Four Essential Latin Verbs
A Bite-Size Visual Approach to Vocabulary Learning
Not all of us can dedicate several hours a week to studying Latin. But all of us can spare five minutes to learn four or five new words a day.
It is in that spirit that I offer this simple poster featuring four basic yet very common verbs: cantāre, plōrāre, rīdēre, and pulsāre.
As always, I follow the pedagogical principle that vocabulary is best learned through images. For that reason, I draw from some of the finest medieval and Renaissance art — along with a gem from contemporary meme culture.
The goal is not to anchor Latin words to their English translations (which should serve only as a temporary aid), but to connect them to concrete actions in your imagination.
A useful learning tip: cover the Latin words on the poster and try to recall the verb simply by looking at the image and the English meaning.
If you enjoy this way of learning Latin, discover a more structured, effective, and engaging approach in my beginner course, Latin I: First Steps, where I follow the same pedagogical principles — learning Latin in Latin, as a living and vibrant language.
Interesting approach. I have some 19th century American books that take that means of teaching English to German immigrants.
Wish I'd had something like that during my long years of studying classical Latin, and then Vulgate and Church Latin!!
Another challenge is idioms. As a hobby. I tutored Asian immigrants in English idioms. Sometime challenging, sometimes humorous. always rewarding.
Great stuff. I've done a bit of Italian so I know two of them.