Learn Greek and Latin with Textkit Tutorials. These tutorials are submitted by Textkit visitors and the tutorials address a variety of Greek and Latin language topics for beginners, intermediates and advanced learners.
From last time we presented Part 1 of this tutorial, A Not Too Tense Introduction to Greek Aspect, by Paul Bell. Part 2 of the aspect tutorial briefly explores the practical implications of the discussion in the first part, with parallel sentences for comparison, and some examples from Greek
literature.
The technical literature concerning aspect is vast and difficult. The goal of this tutorial is to present, as gently as possible, a few more or less commonly held opinions about aspect. Although these opinions may be championed by one academic quarter and denied by another, at the very least they should shed some light on an abstruse matter.
Early in the study of both Greek and Latin you are called on to memorize various sound changes and combinations. A basic understanding of some phonology will make many of these changes clear - even obvious - since it's usually easier to learn a rule than to memorize a chart.
Traditional grammars of classical Greek enumerate two forms of the aorist. For the beginner this terminology is extremely misleading: the second aorist contains two distinct conjugations. This article covers the formation of all types of aorist, with special attention on the athematic second aorist conjugation which few verbs take, but several of them happen to be common.
This article will introduce you to some of the oral composition techniques used by the ancient Greek bards in the construction of Homeric Verse. First it examines the structure of the dactylic hexameter and the points within it where a main caesura must be present. Then it looks at how the rhapsode uses formulaic noun-epithet pairs within this rhythymical structure to assist him in the free oral composition of epic verse. In order to help the reader develop a feel for the rhythyms inherent in the hexameter with which the bard would work, the author presents a short series of oral exercises based on the rhythyms of epic verse form.
When Latin students first encounter the perfect tense, the number of principal parts for verbs suddenly doubles. To add to this complication, these new parts appear to be formed at random... or are they? This tutorial is designed to explain why Latin developed these irregular verbal parts and hopefully to attune the reader to how verbs, and even words in general, are formed.
This is a brief tutorial about the Latin Noun which seeks to accommodate those fortunate visitors who would like to experience the beauty of this immortal language. At first sight the "inflection" of Latin nouns may seem a bit "awesome" but I bet you that English nouns are more difficult. What about English plurals! With a little patience when you read and re-read this tutorial you will find that the Latin Noun is easy to understand and encourages you to learn and read more Latin. It will become enjoyable. Lastly, to read and understand Latin, you must think straight - this is an important "maxim" in our life.
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