In the exercises for Ch. 3, #9 we have,
“O vir magne, populum Romanum serva.” of which the meaning is clear. My question deals w/ the word, “serva, which I [assume] to be a verb.”
Cassells says, “serva -ae, -f. see servus”
Under servus I find, “servus, adj …”
I am expecting to find a verb. Can someone tell me what I am missing?
Thanks,
dlb
.
You are right, it is a verb. What you must look up is the first person active singular of the verb. Can you figure out what this would be?
Well, I hate to be pedantic but I would expect the ending of a singular verb to vary depending upon whether it is of the first or second conjugation; hence, o,as,at, or o,es,et.
dlb
.
You are correct. But the first person singular (-o, -eo, or -io) is the form under which it occurs in the dictionary.
In this case, you have a clue about the conjugation. Consider: under what circumstances would a verb have endings other than the personal endings o s t mus tis nt? The ending you have is -a. Which conjugation is that vowel characteristic of?
Have you learned the imperative yet?
"Have you learned the imperative yet?
The imperative was introduced in Ch 1, the second person singular form. Thus far that has been my only exposure to it & Wheelocks only mention of it.
I will follow your trail, see what I can find and see if I can resolve this issue.
Thanks,
dlb
.
Damn it, I haven’t picked up my latin book in three weeks, a cursorary glance read:
O great man!, serve the Roman people. OR the Roman people serve.
serva is 2nd person, singular, imperative from servo, servare… yes it is a verb it’s just that it’s an imperative and you’re used to seeing verbs in the indicative mood. 
Damn it, I haven’t picked up my latin book in three weeks, a cursorary glance read:
O great man!, serve the Roman people. OR the Roman people serve.
I’m a begginer, working in this same ch. 3 at the moment, but as far as I know “servo, servare” means to protect, preserve or save, not to serve. Please correct me if im wrong.
No, spot on. Could also be “to watch over” or something along those lines too.