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Although Partitive Genitives are covered in Stage 22, I thought it might be worth taking a closer look. So first to the grammarians:
Language Information (CLC Unit 4)
2. The partitive genitive or genitive of quantity indicates the whole from which a part is taken:
a. Rūfus est optimus tribūnōrum meōrum.
Rufus is the best of my tribunes.
b. plūs pecūniae volō.
I want more money.
From Bennett’s New Latin Grammar, 195:
Genitive of the Whole – (partitive) with nouns, pronouns, comparatives, superlatives, and ordinal numbers: magna pars hominum, a great part of mankind; duo mīlia peditum, two thousand foot-soldiers, quis mortālium, who of mortals?, maior frātrum, the elder of the brothers, gēns maxima Germānōrum, the largest tribe of the Germans; prīmus omnium, the first of all
Also used with Nominative or Accusative singular neuter of pronouns or of adjectives used substantively, etc.: quid cōnsilī, what purpose?, tantum cibī, so much food; plūs auctōritātis, more authority; minus labōris, less labor; satis pecūniae, enough money, parum industriae, too little industry.
Also dependent upon Adverbs of place: ubi terrārum? ubi gentium? where in the world?
From Gildersleeve and Lodge:
367. The Partitive Genitive stands for the Whole to which a Part belongs. It is therefore but an extension of the possessive Genitive. It may be used with any word that involves partition, and has the following varieities (368-372):
368. The Partitive Genitive is used with substantives of Quantity, Number, Weight.
maximus vīnī numerus fuit, permagnum pondus argentī, there was a large amount of wine, an enormous mass of silver. in iūgerō Leontīnī agrī medimnum trīticī seritur, on a juger of the Leontine territory a medimnus of wheat is sown. Campānōrum ālam, quīngentōs ferē equitēs excēdere aciē iubet, he orders a squadron of Campanians, about 500 horsemen, to leave the line.
369. The Partitive Genitive is used with the Neuter Singular of the following and kindred words, but only in the Nominative or Accusative.
tantum, so much
multum, much,
paulum, little,
satis, enough,
hoc, this
quantum, as (how much),
plūs, more,
minus, less,
parum, too little
id, illud, istud, that
aliquantum, somewhat,
plūrium, most
minimum, least,
nihil, nothing
idem, the same
quod and quid with their compound
370. The Partitive Genitive is used with numerals both general and special.
Special:
centum mīlitum, a hundred (of the) soldiers, a hundred (of) soldiers
(centum mīlitēs, a, the hundred soldiers)
quīntus rēgum, the fifth (of the) king(s)
(quīntus rēx, the fifth king)
General:
multī mīlitum, many of the soldiers, many soldiers
(multī mīlitēs, many soldiers)
371. The Partitive Genitive is used with Pronouns.
iī mīlitum, those (of the) soldiers. iī mīlitēs, those soldiers
illī Graecōrum, those (of the) Greeks
Fīdēnātium quī supersunt, ad urbem Fīdēnās tendunt, the surviving Fidenates take their way to the city of Fidenae.
372. The Partitive Genitive is used with Comparatives and Superlatives:
prior hōrum in proeliō cecidit, the former of these fell in an engagement. Indus est omnium flūminum maximus.
Remarks. 2) Instead of the Partitive Genitive with Numerals, Pronouns, Comparatives, and Superlatives, the Abl. may be employed with ex, out of, dē, from (especially with proper names and singulars), in, among (rare) or the Acc with inter, among, apud: Gallus prōvocat ūnum ex Rōmānīs, the Gaul challenges one of the Romans; Croesus inter rēgēs opulentissimus, Croesus, wealthiest of the kings. With ūnus, ex or dē is the more common construction, except that when ūnus is first in a series, the Gen. is common.
***
The following is a breakdown off what I found, stages 17-40. The notes I have highlighted in yellow are really for myself, but thought I would leave them in in case they are beneficial to anyone.
Partitive with pars, partis (I have only separated these out because partitives were introduced several stages before the concept was discussed using the very word pars, partis. I never noticed or thought about it because, hey, genitive = “of” in the simplest of terms. However, maybe it would be worth talking about what’s going on sooner, or leading students to recognize what’s going on sooner. Note that many of these examples are also using superlatives or general numbers, which also take partitive genitives.)
Piggybacking on prepositional phrase:
· 17 omnēs Graecī ex hāc parte urbis fūgērunt.
· 18 in hāc parte urbis via est, in quā omnēs tabernāriī vitrum vēndunt.
· 18 “sunt multae operae,” inquit, “in illā parte urbis.”
· 19 per partem praediī flūmen Nīlus lēniter fluēbat.
· 23 deinde omnēs in eam partem thermārum intrāvērunt, ubi balneum maximum erat. *first use of is, ea, id as a demonstrative?
· 24 itaque nōbīs festīnandum est ad ultimās partēs Britanniae ubi Agricola bellum ferit.
· 24 vīllam Memoris praetereuntēs, Quīntus et Dumnorix duōs equōs cōnspēxērunt, ad ultimās partēs īnsulae abiērunt.
· 24 postrīdiē, cum Quīntus et Dumnorix ad ultimās partēs īnsulae contenderet, mīlitēs Dumnorigem per oppidum frūstrā quaerēbant.
· 24 dominus meus cum Dumnorige in ultimās partēs Britanniae discessit. *first use of in = to; or indicating into not up to the edge of?
· 31 puella, servō adstante, in extrēmā parte multitūdinis cōnstitit;…
· 35 dīcit Calēdoniōs in ultimīs partibus Britanniae habitāre, inter saxa et undās.
· 37 in hāc epistulā Agricola nūntiat exercitum Rōmānum ad ultimās partēs Britanniae pervēnisse et magnam victōriam rettulisse.
· 37 initiō huius aestātis, exercitus noster ad ultimās partēs Britanniae pervēnit.
Not with a prepositional phrase:
· 20 Phormiō, quī servōs vulnerātōs sānāre solēbat, tunicam suam sciderat; partem tunicae circum umerum Barbillī dēligāverat.
· 22 Bulbus, quī magnam partem huius colloquī audīvit, surgit.
· 23 maxima pars spectātōrum stābat immōta.
· 29 deinde aggerem ascendērunt, magnamque partem mūnītiōnum ignī dēlēvērunt.
· 29 huius gāzae pars pretiōsissima erat mēnsa sacra, tubae, candēlābrum, quae omnia aurea erant. gen first
· 35 dē Calēdoniā ipsā omnīnō incertus sum, mī Lupe. utrum pars est Britanniae an īnsula sēiūncta?
· 40 postrīdiē Ursus Serviānus, quī cognitiōnī praefuerat, sententiam prōnūntiāvit: … bonōrum eius partem pūblicandam, partem fīliō trādendam;…*two gens *gen first
Nested inside a prepositional phrase
· 26 tū enim in ultimīs Britanniae partibus bellum geris et victōriās inānēs ē Calēdoniā refers;…
· 30 Haterius, cum fabrōs labōre occupātōs vīdisset, Salvium ad aliam āreae partem dūxit.
· 32 in omnibus vītae partibus moderātus ac temperāns esse cōnābātur.
Partitive with any words that involve partition
· 29 duae enim fēminae Iūdaeae, superstitēs eōrum quī contrā Rōmānōs rebellāverant, fortūnam suam lūgēbant. *a form of is quī pattern
· 29 nōs, quī superstitēs Iūdaeōrum rebellantium sumus, Rōmānīs servīre nōlumus. *a form of is quī pattern
· 37 quis nostrōrum ducum est melior quam Agricola?
· 37 quis nostrum Sulpiciī Galbae exemplum nescit? *vestrum/nostrum used with partitive (when acting as substantive/noun); vestrī/nostrī with objective
· 36 Martiālis, quī iam ūnam hōram recitat, ad fīnem librī appropinquat.
With Numbers Specific and General
· 20 “necesse est vōbīs,” inquit, “magnum numerum arāneārum quaerere.” *first without pars, partis
· 22 ōlim tria mīlia hostium occīdit.
· 23 magnum numerum armātōrum sēcum dūcit.
· 27 tantus erat numerus mīlitum Rōmānōrum ut Britannōs facile superārent.
· 29 in illā clāde periēunt multa mīlia Iūdaeōrum;…
· 29 post Imperātōrem ambō ībant cōnsulēs, quōrum alter erat L. Flāvius Silva. *gen first
· 33 hunc Deum vērum quem plērīque vestrum ignōrant, oportet mē nunc vōbīs dēclārāre. *vestrum/nostrum used with partitive (when acting as substantive/noun); vestrī/nostrī with objective
· 37 nōnne audīvistī, mī Glabriō, Imperātōrem ipsum proximō annō multa mīlia Germānōrum superāvisse?
Nested between noun and participle
· 29 cum hanc dīram et saevam rem cōnfēcissent, decem eōrum sorte ductī cēterōs interfēcērunt.
· 33 mox Dominus noster, rēx glōriae, ad nōs reveniet; ē caelō dēscendet cum sonitū tubārum, magnō numerō angelōrum comitante.
Contrast these to Partitive Genitive
· 24 ūnum ē servīs suīs iussit hanc epistulam quam celerrimē ad Agricolam ferre.
· 27 ūnus ē Britannīs Modestō appropinquāvit ut dēligāret.
· 28 tandem ūnus ex amīcīs, vir callidissimus,….
· 27 cum Strythiō cēnam et amīcōs quaereret, decem Britannī ā Vercobrige ductī, castrīs cautē appropinquābant. (because there were only ten; not part of a whole)
PARTITIVE WITH SUPERLATIVES
Not with a prepositional phrase
· 22 Modestus, fortissimus mīlitum, adest.
· 28 ego Titum Flāvium Domitiānum, optimum Imperātōrum, hērēdem meum faciō.
· 29 ūnā cum eīs in carcere erant quīnque līberī, quōrum Simōn nātū maximus sōlācium mātrī et aviae fere temptābat. *gen first
· 33 spectātōrum plūrimī eum vehementer dērīdēbant;…*gen first
· 35 Calēdoniī crēduntur ferōcissimī omnium Britannōrum esse, terribilēs vīsū auditūque.
Nested in a noun/adjective phrase
· 35 rēctē dīcis Calēdoniōs omnium Britannōrum ferōcissimōs esse.
Nested in a prepositional phrase
· 36 complūrēs audītōrēs sē convertunt ut Sabidium, quī in ultimō sellārum ōrdine sedet, spectent.
PARTITIVES WITH NEUTER SINGULARS of particular words
With aliquid
· 21 Quīntus eī multa dē vītā suā nārrābat, quod rēx aliquid novī audīre semper volēbat.
· 21 “sed domine,” inquit Cephalus, “aliquid novī nūntiāre volō.”
· 32 “nōbīs placet, mea Euphrosynē,” inquit, “ā tē aliquid philosophiae discere.”
· 34 “cavendum est nōbīs,” inquit. “aliquid mīrī hīc agitur.”
· 34 Domitia ad aulam quam celerrimē regredī cōnstituit priusquam aliquid malī sibi accideret.
With nihil
· 21 nihil perīculī est.
With nimium
· 21 “dominus nimium vīnī rūrsus bibit,” sibi dīxit lībertus.
With plūs
· 22 iubeō tē plūs vīnī ferre.
· 28 heus! puer! plūs garī!
· 32 Haterius, plausū audītō, oblītus philosophiae servīs imperāvit ut plūs vīnī convīvīs offerrent.
With satis
· 32 sed cōnsul Sabīnus, quem iam taedēbat fābulārum, exclāmāvit, “satis philosophiae!”
· 35 sed satis querēlārum!
Partitive with Adverb of Place, (Quantity, or extent)
· 28 “ubi gentium est?” rogāvit Belimicus.
***
As you can see by some of my divisions, I wanted to track when genitives stopped appearing (almost) solely as a modifier piggybacking off of prepositional phrases. I also wanted to be aware when they became “nested” in phrases, whether those phrases were participial phrases, between noun and adjective, or between noun and participle.
We first start seeing nested genitives in prepositional phrases (at least with these partitive genitives), in Stage 26 (tū enim in ultimīs Britanniae partibus bellum geris et victōriās inānēs ē Calēdoniā refers;…) when Salvius takes Agricola to task for not understanding that what he is doing in the north has nothing to do with what Domitian really wants (taxes/wealth). We see another in a prepositional phrase in stage 36 (complūrēs audītōrēs sē convertunt ut Sabidium, quī in ultimō sellārum ōrdine sedet, spectent.)
In Stages 29 (cum hanc dīram et saevam rem cōnfēcissent, decem eōrum sorte ductī cēterōs interfēcērunt.) and 33 (mox Dominus noster, rēx glōriae, ad nōs reveniet; ē caelō dēscendet cum sonitū tubārum, magnō numerō angelōrum comitante.) we see genitives nested in participial phrases. Up to this point we have only been seeing ablatives of agent and means (maybe some ablative of cause) with perfect passive participles or accusatives with perfect active or present active participles.
Another thing I was tracking was when genitives started appearing before the nouns being modified. I have them grouped here:
· 29 huius gāzae pars pretiōsissima erat mēnsa sacra, tubae, candēlābrum, quae omnia aurea erant.
· 29 post Imperātōrem ambō ībant cōnsulēs, quōrum alter erat L. Flāvius Silva.
· 29 ūnā cum eīs in carcere erant quīnque līberī, quōrum Simōn nātū maximus sōlācium mātrī et aviae fere temptābat.
· 33 spectātōrum plūrimī eum vehementer dērīdēbant;…
· 40 postrīdiē Ursus Serviānus, quī cognitiōnī praefuerat, sententiam prōnūntiāvit: … bonōrum eius partem pūblicandam, partem fīliō trādendam;
So, in Stage 29 quōrum accounts for 2 of the 3 genitive-first words. If students are already sensitive to having a variety of cases appear in the relative pronoun (or even just accusatives vs nominatives), this is not too much of a stretch to comprehend. I’m not sure how I want to work this or emphasize this, but genitives all too often jump out in front when least expecting it—so maybe we need to develop that expectation. (Consider the opening lines of the Aeneid: Arma virumque cano, Troiae qui primus ab oris / Italiam,…)
Of course, the fault in this document is that I am not including ALL of the genitives I “hunted” but only the partitives, so we are not seeing other genitives that end up nested or appear in front of what it is modifying. I might do a separate document that is inclusive later on. But these observations do give us something to think about. I heavily emphasize reading by phrases/groups/units in my class. Being able to recognize those chunks and to disambiguate what’s “in the middle” because of known possibilities does improve reading skills. (After all, if I see mīles, castra ingressus, there is no way that I would consider castra to be nominative because you just don’t see nominatives in that position, ingressus is governing it, etc.)
And here’s another thing: PERSONALLY being aware of phrasing and word order makes me a better writer of Latin so that I am exposing my students, even with made up sentences or stories, to the best Latin I can.
There are other ways that these (above) categorical breakdowns can help us as teachers:
· When students are in groups (or pairs), you can have students determine who goes first by determining quis discipulōrum est nātū maximus? or quis discipulārum est statūrā minima? (EGO!) You can work partitive genitives and ablative of respect at the same time! Or simply quis nostrum… quis vestrum…, etc.
· Have students set up proofs (this is a WAYK thing) or demonstrations showing the difference between something like decem mīlitēs and decem mīlitum (the former showing that we were only ever talking about ten of them, the latter that the remainder of the soldiers are somewhere else). Add to this that when you are talking about just one of the soldiers that you should use ūnus ē mīlitibus. Visually work taking part from the whole—use props, draw a picture, etc. You can work specific numbers, superlatives, etc, depending upon how you have it set up.
· Find ways to work phrases like aliquid novī or satis querēlārum into your everyday conversations with students. And surely one can exclaim “ubi gentium…?” the next time something is lost in your room!
Years ago when I was teaching middle school, I had designed some simple downloadable posters for the National Committee for Latin and Greek when I was designing/maintaining their website. (http://www.promotelatin.org/more-to-explore/downloadable-materials - I am sure I should redesign many of the items on the page; they were done in 2003). One was a picture of three monkeys, the ol’ “See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil” image. Someone helped me with a translation because I know I didn’t have the same sensitivity to partitive genitives that CLC has given me: nihil malī vidē audī dīc. Uses a nice partitive genitive. For the poster go here: http://www.promotelatin.org/images/stories/pdf/DownloadableMaterials/Hear_See_SpeakNoEvil.pdf There was also a cute bunny saying “quid novī, medice?” (http://www.promotelatin.org/images/stories/pdf/DownloadableMaterials/Bunny.pdf) Another partitive.
Yes, CLC is written so that there is significantly less emphasis on grammar and more on reading, but it doesn’t mean that we as teachers should be sloppy with our own grasp of the details. We don’t have to share every grammatical detail with students, but we should be keenly aware of what the book is doing, in what progression, and why.
Thoughts? Comments? J
Language Information (CLC Unit 4)
2. The partitive genitive or genitive of quantity indicates the whole from which a part is taken:
a. Rūfus est optimus tribūnōrum meōrum.
Rufus is the best of my tribunes.
b. plūs pecūniae volō.
I want more money.
From Bennett’s New Latin Grammar, 195:
Genitive of the Whole – (partitive) with nouns, pronouns, comparatives, superlatives, and ordinal numbers: magna pars hominum, a great part of mankind; duo mīlia peditum, two thousand foot-soldiers, quis mortālium, who of mortals?, maior frātrum, the elder of the brothers, gēns maxima Germānōrum, the largest tribe of the Germans; prīmus omnium, the first of all
Also used with Nominative or Accusative singular neuter of pronouns or of adjectives used substantively, etc.: quid cōnsilī, what purpose?, tantum cibī, so much food; plūs auctōritātis, more authority; minus labōris, less labor; satis pecūniae, enough money, parum industriae, too little industry.
Also dependent upon Adverbs of place: ubi terrārum? ubi gentium? where in the world?
From Gildersleeve and Lodge:
367. The Partitive Genitive stands for the Whole to which a Part belongs. It is therefore but an extension of the possessive Genitive. It may be used with any word that involves partition, and has the following varieities (368-372):
368. The Partitive Genitive is used with substantives of Quantity, Number, Weight.
maximus vīnī numerus fuit, permagnum pondus argentī, there was a large amount of wine, an enormous mass of silver. in iūgerō Leontīnī agrī medimnum trīticī seritur, on a juger of the Leontine territory a medimnus of wheat is sown. Campānōrum ālam, quīngentōs ferē equitēs excēdere aciē iubet, he orders a squadron of Campanians, about 500 horsemen, to leave the line.
369. The Partitive Genitive is used with the Neuter Singular of the following and kindred words, but only in the Nominative or Accusative.
tantum, so much
multum, much,
paulum, little,
satis, enough,
hoc, this
quantum, as (how much),
plūs, more,
minus, less,
parum, too little
id, illud, istud, that
aliquantum, somewhat,
plūrium, most
minimum, least,
nihil, nothing
idem, the same
quod and quid with their compound
370. The Partitive Genitive is used with numerals both general and special.
Special:
centum mīlitum, a hundred (of the) soldiers, a hundred (of) soldiers
(centum mīlitēs, a, the hundred soldiers)
quīntus rēgum, the fifth (of the) king(s)
(quīntus rēx, the fifth king)
General:
multī mīlitum, many of the soldiers, many soldiers
(multī mīlitēs, many soldiers)
371. The Partitive Genitive is used with Pronouns.
iī mīlitum, those (of the) soldiers. iī mīlitēs, those soldiers
illī Graecōrum, those (of the) Greeks
Fīdēnātium quī supersunt, ad urbem Fīdēnās tendunt, the surviving Fidenates take their way to the city of Fidenae.
372. The Partitive Genitive is used with Comparatives and Superlatives:
prior hōrum in proeliō cecidit, the former of these fell in an engagement. Indus est omnium flūminum maximus.
Remarks. 2) Instead of the Partitive Genitive with Numerals, Pronouns, Comparatives, and Superlatives, the Abl. may be employed with ex, out of, dē, from (especially with proper names and singulars), in, among (rare) or the Acc with inter, among, apud: Gallus prōvocat ūnum ex Rōmānīs, the Gaul challenges one of the Romans; Croesus inter rēgēs opulentissimus, Croesus, wealthiest of the kings. With ūnus, ex or dē is the more common construction, except that when ūnus is first in a series, the Gen. is common.
***
The following is a breakdown off what I found, stages 17-40. The notes I have highlighted in yellow are really for myself, but thought I would leave them in in case they are beneficial to anyone.
Partitive with pars, partis (I have only separated these out because partitives were introduced several stages before the concept was discussed using the very word pars, partis. I never noticed or thought about it because, hey, genitive = “of” in the simplest of terms. However, maybe it would be worth talking about what’s going on sooner, or leading students to recognize what’s going on sooner. Note that many of these examples are also using superlatives or general numbers, which also take partitive genitives.)
Piggybacking on prepositional phrase:
· 17 omnēs Graecī ex hāc parte urbis fūgērunt.
· 18 in hāc parte urbis via est, in quā omnēs tabernāriī vitrum vēndunt.
· 18 “sunt multae operae,” inquit, “in illā parte urbis.”
· 23 deinde omnēs in eam partem thermārum intrāvērunt, ubi balneum maximum erat. *first use of is, ea, id as a demonstrative?
· 24 itaque nōbīs festīnandum est ad ultimās partēs Britanniae ubi Agricola bellum ferit.
· 24 vīllam Memoris praetereuntēs, Quīntus et Dumnorix duōs equōs cōnspēxērunt, ad ultimās partēs īnsulae abiērunt.
· 24 postrīdiē, cum Quīntus et Dumnorix ad ultimās partēs īnsulae contenderet, mīlitēs Dumnorigem per oppidum frūstrā quaerēbant.
· 24 dominus meus cum Dumnorige in ultimās partēs Britanniae discessit. *first use of in = to; or indicating into not up to the edge of?
· 31 puella, servō adstante, in extrēmā parte multitūdinis cōnstitit;…
· 35 dīcit Calēdoniōs in ultimīs partibus Britanniae habitāre, inter saxa et undās.
· 37 in hāc epistulā Agricola nūntiat exercitum Rōmānum ad ultimās partēs Britanniae pervēnisse et magnam victōriam rettulisse.
· 37 initiō huius aestātis, exercitus noster ad ultimās partēs Britanniae pervēnit.
Not with a prepositional phrase:
· 20 Phormiō, quī servōs vulnerātōs sānāre solēbat, tunicam suam sciderat; partem tunicae circum umerum Barbillī dēligāverat.
· 22 Bulbus, quī magnam partem huius colloquī audīvit, surgit.
· 23 maxima pars spectātōrum stābat immōta.
· 29 deinde aggerem ascendērunt, magnamque partem mūnītiōnum ignī dēlēvērunt.
· 29 huius gāzae pars pretiōsissima erat mēnsa sacra, tubae, candēlābrum, quae omnia aurea erant. gen first
· 35 dē Calēdoniā ipsā omnīnō incertus sum, mī Lupe. utrum pars est Britanniae an īnsula sēiūncta?
· 40 postrīdiē Ursus Serviānus, quī cognitiōnī praefuerat, sententiam prōnūntiāvit: … bonōrum eius partem pūblicandam, partem fīliō trādendam;…*two gens *gen first
Nested inside a prepositional phrase
· 26 tū enim in ultimīs Britanniae partibus bellum geris et victōriās inānēs ē Calēdoniā refers;…
· 30 Haterius, cum fabrōs labōre occupātōs vīdisset, Salvium ad aliam āreae partem dūxit.
· 32 in omnibus vītae partibus moderātus ac temperāns esse cōnābātur.
Partitive with any words that involve partition
· 29 duae enim fēminae Iūdaeae, superstitēs eōrum quī contrā Rōmānōs rebellāverant, fortūnam suam lūgēbant. *a form of is quī pattern
· 29 nōs, quī superstitēs Iūdaeōrum rebellantium sumus, Rōmānīs servīre nōlumus. *a form of is quī pattern
· 37 quis nostrōrum ducum est melior quam Agricola?
· 37 quis nostrum Sulpiciī Galbae exemplum nescit? *vestrum/nostrum used with partitive (when acting as substantive/noun); vestrī/nostrī with objective
· 36 Martiālis, quī iam ūnam hōram recitat, ad fīnem librī appropinquat.
With Numbers Specific and General
· 20 “necesse est vōbīs,” inquit, “magnum numerum arāneārum quaerere.” *first without pars, partis
· 22 ōlim tria mīlia hostium occīdit.
· 23 magnum numerum armātōrum sēcum dūcit.
· 27 tantus erat numerus mīlitum Rōmānōrum ut Britannōs facile superārent.
· 29 in illā clāde periēunt multa mīlia Iūdaeōrum;…
· 29 post Imperātōrem ambō ībant cōnsulēs, quōrum alter erat L. Flāvius Silva. *gen first
· 33 hunc Deum vērum quem plērīque vestrum ignōrant, oportet mē nunc vōbīs dēclārāre. *vestrum/nostrum used with partitive (when acting as substantive/noun); vestrī/nostrī with objective
· 37 nōnne audīvistī, mī Glabriō, Imperātōrem ipsum proximō annō multa mīlia Germānōrum superāvisse?
Nested between noun and participle
· 29 cum hanc dīram et saevam rem cōnfēcissent, decem eōrum sorte ductī cēterōs interfēcērunt.
· 33 mox Dominus noster, rēx glōriae, ad nōs reveniet; ē caelō dēscendet cum sonitū tubārum, magnō numerō angelōrum comitante.
Contrast these to Partitive Genitive
· 24 ūnum ē servīs suīs iussit hanc epistulam quam celerrimē ad Agricolam ferre.
· 27 ūnus ē Britannīs Modestō appropinquāvit ut dēligāret.
· 28 tandem ūnus ex amīcīs, vir callidissimus,….
· 27 cum Strythiō cēnam et amīcōs quaereret, decem Britannī ā Vercobrige ductī, castrīs cautē appropinquābant. (because there were only ten; not part of a whole)
PARTITIVE WITH SUPERLATIVES
Not with a prepositional phrase
· 22 Modestus, fortissimus mīlitum, adest.
· 28 ego Titum Flāvium Domitiānum, optimum Imperātōrum, hērēdem meum faciō.
· 29 ūnā cum eīs in carcere erant quīnque līberī, quōrum Simōn nātū maximus sōlācium mātrī et aviae fere temptābat. *gen first
· 33 spectātōrum plūrimī eum vehementer dērīdēbant;…*gen first
· 35 Calēdoniī crēduntur ferōcissimī omnium Britannōrum esse, terribilēs vīsū auditūque.
Nested in a noun/adjective phrase
· 35 rēctē dīcis Calēdoniōs omnium Britannōrum ferōcissimōs esse.
Nested in a prepositional phrase
· 36 complūrēs audītōrēs sē convertunt ut Sabidium, quī in ultimō sellārum ōrdine sedet, spectent.
PARTITIVES WITH NEUTER SINGULARS of particular words
With aliquid
· 21 Quīntus eī multa dē vītā suā nārrābat, quod rēx aliquid novī audīre semper volēbat.
· 21 “sed domine,” inquit Cephalus, “aliquid novī nūntiāre volō.”
· 32 “nōbīs placet, mea Euphrosynē,” inquit, “ā tē aliquid philosophiae discere.”
· 34 “cavendum est nōbīs,” inquit. “aliquid mīrī hīc agitur.”
· 34 Domitia ad aulam quam celerrimē regredī cōnstituit priusquam aliquid malī sibi accideret.
With nihil
· 21 nihil perīculī est.
With nimium
· 21 “dominus nimium vīnī rūrsus bibit,” sibi dīxit lībertus.
With plūs
· 22 iubeō tē plūs vīnī ferre.
· 28 heus! puer! plūs garī!
· 32 Haterius, plausū audītō, oblītus philosophiae servīs imperāvit ut plūs vīnī convīvīs offerrent.
With satis
· 32 sed cōnsul Sabīnus, quem iam taedēbat fābulārum, exclāmāvit, “satis philosophiae!”
· 35 sed satis querēlārum!
Partitive with Adverb of Place, (Quantity, or extent)
· 28 “ubi gentium est?” rogāvit Belimicus.
***
As you can see by some of my divisions, I wanted to track when genitives stopped appearing (almost) solely as a modifier piggybacking off of prepositional phrases. I also wanted to be aware when they became “nested” in phrases, whether those phrases were participial phrases, between noun and adjective, or between noun and participle.
We first start seeing nested genitives in prepositional phrases (at least with these partitive genitives), in Stage 26 (tū enim in ultimīs Britanniae partibus bellum geris et victōriās inānēs ē Calēdoniā refers;…) when Salvius takes Agricola to task for not understanding that what he is doing in the north has nothing to do with what Domitian really wants (taxes/wealth). We see another in a prepositional phrase in stage 36 (complūrēs audītōrēs sē convertunt ut Sabidium, quī in ultimō sellārum ōrdine sedet, spectent.)
In Stages 29 (cum hanc dīram et saevam rem cōnfēcissent, decem eōrum sorte ductī cēterōs interfēcērunt.) and 33 (mox Dominus noster, rēx glōriae, ad nōs reveniet; ē caelō dēscendet cum sonitū tubārum, magnō numerō angelōrum comitante.) we see genitives nested in participial phrases. Up to this point we have only been seeing ablatives of agent and means (maybe some ablative of cause) with perfect passive participles or accusatives with perfect active or present active participles.
Another thing I was tracking was when genitives started appearing before the nouns being modified. I have them grouped here:
· 29 huius gāzae pars pretiōsissima erat mēnsa sacra, tubae, candēlābrum, quae omnia aurea erant.
· 29 post Imperātōrem ambō ībant cōnsulēs, quōrum alter erat L. Flāvius Silva.
· 29 ūnā cum eīs in carcere erant quīnque līberī, quōrum Simōn nātū maximus sōlācium mātrī et aviae fere temptābat.
· 33 spectātōrum plūrimī eum vehementer dērīdēbant;…
· 40 postrīdiē Ursus Serviānus, quī cognitiōnī praefuerat, sententiam prōnūntiāvit: … bonōrum eius partem pūblicandam, partem fīliō trādendam;
So, in Stage 29 quōrum accounts for 2 of the 3 genitive-first words. If students are already sensitive to having a variety of cases appear in the relative pronoun (or even just accusatives vs nominatives), this is not too much of a stretch to comprehend. I’m not sure how I want to work this or emphasize this, but genitives all too often jump out in front when least expecting it—so maybe we need to develop that expectation. (Consider the opening lines of the Aeneid: Arma virumque cano, Troiae qui primus ab oris / Italiam,…)
Of course, the fault in this document is that I am not including ALL of the genitives I “hunted” but only the partitives, so we are not seeing other genitives that end up nested or appear in front of what it is modifying. I might do a separate document that is inclusive later on. But these observations do give us something to think about. I heavily emphasize reading by phrases/groups/units in my class. Being able to recognize those chunks and to disambiguate what’s “in the middle” because of known possibilities does improve reading skills. (After all, if I see mīles, castra ingressus, there is no way that I would consider castra to be nominative because you just don’t see nominatives in that position, ingressus is governing it, etc.)
And here’s another thing: PERSONALLY being aware of phrasing and word order makes me a better writer of Latin so that I am exposing my students, even with made up sentences or stories, to the best Latin I can.
There are other ways that these (above) categorical breakdowns can help us as teachers:
· When students are in groups (or pairs), you can have students determine who goes first by determining quis discipulōrum est nātū maximus? or quis discipulārum est statūrā minima? (EGO!) You can work partitive genitives and ablative of respect at the same time! Or simply quis nostrum… quis vestrum…, etc.
· Have students set up proofs (this is a WAYK thing) or demonstrations showing the difference between something like decem mīlitēs and decem mīlitum (the former showing that we were only ever talking about ten of them, the latter that the remainder of the soldiers are somewhere else). Add to this that when you are talking about just one of the soldiers that you should use ūnus ē mīlitibus. Visually work taking part from the whole—use props, draw a picture, etc. You can work specific numbers, superlatives, etc, depending upon how you have it set up.
· Find ways to work phrases like aliquid novī or satis querēlārum into your everyday conversations with students. And surely one can exclaim “ubi gentium…?” the next time something is lost in your room!
Years ago when I was teaching middle school, I had designed some simple downloadable posters for the National Committee for Latin and Greek when I was designing/maintaining their website. (http://www.promotelatin.org/more-to-explore/downloadable-materials - I am sure I should redesign many of the items on the page; they were done in 2003). One was a picture of three monkeys, the ol’ “See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil” image. Someone helped me with a translation because I know I didn’t have the same sensitivity to partitive genitives that CLC has given me: nihil malī vidē audī dīc. Uses a nice partitive genitive. For the poster go here: http://www.promotelatin.org/images/stories/pdf/DownloadableMaterials/Hear_See_SpeakNoEvil.pdf There was also a cute bunny saying “quid novī, medice?” (http://www.promotelatin.org/images/stories/pdf/DownloadableMaterials/Bunny.pdf) Another partitive.
Yes, CLC is written so that there is significantly less emphasis on grammar and more on reading, but it doesn’t mean that we as teachers should be sloppy with our own grasp of the details. We don’t have to share every grammatical detail with students, but we should be keenly aware of what the book is doing, in what progression, and why.
Thoughts? Comments? J
