How do you tackle a Latin translation?
Top tips for tackling a translation:
Before you begin, read through twice to try and get the gist of the text- ie, the characters, the plot etc
Always carefully read the extract in English at the top- as this gives an clear indication of what the text is focusing on
Underline all the key constructions you can see– eg, ablative absolute, ‘UT’ clauses
When attempting a sentence, first find the subject, then the verb and finally the object.
Work out the cases of the subject and object, (and whether it is sing/plural) and the correct tense of the verb.
Then you can work out the case of any extra information- eg adverb/preposition/adjective. The case and sing/plural of the extra info gives an indication of what noun it goes with.
After translation, see if you can make it sound a bit more fluent
An example- the first sentence- Germanicus omnes virtutes corporis animique habebat.
Subject- germanicus- clue in title that it is a name- it is in the 1st declension nominative case-therefore shows that it is the subject of the sentence
Verb- ‘habebat’- it has ‘bat’ therefore it is imperfect, the ‘at’ shows it is 3rd person, therefore it is linked with the subject.- ‘was possessing’
Object- need to look for something in accusative case- it is ‘virtutes’- is in plural accusative. – ‘virtues’
Then you look at the remainder of the words:
Omnes- plural accusative meaning all- therefore links to ‘virtutes’
Corporis- genitive singular- therefore- ‘to body’ or ‘of body’
Animique- ‘animi’- genitive singular- ‘of mind’ and ‘que’ is ‘and’
Put this together- all the virtues of body and mind
The whole sentence is ‘ Germanicus was possessing all the virtues of body and mind.’
