< Latin II
Latin II/The more the merrier
Salvēte omnēs! Welcome back to Latin for Wikiversity. Now that we know both regular and irregular comparisons, let's see how we can use them together in more interesting ways. We'll also learn some special phrases Romans used for making comparisons.
New Grammar
Here are some useful patterns for making complex comparisons:
1. "Much" with comparatives: Using multō:
- Multō melior = much better
- Multō fortior = much braver
2. "The more... the more..." using quantō... tantō:
- Quantō altior, tantō melior = The higher, the better
3. "As... as possible" using quam + superlative:
- Quam optimus = as good as possible
- Quam fortissimus = as brave as possible
New Words
| Latin | English | Audio (Classical) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| multō | by much | Used with comparatives | |
| quantō | by how much | With tantō | |
| tantō | by so much | With quantō | |
| sapiēns, -entis | wise |
New Sentences
| Latin | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Hic liber multō melior est. | This book is much better. | multō + irregular |
| Via brevior sed multō perīculōsior est. | The road is shorter but much more dangerous. | Multiple comparisons |
| Quantō doctior, tantō sapientior. | The more learned, the wiser. | Parallel comparison |
| Puer quam fortissimus esse vult. | The boy wants to be as brave as possible. | With infinitive |
| Templum et altius et pulchrius est. | The temple is both higher and more beautiful. | Double comparative |
| Urbs nostra multō major quam vestra est. | Our city is much bigger than yours. | With possession |
| Quantō plūs discis, tantō plūra scīs. | The more you learn, the more you know. | With irregular forms |
| Fīlius nātu maximus optimus dux est. | The oldest son is the best leader. | Multiple irregulars |
| Haec via multō brevior sed pessima est. | This road is much shorter but the worst. | Mixing forms |
| Quam maximās grātiās tibi agō. | I give you as many thanks as possible. | Common phrase |
Practice
| Reading, writing and speaking | |
|---|---|
| Step one | Try this Reading exercise |
| Practice and learn the words and phrases in this lesson | |
|---|---|
| This content is not currently available on Memrise | |
| Note that the Memrise stage covers the content for all lessons in each stage. If you are skipping previous stages you may need to manually "ignore" the words in previous levels (use the 'select all' function) | |
You can now make all kinds of sophisticated comparisons in Latin! Notice how mixing regular and irregular forms lets you express complex ideas clearly. In our next lesson, we'll start learning about special uses of cases with comparatives. Valēte!
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