English Grammar Through Latin: Learn Why English Works the Way It Does

A taste of a lesson on English's Hidden Case System

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The 29 topics in English Grammar Through Latin

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1. Parts of Speech Overview

   Introduce the eight traditional parts of speech (noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction, interjection) as inherited from Latin grammatical tradition. Students learn to identify each part of speech in English sentences and understand that this classification system itself comes from Latin grammarians describing Latin.

2. Basic Sentence Structure: Subject, Verb, Object

   Teach subject, verb, direct object, indirect object, and complement as functional slots in a sentence. Show how English relies on word order to signal these roles, setting up the contrast with Latin's word-ending (inflectional) system taught later.

   Builds on Parts of Speech Overview

3. Latin Alphabet and Pronunciation Basics

   Introduce the Latin alphabet, classical pronunciation of vowels and consonants, and basic reading of Latin words aloud. Establishes ability to read simple Latin forms used throughout the course.

4. The Concept of Inflection

   Explain what inflection is: changing the form of a word (usually its ending) to show its grammatical role, as opposed to English's reliance on word order and helper words. Contrast English's few remaining inflections (he/him, dog/dogs) with Latin's rich inflectional system, previewing why Latin is a useful lens for English grammar.

   Builds on Basic Sentence Structure: Subject, Verb, Object, Latin Alphabet and Pronunciation Basics

5. Clauses, Conjunctions, and Subordination

   Teach independent and dependent (subordinate) clauses, coordinating and subordinating conjunctions, and an introduction to relative clauses using English relative pronouns (who, which, that). Establish the idea of subordination as foundational sentence structure, to be revisited later once Latin cases are known.

   Builds on Basic Sentence Structure: Subject, Verb, Object

6. Latin Core Cases: Nominative, Genitive, Dative, Accusative

   Teach the four most common Latin cases and the grammatical function each expresses: nominative (subject), genitive (possession), dative (indirect object), and accusative (direct object). Use simple Latin examples (e.g., puella, puellae, puellae, puellam) to show endings changing with function.

   Builds on The Concept of Inflection

7. Latin Ablative and Vocative Cases

   Building on the four core cases, teach the ablative case (expressing means, manner, place, agent, and other adverbial relations) and the vocative case (direct address). Practice recognizing all six cases together on familiar noun forms.

   Builds on Latin Core Cases: Nominative, Genitive, Dative, Accusative

8. First Declension Nouns

   Teach the paradigm endings for first declension nouns (e.g., puella, puellae...) across all six cases in singular and plural. Practice declining first declension nouns correctly as a focused drill before adding a second paradigm.

   Builds on Latin Ablative and Vocative Cases

9. Second Declension Nouns

   Teach the paradigm endings for second declension nouns (e.g., servus, puer) across all six cases in singular and plural, contrasting them with first declension endings already learned. Practice declining and distinguishing first vs second declension nouns.

   Builds on First Declension Nouns

10. English's Hidden Case System

    Show that English pronouns (I/me/my, he/him/his, who/whom) still show nominative, accusative/dative (objective), and genitive (possessive) case distinctions, and that these correspond directly to Latin cases. Use this to explain common English usage questions like 'who vs whom' and 'between you and me'.

    Builds on Latin Core Cases: Nominative, Genitive, Dative, Accusative

11. Latin Adjectives and Agreement

    Teach that Latin adjectives must agree with the nouns they modify in case, number, and gender, using first/second declension adjective endings (e.g., bonus, bona, bonum). Explain grammatical gender as a formal category distinct from biological sex.

    Builds on Second Declension Nouns

12. Adjectives in English: Order and (Lost) Agreement

    Contrast English adjectives, which do not inflect for agreement, with Latin's agreement system, and explain why English instead relies on strict adjective ordering and word position. Discuss remnants like 'this/these' agreeing in number.

    Builds on Latin Adjectives and Agreement

13. Prepositions and the Cases They Govern

    Teach how Latin prepositions govern specific cases (accusative or ablative) to express relations English expresses only with prepositions, since English lost most case endings. Show how English prepositions took over many jobs Latin cases used to do.

    Builds on Latin Ablative and Vocative Cases, English's Hidden Case System

14. Latin Verb Conjugation Classes and Principal Parts

    Introduce the four Latin conjugation classes and the concept of principal parts (e.g., amo, amare, amavi, amatus) as the building blocks for all verb forms. Focus on recognizing conjugation class from principal parts.

    Builds on The Concept of Inflection

15. Latin Subject-Verb Agreement in Person and Number

    Teach how Latin verb endings encode person and number, allowing subjects to be dropped, and practice conjugating present-tense forms of a verb across persons and numbers. Compare to English's minimal subject-verb agreement (e.g., only 's' in third person singular).

    Builds on Latin Verb Conjugation Classes and Principal Parts

16. Present, Future, and Imperfect Tenses

    Teach formation and meaning of the Latin present, future, and imperfect tenses, focusing on how imperfect expresses ongoing/repeated past action distinct from simple past. Compare to English progressive ('was walking') vs simple past ('walked').

    Builds on Latin Subject-Verb Agreement in Person and Number

17. Perfect, Pluperfect, and Future Perfect Tenses

    Teach the Latin perfect system tenses, which express completed action, and how they differ conceptually from the imperfect/present system. Draw the parallel to English perfect tenses formed with 'have/had/will have'.

    Builds on Present, Future, and Imperfect Tenses

18. English Tense and Aspect Explained via Latin

    Use the Latin distinction between tense (time) and aspect (completed vs ongoing) to explain English's compound tense system (simple, progressive, perfect, perfect progressive) clearly, since English grammar books often conflate these.

    Builds on Perfect, Pluperfect, and Future Perfect Tenses

19. Active and Passive Voice in Latin

    Teach how Latin forms the passive voice through verb endings rather than helper words, and the concept of the ablative of agent. Reinforce the general concept of voice as who performs vs receives the action.

    Builds on Latin Subject-Verb Agreement in Person and Number

20. English Passive Voice and Its Style Implications

    Show how English builds passive voice with 'be' plus past participle rather than inflection, connect this to the Latin passive, and discuss when passive voice is useful versus when it obscures agency (a common style issue in writing).

    Builds on Active and Passive Voice in Latin

21. Latin Moods: Indicative, Subjunctive, Imperative

    Teach mood as a category expressing the speaker's attitude toward the action (fact, possibility/wish, command), covering Latin indicative, subjunctive, and imperative forms and typical subjunctive uses (purpose, wish, conditional), building on subordinate clause structures already introduced.

    Builds on Clauses, Conjunctions, and Subordination, Perfect, Pluperfect, and Future Perfect Tenses

22. The English Subjunctive and Mood

    Show the surviving English subjunctive ('if I were,' 'I suggest that he go') and imperative forms, explaining them through the Latin mood framework, and clarify commonly confused usages like 'was' vs 'were' in conditionals.

    Builds on Latin Moods: Indicative, Subjunctive, Imperative

23. Latin Participles and Infinitives

    Teach Latin present and perfect participles and the infinitive as verb forms that act like adjectives or nouns, including their agreement patterns and typical uses (e.g., ablative absolute constructions previewed conceptually).

    Builds on Latin Adjectives and Agreement, Latin Verb Conjugation Classes and Principal Parts

24. English Verbals: Gerunds, Participles, and Infinitives

    Teach English gerunds, participles, and infinitives as verb forms functioning as nouns/adjectives, directly paralleling Latin participles and infinitives, and clarify common errors like dangling participles and split infinitives (and why the 'rule' against split infinitives came from Latin). Uses understanding of clauses to analyze phrases like 'the man running down the street'.

    Builds on Clauses, Conjunctions, and Subordination, Adjectives in English: Order and (Lost) Agreement, Latin Participles and Infinitives

25. Latin Word Order and Syntax Flexibility

    Explain how Latin's case system allows flexible word order (subject/object/verb can move) because grammatical role is marked by endings, not position, and how this affects emphasis and style in Latin sentences.

    Builds on Second Declension Nouns, Present, Future, and Imperfect Tenses

26. Why English Depends on Word Order

    Consolidate the course's central contrast: English lost most inflections and became a word-order-dependent (configurational) language, explaining phenomena like strict SVO order, the rise of auxiliary verbs and prepositions, and why English sentence structure feels rigid compared to Latin's.

    Builds on Prepositions and the Cases They Govern, English Passive Voice and Its Style Implications, Latin Word Order and Syntax Flexibility

27. Latin Relative Pronouns and Clause Agreement

    Revisit clauses now that Latin cases are known: teach how Latin relative pronouns decline and agree with their antecedents in gender and number while taking case from their role in the relative clause, and compare this to English's simpler relative pronoun system (who, whom, whose, which, that).

    Builds on Clauses, Conjunctions, and Subordination, Latin Ablative and Vocative Cases

28. Latin Roots and English Vocabulary

    Teach how a large portion of English vocabulary (especially formal, scientific, and Latinate register words) derives from Latin roots, prefixes, and suffixes, and how recognizing Latin morphemes (e.g., -tion, -able, trans-, -duc-) helps decode unfamiliar English words and understand register differences between Latinate and Anglo-Saxon vocabulary.

    Builds on Second Declension Nouns, Latin Verb Conjugation Classes and Principal Parts

29. Synthesis: Grammatical Terminology and Traditional English Grammar Rules

    Review how traditional English grammar terminology and prescriptive rules (e.g., 'don't split infinitives,' 'don't end a sentence with a preposition') originated from applying Latin grammatical categories to English, evaluate which rules make sense for English and which are historical artifacts, and consolidate the whole course's comparative framework.

    Builds on The English Subjunctive and Mood, English Verbals: Gerunds, Participles, and Infinitives, Why English Depends on Word Order, Latin Relative Pronouns and Clause Agreement, Latin Roots and English Vocabulary

Practice questions in English Grammar Through Latin

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