Learning to Say Love
Pronounce the vowel sounds. If you want to say love in Latin you need to get to grips with pronunciation in Latin. Key to this is recognising long and short vowel sounds. In Latin these variations are shown by the diacritic marks above the letters a, e, i, o, and u. Short vowels are indicated like this: ă, ĕ, ĭ, ŏ, ŭ. Long vowels are indicated like this: ā, ē, ī, ō, ū. These diacritical marks are not part of the spelling of the word, they just indicate long and short vowels for pronunciation. If you were writing Latin you wouldn’t include these marks. To say “love” in Latin you need to concentrate on pronouncing the long vowels correctly. ā: as in the English father, not the [æ] in fat, or [ə] in apart. ē: as in the English they, but longer. Not the [ei] as "ey" in they, or [ə] in apart, or [i:] in ecology. ī: as in the English sheep. Not as [ai]. ō: as in the Italian ó in amore. ū: as in English root. Not as [ju:] you, or French "u", German "ü".
Learn the verb “to love.” The infinitive of the Latin verb “to love” is “amāre.” This is the basis upon which you can conjugate the verb to find its other forms. Latin grammar can be quite tricky, with many different conjugations having a big impact on the word. Here are some of the main conjugations for the present tense to get you started: First person singular: “amō.” Second person singular: “amās.” Third person singular: “amat.” First person plural: “amāmus.” Second person plural: “amātis.” Third person plural: “amant.”
Say “love” in the past tense. There are six tenses in Latin, and three of these (imperfect, perfect and pluperfect) concerns things that happened in the past. You can learn to say the verb “love” in these three past tenses. The imperfect tense describes actions continuing in the past. The perfect tense describes actions completed in the past. The pluperfect is used to describe something that happened before other actions in the past. Here is how you say “love” in the first person singular – second person singular – third person singular – first person plural in these tenses. Imperfect: “amābam” – “amābās” – “amābat” – “amābāmus.” Perfect: “amāvī” – “amāvistī” – “amāvit” – “amāvimus.” Pluperfect: “amāveram” – “amāverās” – “amāverat” – amaveramus.”
Say “love” in the future tense. Latin has two tenses for things happening in the future, the future tense and the future perfect tense. The future perfect is used to describe things which will be finished sometime in the future, whereas the future tense is used to describe actions taking place in the future. Here is how you say “love” in the first person singular – second person singular – third person singular – first person plural in these future tenses. Future: “amābō” – “amābis” – “amābit” – “amābimus.” Future Perfect: “amāverō” – “amāveris” – “amāverit” – “amaverimus.”
Recognise other variations. With Latin’s fairly complex system of grammar, there are still a great many other variations and conjugations of the verb “to love.” As well the six tenses, and the three persons (first (I), second (you) and third (he/she/it)), Latin verbs also have four “moods” and two “voices.” The “moods” are indicative, infinitive, subjunctive and imperative. The “voices” are active and passive. If you want to study the grammar for Latin verbs in more detail, you will have to spend some time getting on top of all these variations. The variations in verbs is at the heart of what makes Latin the language it is. To get to grips with Latin stylistics you will have to study verbal modifications.
Learn the noun “love.” Love is not only a verb of course, it is also a noun. It is a masculine noun, and the nominative singular version is “amor” in Latin. As with the verbs, the noun has a number of variations that change depending on the case of the verb, and whether it is singular or plural. Here are the forms for the nominative – genitive – dative – accusative – ablative – and vocative: Singular: “amor” – “amoris” – “amori” – “amorem” – amore” – “amor.” Plural: “amores” – “amorum” – “amoribus” – “amores” – “amoribus” – “amores.”
Learning Some Phrases
Say “I love you.” The various conjugations and variations in the form of the verb “to love” might be a bit overwhelming, so if you are just interested in learning how to say some nice Latin phrases with the word love here are a few examples. I love you: “te amo.” I love you, my angel: “te amo, mi angele.” Don’t cry. I love you: “nolo flere. Ego te amo.”
Pronouncing some key words and phrases. In Latin the pronunciation is fairly straightforward. There are no silent letters, unlike English, and you pronounce every consonant, vowel and diphthong separately. The diacritical marks on the vowels show you whether it is a long vowel or a short vowel. One good rule to remember is that if a word only has two syllables the emphasis always falls on the first syllable. “Te amō” is prouounced as tey ah-mo. “Ego te amō” is pronounced as ego tey ah-mo. “Amāre” is pronounced as am-aar-ey. “Amōr” is pronounce ah-moor. You can listen to “te amo” being pronounced online in case you are uncertain.
Learn some famous phrases. There are some famous, powerful and beautiful Latin phrases that include love. These phrases have been in circulation for hundreds and even thousands of years, and have a special timeless quality. You can learn a few of these to use in everyday life. “Amantes sunt amentes”: lovers are demented. “Amorea mortuus sum”: I am dead for love. “Caecus amor prolis”: the love for children is blind. “Fenus pecuniae, funus animae”: love of money, death of soul. “Homo sine amore vivere nequit”: a man without love cannot live.
Learn phrases from famous writers. With so much ancient and medieval literature written in Latin, there is a great depth of literary phrases and aphorisms in Latin about love. Dip into a works by famous writers and thinkers including the likes of Virgil, Cicero and St Augustine to get an idea of the history and importance of Latin. Here a few examples of phrases to do with love by some renowned writers of the past: Augustine – “Non intratur in veritatem, nisi per caritatem”: no one enters the truth, without love. Virgil – “Amor omnia vincit”: love conquers all. Augustine – “Ama Deum et fac quod vis”: love God and do what you want. Terence – “Amantium irae amoris integratio est”: the quarrels of lovers are the renewal of love.
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