AP Latin : Poetry
Study concepts, example questions & explanations for AP Latin
All AP Latin Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #111 : Grammar, Syntax, And Scansion In Poetry
Forsitan audieris aliquam certamine cursus
veloces superasse viros: non fabula rumor
ille fuit; superabat enim. nec dicere posses,
laude pedum formaene bono praestantior esset.
scitanti deus huic de coniuge 'coniuge' dixit 5
'nil opus est, Atalanta, tibi: fuge coniugis usum.
nec tamen effugies teque ipsa viva carebis.'
territa sorte dei per opacas innuba silvas
vivit et instantem turbam violenta procorum
condicione fugat, 'ne' c 'sum potiunda, nisi' inquit 10
'victa prius cursu. pedibus contendite mecum:
praemia veloci coniunx thalamique dabuntur,
mors pretium tardis: ea lex certaminis esto.'
illa quidem inmitis, sed (tanta potentia formae est)
venit ad hanc legem temeraria turba procorum. 15
sederat Hippomenes cursus spectator iniqui
et 'petitur cuiquam per tanta pericula coniunx?'
dixerat ac nimios iuvenum damnarat amores;
What is the use of "laude" in line 4?
Ablative of Value
Ablative of Comparison
Ablative of Specification
Ablative of Separation
Ablative of Specification
The word "laude" is being used with "praestantior" in order to specify exactly how the person is outstanding. Even though a comparative adjective is present and it may seem like this is comparison, a comparative phrase specifically translates as "more _________ than," which makes no sense here. This is ablative of specification.
(Passage adapted from Ovid's Metamorphoses 10. 560-578)
Example Question #121 : Grammar, Syntax, And Scansion In Poetry
Forsitan audieris aliquam certamine cursus
veloces superasse viros: non fabula rumor
ille fuit; superabat enim. nec dicere posses,
laude pedum formaene bono praestantior esset.
scitanti deus huic de coniuge 'coniuge' dixit 5
'nil opus est, Atalanta, tibi: fuge coniugis usum.
nec tamen effugies teque ipsa viva carebis.'
territa sorte dei per opacas innuba silvas
vivit et instantem turbam violenta procorum
condicione fugat, 'ne' c 'sum potiunda, nisi' inquit 10
'victa prius cursu. pedibus contendite mecum:
praemia veloci coniunx thalamique dabuntur,
mors pretium tardis: ea lex certaminis esto.'
illa quidem inmitis, sed (tanta potentia formae est)
venit ad hanc legem temeraria turba procorum. 15
sederat Hippomenes cursus spectator iniqui
et 'petitur cuiquam per tanta pericula coniunx?'
dixerat ac nimios iuvenum damnarat amores;
What is the use of "pedum" in line 4?
Genitive of Possession
Accusative Duration of Time
Genitive of Description
Accusative Direct Object
Genitive of Description
The word "pedum" comes from "pes, pedis," which means foot. "Pedum" is the genitive plural form and is being used with the word "laude" in order to describe exactly how the person in this sentence is praised. This is called genitive of description.
(Passage adapted from Ovid's Metamorphoses 10. 560-578)
Example Question #41 : Grammatical And Syntactic Terminology In Poetry Passages
Forsitan audieris aliquam certamine cursus
veloces superasse viros: non fabula rumor
ille fuit; superabat enim. nec dicere posses,
laude pedum formaene bono praestantior esset.
scitanti deus huic de coniuge 'coniuge' dixit 5
'nil opus est, Atalanta, tibi: fuge coniugis usum.
nec tamen effugies teque ipsa viva carebis.'
territa sorte dei per opacas innuba silvas
vivit et instantem turbam violenta procorum
condicione fugat, 'ne' c 'sum potiunda, nisi' inquit 10
'victa prius cursu. pedibus contendite mecum:
praemia veloci coniunx thalamique dabuntur,
mors pretium tardis: ea lex certaminis esto.'
illa quidem inmitis, sed (tanta potentia formae est)
venit ad hanc legem temeraria turba procorum. 15
sederat Hippomenes cursus spectator iniqui
et 'petitur cuiquam per tanta pericula coniunx?'
dixerat ac nimios iuvenum damnarat amores;
What is the case of "praemia" in line 12?
Ablative
Accusative
Nominative
Dative
Nominative
The word "praemia" comes from "praemium, praemii," which is the word for a prize. It is acting as the nominative plural subject of the verb "dabuntur" in this sentence.
(Passage adapted from Ovid's Metamorphoses 10. 560-578)
Example Question #301 : Poetry
Forsitan audieris aliquam certamine cursus
veloces superasse viros: non fabula rumor
ille fuit; superabat enim. nec dicere posses,
laude pedum formaene bono praestantior esset.
scitanti deus huic de coniuge 'coniuge' dixit 5
'nil opus est, Atalanta, tibi: fuge coniugis usum.
nec tamen effugies teque ipsa viva carebis.'
territa sorte dei per opacas innuba silvas
vivit et instantem turbam violenta procorum
condicione fugat, 'ne' c 'sum potiunda, nisi' inquit 10
'victa prius cursu. pedibus contendite mecum:
praemia veloci coniunx thalamique dabuntur,
mors pretium tardis: ea lex certaminis esto.'
illa quidem inmitis, sed (tanta potentia formae est)
venit ad hanc legem temeraria turba procorum. 15
sederat Hippomenes cursus spectator iniqui
et 'petitur cuiquam per tanta pericula coniunx?'
dixerat ac nimios iuvenum damnarat amores;
What tense is "audieris" in line 1?
Present
Future Perfect
Perfect
Future
Future Perfect
The word "audieris" comes from the word "audio, audire, audivi, auditus." Audieris is an example of a syncopated verb; it's a shortened form of "audiveris," which is in the Future Perfect tense. You can recognize this syncopation because "audi-" is the perfect stem of this verb. Syncopated verbs will use the perfect stem with perfect endings or part of the perfect stem/ending, but some indication that the perfect stem is being used will remain.
(Passage adapted from Ovid's Metamorphoses 10. 560-578)
Example Question #301 : Sight Reading
Consedere duces et vulgi stante corona
surgit ad hos clipei dominus septemplicis Aiax,
utque erat inpatiens irae, Sigeia torvo
litora respexit classemque in litore vultu
intendensque manus 'agimus, pro Iuppiter!' inquit 5
'ante rates causam, et mecum confertur Ulixes!
"Stante corona" in line 1 is an example of __________.
Ablative Absolute
Ablative of Accompaniment
Ablative of Means
Ablative of Instrument
Ablative Absolute
The phrase "stante corona" is an example of an ablative absolute and is translated as with the ring (of men) remaining. The ablative absolute is formed when you combine a participle with another noun, pronoun, or adjective in the ablative case.
(Passage adapted from Ovid's Metamorphoses 8.1-6)
Example Question #302 : Sight Reading
Atque ego, si virtus in me dubitabilis esset,
nobilitate potens essem, Telamone creatus,
moenia qui forti Troiana sub Hercule cepit
litoraque intravit Pagasaea Colcha carina;
Aeacus huic pater est, qui iura silentibus illic 5
reddit, ubi Aeoliden saxum grave Sisyphon urget;
Aeacon agnoscit summus prolemque fatetur
Iuppiter esse suam: sic a Iove tertius Aiax.
nec tamen haec series in causam prosit, Achivi,
si mihi cum magno non est communis Achille: 10
frater erat, fraterna peto! quid sanguine cretus
Sisyphio furtisque et fraude simillimus illi
inseris Aeacidis alienae nomina gentis?
What grammatical construction is present in the underlined portion?
Indirect Statement
Relative Clause
Hortatory Subjunctive Phrase
Indirect Question
Indirect Statement
The underlined phrase is an indirect statement. It is governed by the verb "fatetur" (line 7) and translates: Jupiter admits that the offspring is his.
(Passage adapted from Ovid's Metamorphoses, 8.21-34)
Example Question #307 : Sight Reading
Atque ego, si virtus in me dubitabilis esset,
nobilitate potens essem, Telamone creatus,
moenia qui forti Troiana sub Hercule cepit
litoraque intravit Pagasaea Colcha carina;
Aeacus huic pater est, qui iura silentibus illic 5
reddit, ubi Aeoliden saxum grave Sisyphon urget;
Aeacon agnoscit summus prolemque fatetur
Iuppiter esse suam: sic a Iove tertius Aiax.
nec tamen haec series in causam prosit, Achivi,
si mihi cum magno non est communis Achille: 10
frater erat, fraterna peto! quid sanguine cretus
Sisyphio furtisque et fraude simillimus illi
inseris Aeacidis alienae nomina gentis?
In which type of conditional statement is "esset" (line 1) being used?
Past Factual
Present Factual
Past Contrary to Fact
Present Contrary to Fact
Present Contrary to Fact
This phrase is an example of a present contrary to fact conditional statement. A simple way to view these conditional statements is that the indicative mood is used for factual statements, while the subjunctive mood is used to indicate possibility/unsure statements. Additionally, present contrary to fact is formed with imperfect tense verbs, past contrary to fact uses pluperfect tense verbs, and future more vivid statements are formed with present tense verbs.
(Passage adapted from Ovid's Metamorphoses, 8.21-34)
Example Question #303 : Sight Reading
at non Hectoreis dubitavit cedere flammis,
quas ego sustinui, quas hac a classe fugavi.
tutius est igitur fictis contendere verbis,
quam pugnare manu, sed nec mihi dicere promptum,
nec facere est isti: quantumque ego Marte feroci 5
inque acie valeo, tantum valet iste loquendo.
nec memoranda tamen vobis mea facta, Pelasgi,
esse reor: vidistis enim; sua narret Ulixes,
quae sine teste gerit, quorum nox conscia sola est!
praemia magna peti fateor; sed demit honorem 10
aemulus: Aiaci non est tenuisse superbum,
sit licet hoc ingens, quicquid speravit Ulixes;
iste tulit pretium iam nunc temptaminis huius,
quod, cum victus erit, mecum certasse feretur.
What is the use of "cedere" in line 1?
Dative of Possession
Complementary Infinitive
Expexigetical Infinitive
Ablative of Accompaniment
Complementary Infinitive
The word "cedere" is being used to complete the phrase started by "dubitavit." This use of the infinitive is called the complementary infinitive.
(Passage adapted from Ovid's Metamorphoses, 8.7-21)
Example Question #304 : Sight Reading
at non Hectoreis dubitavit cedere flammis,
quas ego sustinui, quas hac a classe fugavi.
tutius est igitur fictis contendere verbis,
quam pugnare manu, sed nec mihi dicere promptum,
nec facere est isti: quantumque ego Marte feroci 5
inque acie valeo, tantum valet iste loquendo.
nec memoranda tamen vobis mea facta, Pelasgi,
esse reor: vidistis enim; sua narret Ulixes,
quae sine teste gerit, quorum nox conscia sola est!
praemia magna peti fateor; sed demit honorem 10
aemulus: Aiaci non est tenuisse superbum,
sit licet hoc ingens, quicquid speravit Ulixes;
iste tulit pretium iam nunc temptaminis huius,
quod, cum victus erit, mecum certasse feretur.
What is the use of "verbis" in line 3?
Ablative of Specification
Ablative of Means
Ablative of Separation
Ablative of Comparison
Ablative of Comparison
The word "verbis" is in the ablative case because it is being used in conjunction with the word "tutius" (line 2), which is a comparative adjective, to form a comparative phrase that translates as: it is more prudent than false words.
(Passage adapted from Ovid's Metamorphoses, 8.7-21)
Example Question #305 : Sight Reading
at non Hectoreis dubitavit cedere flammis,
quas ego sustinui, quas hac a classe fugavi.
tutius est igitur fictis contendere verbis,
quam pugnare manu, sed nec mihi dicere promptum,
nec facere est isti: quantumque ego Marte feroci 5
inque acie valeo, tantum valet iste loquendo.
nec memoranda tamen vobis mea facta, Pelasgi,
esse reor: vidistis enim; sua narret Ulixes,
quae sine teste gerit, quorum nox conscia sola est!
praemia magna peti fateor; sed demit honorem 10
aemulus: Aiaci non est tenuisse superbum,
sit licet hoc ingens, quicquid speravit Ulixes;
iste tulit pretium iam nunc temptaminis huius,
quod, cum victus erit, mecum certasse feretur.
What is the use of "pugnare" in line 4?
Epexigetical Infinitive
Indirect Statement
Complementary Infinitive
Ablative of Means
Complementary Infinitive
The word "pugnare" is being used to complete the phrase "tutius est" (is more prudent). This use of the infinitive is called the complementary infinitive.
(Passage adapted from Ovid's Metamorphoses, 8.7-21)
All AP Latin Resources
