ABSTRACT
A periphrastic construction involves more than one word in order to express a meaning. Periphrasis is opposed to inflection, which expresses a meaning by adding affixes to a single word. Latin also possesses two additional periphrastic constructions, aptly termed the active periphrastic and the passive periphrastic. The active periphrastic is used to express the notions of capability and tendency and is best translated as about to and going to. The passive periphrastic consists of the gerundive plus a form of the verb esse. In Latin structure, the active periphrastic consists of the future active participle plus a form of the verb esse. To express a personal agent in the passive periphrastic the dative is used. The chapter also presents matching exercises with unedited Latin excerpts and rough English translations. A short reading relating to the adventures of Hercules is also presented. These readings give the course a strong sense of narrative cohesion, providing opportunities to develop comprehension and translation skills.
