News of Learning Latin

I'm now two months into my second year of Latin through a private adult learner school. I completed Wheelock's and felt pretty solid. Now, however, we're doing Latin Prose Composition using North & Hilliard and participles are wiping the floor with me.

How does everyone deal with participles, particulary going from English into Latin? Are there best practice strategies for handling that translation process?

Word order is a strange thing. I was talking to some one last night who recommended that I randomly mix around the words in a latin sentence. But I feel, I have neither the right nor the knowledge to do so at the moment. There should be a whole book dedicated to this, is there one?

For there are many occasions on which I don't know whether a word because it for example is first ...

Hello I've just completed the Words and Forms section of Latin For Beginners having learned all the vocabulary prescribed. But when I read the Gallic War for which this book prepares me I still frustratingly must look at dictionary often. I dislike this. Are there any other vocabulary sets, preferably for the Gallic war, whence I might broaden my vocabulary in order that I read it nicely? I will probably ask for a Virgil, Juve ...

I've got a query about Caesar's "De Bello Gallico". I'm translating the 7th book and I found the word "conventus"(1st section). What's this conventus?
I don't need a translation but I need to know what this conventus was and why Caesar had to go back to Italy "ad conventus agendos".

Hello everyone.

I came across this site by luck whilst searching for online based latin teaching sites. I am quite impressed with this site, a fine selection of ebooks.
Anyway, I am totally new to Latin, I think I may have learned the odd word back when I did Classical Civilizations back in college, but I cannot remember a word.
I have downloaded all of the Latin Grammars, I shall look through 'Beginner's Latin Book' ...

Part of ourselves. Pars nostri? ...or Pars nostrum?

If I were to use the first person plural reflexive in the partitive genitive sense would I use nostri or nostrum? I mean nostri is the reflexive form, but would one use the same form in the partive genitive case?

http://www.cambridgescp.com

If they want people to learn latin, they should not charge insane amounts.
And why on earth would you need a teacher? And for Book I of that already stupid Cambridge latin course. I mean, for 300 pretty glossy pages they don't even mention the ablative!

Some organisation should give free, productive services if people are to learn latin. Yes I know that this is unreal, but what about all the money wasted on ...

After reading more and more Latin, it got me thinking as to the stengths and weaknesses of English compared to Latin. One of the ideas that struck me was the fact that a lot of the texts leave a lot of the passages up to individual interpretation as to exactly what the author was trying to say rather than being concrete about what one is trying to say.

Latin is certainly much more concise than ...

Hi, my first post!

I am trying to work out how to divde the word vias into syllables.
Does the vowel combination ia make a diphthong? Or is the i here regarded as i consonant? In which case I can't decide how to make the division.

Thanks,
inNout

edit:
Is it proper to regard diphthongs as a single vowel?

after the discussion on this subject I would like to ask you:
in your opinion, what's the better translation for "you're welcome"?