Mastering Latin Declensions Shouldn’t Be So Scary!
When you hear the words "Latin declensions" do you start to shiver? For a long time, I had no idea what that even meant, so it sounded even scarier! The reality is that the ideas involved with declensions in English, but since it's our native tongue, we don't give it much thought unless we hear someone say something that sounds odd.
If I were to say, "God loves you," you'd think that sounded lovely, right?! How about if I said, "Him loves you." You'd immediately notice that there's something out of place. The reason this sets off alarms in your ears is that the pronoun "he" isn't being properly declined. You see the relics of the declension system in our pronouns. Consider:
Subject (Nominative) - He loves you.
Possessive (Genitive) - His love is sufficient.
Indirect Object (Dative) - You give him your love.
Direct Object (Accusative) - You love him.
Object of the Preposition (Ablative) - You wrap your arms around him.
While there are some repeated forms of the pronoun "he", you can see that we also use different forms that are appropriate for the job the word is performing in the sentence. In Latin, every noun, pronoun, and adjective work this way. They are declined according to one of five families of declensions of which they belong.
If you can master the declension endings, then you're set for translating Latin!
As you approach learning a new language, the more time you devote to strength training in the beginning, the better equipped you'll be to sustain your study over the long haul.
I've noticed a tendency for students to rest in their "good guessing abilities" when approaching Latin. I'll confess that when I started my study, I hoped my ability to accurately guess the right answer 85% of the time would carry me. I watched my son, who did the hard work of memorizing the vocabulary and declensions, sail through his study with confidence and great accuracy, while I laboriously looked up each word in a sentence to translate.
Taking a cue from him, I've gone back to shore up my grammar skills by copying and memorizing charts. I can't tell you how empowering it is to know the right answer and be able to defend it because I know the grammar. It's a beautiful thing.
Latin Mastery Charts
Sometimes it can be frustrating having to draw out a chart or hunt out endings in a grammar book when all you are wanting to do is practice copying the forms! I created the Latin Mastery Charts as a way to help my kids and I practice the forms without any extra busy work. We could get straight to the memorizing! They're a great way to always be productive in your Latin studies. Sometimes we would only have ten or fifteen minutes to work on Latin together—copying a chart is a quick and easy-to-begin way to get the Latin juices flowing!
Happy Latin muscle building!
But what does all this "declension" stuff mean, anyway?
If you'd like some help understanding how the declensions work, and how to put each Latin noun in its proper form with ease, Andy and I have a great starting point for you!
Latin with Andy Code Breakers is our way to help you along in really understanding the foundational elements of Latin. It's a great way to ease yourself into Latin before tackling the Henle Latin series.
The best part about Code Breakers is that all of the videos are FREE to watch on YouTube, or you can find them all organized here!
It also comes with free video companion guides, another tool you can use to really put your best foot forward as you jump into Latin.
More Latin Helps:
Check out some of our other great Latin resources!
-
Product on sale
4 Principal Parts: Tests and Quizzes$3.00 -
Product on saleHenle 1 Vocabulary Quizzes$3.00
-
Product on saleLatin Keyring Flashcards$12.00
-
Product on sale1 John Latin Workbook$3.00
-
Product on saleLatin Declensions & Conjugations Mastery Charts$10.00
-
Product on saleLatin with Andy Code Breakers Supplemental Materials$10.00
Betsy Strauss is an unexpected homeschooler, mother of three, who is in a relationship with a sweet man for life. She loves reading books, drinking coffee, and learning anything with her kids.
I bought two sets thinking it was a printed material mailed to me. Now I see it as a download and I’m only using it for one child. Would it be possible to get a refund on the second one?
Absolutely. So sorry about that!
if one book is $5 why would 2 be $12 and not $10?
The Noun book is $5, and the Verb book is $8. Combined that would be $13. They are PDF downloads, so you just need one copy of each because you can make copies for your whole family.
thank you. are these aimed at a Challenge A level student?
The noun charts would be great for Challenge A. The verbs are a little more in depth, and you don’t get that far in A, but you will by Challenge B!
I am having trouble printing the pages. My printer is giving me an error message–something to do with the copyright.
Am I doing something wrong?
I just sent you an e-mail. I’d be happy to help you resolve the issue!
Betsy, When I click on the button to buy them it wants me to pin it on Pinterest. So I went to Pinterest to look you up to purchase that way but it still wouldn’t let me. Am I doing something wrong? 🙂
I just fixed it! Try the “buy now” button again.
My daughter will be starting Challenge A in Fall. The Latin Master Charts will be helpful to a Challenge A student, right? Just making sure I am not about to purchase material I won’t need or we won’t use!
Absolutely! You will focus mainly on nouns and adjectives in Challenge A, so the declension charts are great. You get to verbs by second semester, but in a basic form. These charts will help through all of your Challenge years, but I made them primarily to supplement the Henle 1 book used in Challenge A, B, and 1.
I just saw the bundle price. I want to get the nouns and I just bought the verbs. Can I get the $1 back if buy the nouns?
I’d be happy to. Once you purchase the nouns I’ll end you a refund.
bought the “bundled” latin charts, but there is no download link…
Rick – sorry about that. The links are automatically sent to the account associated with your paypal account. It looks like it was a “mac.com” email. Check your spam folder, and if you still don’t find them, email me at betsy (at) familystyleschooling (dot) com and I’ll make sure you get them.
so sorry, i found it
No problem! Glad you found it. Enjoy!
Hi, I purchased the set in February & was unable to access them. Is it possible to send the download link again? We had a flood and lost computers since then, so I apologize for my delay in reaching you. Both my CC kids need them. My Challenge A student is new to CC as well. If you need to check records, I paid for both sets in Feb or March thru PayPal. Thank you!
So sorry you had a flood! That’s horrible. I just resent the email with the links to download. Let me know if you have any more trouble accessing them!
Would there be a good one to use for deeper practice for a 6th header in last year of Foundations in prep for A??
I’m not sure what you mean by a “6th header”. There are only 5 declensions, but several of them have variations when the gender is different. Is that what you’re asking about?
HI! I’m so thankful for your hardwork to prepare these practice sheets. I tried to checkout and Paypal wouldn’t let me proceed (after I entered in my CC info). Can you help with that?
Thanks again.
So sorry that you had trouble with that! I just sent you an email to help resolve the problem.
We are LOVING this Noun bundle in our CC community. I’m the Challenge A tutor and I have two families this year. We’ve all purchased both the Noun bundle and the Verb bundle. Your talent for taking complex ideas and making them understandable is a true blessing.
Thank you!
Thanks Shari! I’m so glad you’re enjoying them. It’s exciting to see the power of learning the grammar! Your students will be blessed with that foundation as they move on in their studies.
Is the Verb packet different from the one that I downloaded for free from your blog? I have a son going into Challenge B and would like to get the Verb packet if it is more than what I’ve already downloaded.
Yes, it is more than just the basics of verb endings. The charts go through all of the variations of all of the conjugations. It’s perfect for Challenge B.
I just purchased both sets, but for some reason, my pages are jumbled together – I don’t know if it’s my version word (2013) or what but there is no use printing as I see them. Do you know why the pages are not set correctly with margins, etc?
That’s strange. The files should be PDFs. Let me check on that and I’ll email you another copy directly to see if it’s any better. Sorry about that!
I purchased the Noun and Verb pack this past year but you mentioned on your video where you show how you organize your resources that you have pages with the conjugated verbs where they all fit on one page. Did you recently add that to the pack? Is there a way you can e-mail me those extra pages you created?
It’s actually not anything extra, I just adjusted the printer settings. When you go to print, set the page numbers of the 1st conjugation to print. Under the “Page Handling & Sizes” section, select “multiple” and the default is usually set to 2. It should shrink the pages to fit on one. It works great to make all of the forms fit on to one page! Hope that helps!
I just purchased this product but when I was on the download page I accidentally swiped on my phone and closed the link. Is there another way for me to access this now? Sorry!
I can resend your email with the link to download! No problem!
I am trying to purchase the bundle for Latin Declensions and Verbs but it is not opening in my Paypal. Is there another way to purchase these items?? Thank you!
I just sent you an email! I hope this works for you ????
I just bought the Latin with Andy subscription. I’m thinking of also buying the Latin Master Charts bundle. But with the free printables with Latin with Andy, is this necessary? Will the printables with Latin with Andy be sufficient? Thanks. We already love Latin with Andy. You should be proud at what a great job he does at explaining.
Jen
If you have the subscription, all of the charts are included to download in the printables zone! Don’t buy them again! Thanks so much for the encouragement! We’ve had a lot of fun making these videos!
Hi, I purchased the bundle for my son but am not It sure how to set up his binder. Did you just print one copy of everything except the blank chart and make several copies of those? Your binders look so full so I’m not sure if I’m missing something.
My binder has both the color and black and white versions in page protectors. That can make it look fuller, but I did just what you said. I printed multiple copies of the blank verb charts, but we used a dry erase on page protectors for the declension charts.
Hi! I am trying to purchase the bundle. I can add to my cart just fine, but when I click to pay it says that paypal isn’t working right now and does not give me an option to pay any other way. Can you help?
I just checked, and it seems like PayPal is working again. I’m hoping that it was just a glitch. Let me know if you still have trouble!
I just purchased the Verb/Noun combo and I cannot wait to use it. The I went to print, however, the Verbs are standard vertical and the Noun booklet is Horizontal (landscape), is there any way to get the Noun in the Vertical(portrait) layout? I know it sounds silly, but it matters to how mine and my child’s brain works…LOL
Sorry for the different orientations, but I created them according to the best fit for the materials. If you really need them to both be oriented the same way, you can set your printer to print that way and “fit to page”. Blessings!
Would these charts be helpful for a Challenge 2 students? Do you cover verbs from the last part of Henle 1, or what is covered in Challenge 1 when they finish First Year Henle?
I made these charts before we finished Henle 1, but I totally should add charts for EO and IO verbs! Everything else is there. I will update and keep you posted. Thanks!
Hi! Are the Verb/ Noun Combo Charts included with the Latin with Andy Subscription? I just don’t want to double purchase:)
Thank you!
Meredith
Yes! All the verb and noun charts are included with the subscription. Thanks for checking!
Hello, today I purchased the verbs and nouns paradigm practice sheets. I really like them but the alignment is off. Some words are on the pages for the next sheet. Is there a way to fix this. If now I don’t think I will be able to use them
Thank you
Maria – sorry for your troubles. The problem may just be with the orientation of the printing. The noun declension sheets are landscape (paper is turned sideways) because the chart just seemed to fit that way best. Try a different setting on your printer, or send them to an office supply store to print. There shouldn’t be any alignment problems. If you continue to have trouble, email technicalsupport@latinwithandy.com and we’d love to help you get set up to use your charts!
[…] takes time – and I don’t want my daughter to forget all she’s learned so these Latin master charts from Family Style Schooling are perfect for reviewing vocabulary (and something we’ll be […]
Hi Betsy! I am a Latin with Andy subscriber. Are these bundles available on the “member” site? I have the individual ones from each lesson, but I love the bundle and the color!! Thank You!
Yes! All of the latin helps are available on the membership site. There are tons of printables and over 650 videos organized with Henle books 1 and 2.