Word Construction
Bits of Words
Latin has enough regularity to make it worthwhile looking at how a word is constructed from standard parts and how the parts of a word might be used to identify it.
One concept that I have seen mention of is that of Key Vowels. What they are I don't know yet but see VerbFirst for an illustration of how a verb is separated into the stem, key vowel and personal ending (my terminology).
Personal Endings
The endings denote the person:
| -o | I | 1s |
| -s | you (s) | 2s |
| -t | he, she, it | 3s |
| -mus | we | 1p |
| -tis | you | 2p |
| -nt | they | 3p |
Key Vowels
What is a key vowel? I don't know. But an example is the -a- following am- in am-a-re.
| Conjugation | Key vowel | Signature | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| First | a | am-o + (infin.) am-a-re | Love |
| Second | e | mon-e-o + (infin.) mon-e-re | Warn, advise |
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