I received this question:

Hello, Mr. Thomas!

 

     So I had another question concerning endings…I know you’ve mentioned that the endings are incredibly important to understanding Latin, and that one of the best ways to learn them is to read, but (and this could just be me making excuses to not have to memorize as many endings) do we really have to memorize every single ending? I have a notebook where I write down nearly every Latin-endings table that has popped up in the worksheets, along with notes that help me to understand the material better. While I going through my Latin-ending chants this morning, it made me wonder if I actually need to memorize the endings for 3rd Declension Two Ending Adjectives (for example). Obviously, the verb endings and probably a majority of the noun endings are important–if not crucial–to learning Latin well, but are the 3rd Declension Two Ending Adjectives (and all others like them) something I need to prioritize?

 

Thanks for your amazing help!

 

              -Alaina

Here is my reply:

Hi, Alaina!

Ugh.  I missed this one.  Going through emails this morning, I realize I never responded to you.   I apologize for the long delay. Finally catching up this morning…

The endings are important, that’s true.  But, I am with you.  Are ALL of the endings equally important?  I doubt it. 

I am currently learning French, Italian, and Greek.  Those languages have endings, too.  But, I don’t bother memorizing all of the endings.   At least, I don’t stress out about them.  I just try to find some charts to keep nearby while I work.  I reference the charts until I have the endings memorized.

Incidentally, I have created charts for Latin.  Took me years to get all of the endings onto four pages.  Literally.   Several years.  I used to sell the charts.  Now, I give them away for free.  Here they are:

https://dwanethomas.com/resources-latin/

Just scroll down a bit and download them.  Then, while you are working on Latin, just keep the charts nearby as a reference.  I have heard from hundreds of students that these charts have helped them so much.  Perhaps they will help you as well.

By the way, I create lots of explanatory videos for my site and for Visual Latin.  So, if you are ever stuck on a particular concept, don’t hesitate to ask for help. 

Hope you are having a great day!