Expressions and greetings: translate the unit
Learn this complete reference set, recall meanings and construction clues, then apply the grammar in original short practice.
Exam scope and assessment notes
Original teaching foundations for the 2026–2028 syllabus. Six prescribed texts have passage-specific sequences; all 693 printed vocabulary rows have been reconciled into 692 distinct records, with additional number, comparison and compound-verb practice. Linked teaching and lexical self-checks do not certify mastery. Complete line-by-line annotation, further translation and scansion practice, qualified Latin-teacher review, full timed papers and human marking remain outstanding. Open the assigned edition alongside these lessons: public ancient texts can differ in spelling, punctuation or editorial readings from the prescribed prose anthology. Practice explanations are formative, not Cambridge questions, marks or predicted grades. Cambridge has announced withdrawal; the last assessment is June 2028, in administrative zones 3, 4, 5 and 6 only. Confirm entry with your centre.
Before you begin
- Identify noun, verb and clause roles
- Recall the whole dictionary record rather than only its first spelling
Work on paper. Try each question before revealing help, and explain why your method works.
Quick readiness check
What does a dictionary meaning fail to establish on its own?
What you will learn
- Recall each listed expression as a meaningful construction
- Separate literal words, idiomatic meaning and person/number
Read the form, recall the meaning, then check the construction
Use the reference list to learn, then hide the meanings in recall practice. The usage note explains a grammatical clue or limit. Self-check labels do not award a grade or certify mastery.
13 of 13 entries shown · 0 marked for another review in this practice
gratias agoExpression or greeting
give thanks
Learn the expression as a unit, then locate its verb or grammatical role. A literal substitution of each isolated word can lose the conventional meaning.
in animo habeo (2)Expression or greeting
intend, intend
Learn the expression as a unit, then locate its verb or grammatical role. A literal substitution of each isolated word can lose the conventional meaning.
consilium capio, -ere, cepi, captumExpression or greeting
think of a plan, have an idea
Learn the expression as a unit, then locate its verb or grammatical role. A literal substitution of each isolated word can lose the conventional meaning.
ecce!Expression or greeting
look! behold!
An attention-getting expression, not a finite verb with a person and tense in this vocabulary record.
eheu!Expression or greeting
oh dear! alas!
Learn the expression as a unit, then locate its verb or grammatical role. A literal substitution of each isolated word can lose the conventional meaning.
bellum geroExpression or greeting
wage war
Learn the expression as a unit, then locate its verb or grammatical role. A literal substitution of each isolated word can lose the conventional meaning.
ita veroExpression or greeting
yes, indeed, certainly
Learn the expression as a unit, then locate its verb or grammatical role. A literal substitution of each isolated word can lose the conventional meaning.
non modo … sed etiamExpression or greeting
not only … but also
Learn the expression as a unit, then locate its verb or grammatical role. A literal substitution of each isolated word can lose the conventional meaning.
poenas do, dare, dedi, datumExpression or greeting
pay the penalty
Learn the expression as a unit, then locate its verb or grammatical role. A literal substitution of each isolated word can lose the conventional meaning.
quam + superlativeExpression or greeting
as ... as possible
The construction can compare or indicate degree; with a superlative it can express as ... as possible. Do not give every quam one fixed translation.
salve! salvete!Expression or greeting
hello!
The pair greets one or more people. Its number differs; it is not the farewell pair vale/valete.
se recipio, -ere, recepi, receptumExpression or greeting
retreat, withdraw
Learn the expression as a unit, then locate its verb or grammatical role. A literal substitution of each isolated word can lose the conventional meaning.
vale! valete!Expression or greeting
goodbye! farewell!
The pair addresses one or more people. Distinguish farewell from the salve/salvete greeting.
Keep collocations together
Gratias ago gives thanks; consilium capio forms or takes up a plan; bellum gero wages war; poenas do pays the penalty. Translating each noun and verb without their conventional relationship can make a grammatical sentence misleading.
In animo habeo concerns intention, while se recipio can describe withdrawing. Reflexive relationship and the finite verb still need reading. Non modo ... sed etiam links not only ... but also, and quam with a superlative can express as ... as possible.
Read audience and purpose
Salve/salvete greet one or more addressees; vale/valete bid farewell. Ecce draws attention and eheu expresses lament. Their role differs from a noun naming an object, and a greeting pair should not be treated as evidence of identical audience number.
An idiom is not a way to skip morphology: change ago to agunt only with the appropriate plural subject, and keep any governed noun or reflexive case. The card supplies a reference meaning; a sentence supplies who acts and how.
Sources for this lesson
Pause and explain
Does gratias ago force a first-person subject when a sentence uses agunt?
Worked example
Translate original ‘Amici gratias agunt’.
Show the worked solution
- Amici is nominative plural.
- Agunt is a matching plural verb.
- Gratias agere is the thanks expression.
Answer The friends give thanks. The expression supplies the idiomatic action while the plural verb and subject identify who performs it.
Try a topic test
Choose Easy, Normal or Difficult. Save your answers and open worked review after finishing.
Test this topic →From guided practice to a new situation
Write your answer and reasoning first. Use a hint only if you are stuck. The model solution is for self-checking; your written work is not automatically marked.
Guided: Explain bellum gero as a unit.
Give me a hint
Conducting a war is its conventional action.
Compare my reasoning
- Identify bellum as war.
- Read the verb in the collocation.
- Use wage/conduct war rather than an unrelated wearing sense.
The expression means wage or conduct war. The context selects that conventional sense of gero, rather than importing another dictionary sense such as wearing merely because it is also listed.
Look for these in your work
- Uses unit
- Selects sense
- Avoids unrelated gloss
Independent: Compare salve and valete.
Give me a hint
Greeting/farewell and audience number both matter.
Compare my reasoning
- Salve is a greeting to one.
- Valete is farewell to more than one.
- Retain both distinctions.
Salve greets a single addressee, while valete bids farewell to multiple addressees. Calling them the same expression would erase both purpose and number.
Look for these in your work
- Uses purpose
- Uses number
- Distinguishes expressions
Application: Translate a quam-plus-superlative construction differently from quam used for than.
Give me a hint
The following form and construction decide.
Compare my reasoning
- Locate the superlative.
- Use the as ... as possible convention where appropriate.
- Do not impose one comparison gloss on every occurrence.
The superlative construction can express as ... as possible rather than a simple than-comparison. The following form and whole phrase must justify the reading; the familiar conjunction alone does not settle it.
Look for these in your work
- Uses form
- Uses idiom
- Uses construction
Common mistakes
- Translating an idiom by isolated substitution
- Confusing greeting and farewell
- Ignoring the finite verb's person
What can you explain now?
Does gratias ago force a first-person subject when a sentence uses agunt?
Compare with the explanation
No
The expression's record does not override the actual finite form.
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Make it stick
Does gratias ago force a first-person subject when a sentence uses agunt?
If you needed the solution, close it and solve the problem again from a blank page. A correct answer is stronger when you can explain the reason for each step.