sō. Those derived from verbs of the First Conjugation end in -itō (not -ātō, as we should expect). Examples of Frequentatives are—

a. Some double Frequentatives occur; as,—

b. agitō, set in motion, is formed from the Present Stem.

3. DESIDERATIVES. These denote a desire to do something. They are formed from the Participial Stem, and end in -uriō; as,—

2. Verbs derived from Nouns and Adjectives (Denominatives).

156. Denominatives of the First Conjugation are mostly transitive; those of the Second exclusively intransitive. Those of the Third and Fourth Conjugations are partly transitive, partly intransitive. Examples are—

a) From Nouns:—

b) From Adjectives:—

D. ADVERBS.

157. 1. Adverbs derived from verbs are formed from the Participial Stem by means of the suffix -im; as,—

2. Adverbs derived from nouns and adjectives are formed:—

a) With the suffixes -tim (-sim), -ātim; as,—

gradātim, step by step;

paulātim, gradually;

virītim, man by man.

b) With the suffix -tus; as,—

antīquitus, of old;

rādīcitus, from the roots.

c) With the suffix -ter; as,—

breviter, briefly.

II. COMPOUNDS.

158. 1. Compounds are formed by the union of simple words. The second member usually contains the essential meaning of the compound; the first member expresses some modification of this.

2. Vowel changes often occur in the process of composition. Thus:—

a. In the second member of compounds. (See § 7, 1.)

b. The final vowel of the stem of the first member of the compound often appears as ĭ where we should expect ŏ or ă; sometimes it is dropped altogether, and in case of consonant stems ĭ is often inserted; as,—

signifer, standard-bearer;

tubicen, trumpeter;

magnanimus, high-minded;

mātricīda, matricide.

159. EXAMPLES OF COMPOUNDS.

1. Nouns:—

a) Preposition + Noun; as,—

dē-decus, disgrace;

pro-avus, great-grandfather.

b) Noun + Verb Stem; as,—

agri-cola, farmer;

frātri-cīda, fratricide.

2. Adjectives:—

a) Preposition + Adjective (or Noun); as,—

per-magnus, very great;

sub-obscūrus, rather obscure;

ā-mēns, frantic.

b) Adjective + Noun; as,—

magn-animus, great-hearted;

celeri-pēs, swift-footed.

c) Noun + Verb Stem; as,—

parti-ceps, sharing;

morti-fer, death-dealing.

3. Verbs:—

The second member is always a verb. The first may be—

a) A Noun; as,—

aedi-ficō, build.

b) An Adjective; as,—

ampli-ficō, enlarge.

c) An Adverb; as,—

male-dīcō, rail at.

d) Another Verb; as,—

cale-faciō, make warm.

e) A Preposition; as,—

ab-jungō, detach;

re-ferō, bring back;

dis-cernō, distinguish;

ex-spectō, await.

NOTE.—Here belong the so-called INSEPARABLE PREPOSITIONS:

ambi- (amb-), around;

dis- (dir-, di-), apart, asunder;

por-, forward;

red- (re-), back;

sēd- (sē-), apart from;

vē-, without.

4. Adverbs:—

These are of various types; as,—

anteā, before;

īlīcō (in locō), on the spot;

imprīmīs, especially;

obviam, in the way.

PART V.

SYNTAX.