CHAPTER IV OUTLINE

I. The Vocative Case – Cāsus Vocātīvus – is the case ending used to indicate the individual somebody is talking to.

A. This case ending is used to show whom you’re talking to or whom you’re asking when you’re asking a question or giving an order or command. Examples [the noun in the vocative case is underlined]:

1. Davus interrogat Medum: . . . “Quid est, Mēde?” Davus asks Medus: “What is it, Medus?

2. Iūlius imperat: “Tacē, serve!” Julius commands: “Be quiet, slave!”

3. Dāvus Iūlium interrogat: “Quid est, domine?” Davus asks Julius: “What is it, master?”

4. Aemilia imperat: “Respondē, Dāve!” Aemilia orders: “Answer, Davus!”

B. The rule is pretty simple to remember: the vocative case ending is the same as the nominative case ending for all nouns except for –us nouns of the second declension in the singular.

1. The singular vocative ending for –us nouns in the second declension is –e

2. The singular vocative ending for –ius nouns in the second declension is –ī

3. The plural vocative ending for all nouns in whatever declension is the same as the nominative plural

4. The singular vocative ending for all nouns in the 1st, 3rd, 4th, and 5th declensions and for nouns in the 2nd declension whose nominatives end in something besides –us (like puer, liber, vir, oppidum, vocābulum) is the same as the nominative. Examples [the noun in the vocative case is underlined]:

a. Julius tells Aemilia to be quiet: Iūlius imperat: “Tacē, Aemilia!”

b. Julia tells a boy to hit Marcus: Iūlia imperat: “Pulsā Mārcum, puer!”

II. Imperātīvus – the imperative form of the verb expresses an order or command: something which it is “imperative” that the person to whom the order or command is given in fact does do that. It is frequently used with the vocative form of a noun or, especially, a proper noun.

A. The form of the imperative is the shortest form of the verb, without any additional ending, the so-called vowel stem. Here is a chart with all the verbs we’ve had so far plus the new ones in this chapter in their imperative forms, grouped by conjugation:

Imperātīvī in quattuor dēclīnātiōnibus
Prīma	Secunda	Tertia	Quarta
cantā	rīdē	pōne	venī
pulsā	vidē	sūme	dormī
plōrā	respondē	discēde	audī
vocā	habē
interrogā	tacē
verberā	pārē
numerā
salūtā
accūsā
imperā

1. first conjugation – “ā”

2. second conjugation – “ē”

3. third conjugation – “e”

4. fourth conjugation – “ī”

B. See above for examples.

III. Indicātīvus – the indicative form of the verb makes a statement or declaration. We’ve been seeing this verb form since the beginning of the book.

A. The ending for the third person singular (meaning “he/she/it”) is “-t”.

B. Here is a chart with all the verbs we’ve had so far plus the new ones in this chapter in their indicative forms, grouped by conjugation:

Indicātīvī in quattuor dēclīnātiōnibus
Prīma	Secunda	Tertia	Quarta
cantat	rīdet	pōnit	venit
pulsat	videt	sūmit	dormit
plōrat	respondet	discēdit	audit
vocat	habet
interrogat	tacet
verberat	pāret
numerat
salūtat
accūsat
imperat

IV. Prōnōmina – we see two new pronoun forms in this chapter: is and eius

A. is is a pronoun that means “he” – nominative case - and is used when it carries a certain emphasis. When the pronoun does not carry any particular emphasis, it is simply omitted.

1. Example – where “he” gets some emphasis: Mēdus discēdit, quia is pecūniam dominī habet. = Medus leaves because he has the money of the master.”

2. Example – where “he” gets no particular emphasis: Mēdus nōn respondet, quia abest. = Medus does not answer, because he’s absent.

B. eius is a pronoun that means “his, hers, its” – genitive case – and is used to indicate somebody else’s stuff.

1. Example – Aemilia says, referring to Medus: “Eius sacculus nōn est vacuus!” = “His pouch is not empty.”

C. Contrast this with the possessive adjective suus, sua, suum, also meaning “his, hers, its” but which refers to the subject of the sentence.

1. If the sentence is Dāvus sacculum suum in mēnsā pōnit (line 61), it means “Davus puts his own pouch on the table.” The adjective refers to the subject of the sentence, Davus.

2. If the sentence is Iam sacculus eius in mēnsā est. (lines 61-62), it means “Now his sack is on the table.” Since the subject of the sentence is sacculus the word eius refers to somebody in a previous sentence.

3. Consider the last sentence of the chapter: Iūlius baculum suum sūmit et discēdit. “Julius takes his stick and leaves.” If Julius were taking somebody else’s stick, we would see eius instead of suum.