Here are some "Drill Masters" inspired by the work of Fr. Paul Distler adjusted to be used with Lessons 10, 11, and 12 of Fr. Most's Latin by the Natural Method.
Drill Masters for LNM 1
Help with Participles
A dash of verb + a pinch of adjective = a participle. (After declining thoroughly, sprinkle liberally over your sentences.) Participles: Latin has three kinds. These verbal adjectives do everything: sometimes are the main verb of a clause, sometimes serve as the subject of a sentence (and do other noun jobs, when they are substantives),... Continue Reading →
The “Hand Rule” for Latin Gender
Courtesy of the Teacher's Manual to Latin by the Natural Method, I learned a mnemonic for remembering the gender of many of the Latin nouns in 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 5th declensions. (3rd has many of each gender, so those are a different story!) I have made a PDF of the "Hand Rule" to illustrate... Continue Reading →
Dictionaries for Church Latinists
No matter how good the glossary is in the back of your Latin textbook, it can only take you so far. Everybody needs a Latin dictionary, and if your particular interest is Church Latin, you need a specialized Latin dictionary. Here are some suggestions: Print Dictionaries A Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin by Fr. Leo F.... Continue Reading →
Latin Sentence Diagramming
Sentence diagramming: it's grammar, visualized. Have you ever heard of this extremely useful tool? Using various kinds of lines throughout, you can see the internal grammatical structure of a sentence and its parts. Today you will see how it can help you understand principles of Latin grammar. Let's start with the simplest of examples. The... Continue Reading →
Latin Study Habits Tracker
Are you like me, one of those people who likes to check the box and celebrate when you do your daily tasks? I just love to set goals, plan successes, and track my progress. Today I present to you a free printable study tracker to help keep track of your progress at learning Latin, whichever... Continue Reading →
Best Latin Study Tools # 2: Method of Loci
This post details an "old" memorization method, one used by St. Thomas Aquinas, among many others, "back in the day." (So you know it has to be good!) It's not just for medieval scholastics, though: it will help your Latin studies in A.D. 2020 and beyond. I first learned about it from Dr. Kevin Vost's... Continue Reading →
Printable Flash Cards: LNM Lessons 1-10
This post is another excuse to mention and help you all use Fr. William Most's amazing textbook series Latin by the Natural Method. I highly recommend making the lists of vocabulary words in your notebook as he suggests in the Teacher's Guide. I certainly advocate using idea-mapping when studying each lesson. And I also think... Continue Reading →
Best Latin Study Tools: #1–Idea-Mapping
This is my favorite Latin study-aid of them all, so we will begin this series with it today. And actually, I already have an example of a "mind map" or "idea map" on this blog, explaining jobs the endings of Latin verbs do. (It's here if you want to see it.) An idea map is... Continue Reading →
Very Easy Latin Memory Work
Don't groan--this is a highly-powered mega-vitamin for your Latin skills! There is no better way I know to feel like Latin is a spoken language than having a repertoire of pieces in your mind that you can hear with your "mind's ear." You've learned some Latin words with your textbook--very good. But you probably didn't... Continue Reading →
Learn Church Latin 