Latin: Lower Intermediate - Part 1



Overview

This course will cover the grammar in sections 3A-D and 4A of Jones’ and Sidwell’s Reading Latin: Grammar and Exercises, i.e. taking up where the previous module (Latin: Beginners - Part 2) stopped. New students at the appropriate level of proficiency are welcome.

Each week, we will complement our grammar learning by reading selected passages from Reading Latin: Text and Vocabulary, sections 3(A-D); we will gain insights into early Roman legends and history. We will also begin reading from section 4A, an adaptation of Cicero’s second oration against Verres.

This course combines online study with a weekly 1-hour live webinar led by your tutor. Find out more about how our short online courses are taught.

Programme details

This course begins on the 18 Sept 2025 which is when course materials are made available to students. Students should study these materials in advance of the first live meeting which will be held on 25 Sept 2025, 12.30-1.30pm (UK time).

Week 1: Pronouns: revision of ille and hic; the pronoun is. The accusative of time.

Week 2: Adjectives: comparative and superlative.

Week 3: Verbs: perfect indicative deponent; semi-deponents; perfect participles deponent.

Week 4: Verbs: consolidation. Irregular adverbs. Personal pronouns and possessive adjectives: revision; sē and suus.

Week 5: Verbs: future participles; perfect participles of active verbs; principal parts.

Week 6: Pronouns : īdem, nēmo. Comparative and superlative adverbs. The interrogative particle nōnne.

Week 7: Datives: revision; new usages. 

Week 8: Verbs: imperfect tense, active and deponent; revision of infinitives.

Week 9: Verbs: perfect and future infinitives. Syntax: reported statements.

Week 10: Revision of reported statements. Pronouns: iste, quīdam.

Textbooks

To participate in the course you will need to buy, or have regular access to, the following books:

  • Jones, P. V. (Peter V.), and Keith C Sidwell. Reading Latin. Text and Vocabulary.Second edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016.
  • Jones, P. V. (Peter V.), and Keith C Sidwell.Reading Latin. Grammar and Exercises.Second edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016.

In addition to the course textbook, there will be additional learning resources made available for self-study and consolidation.

Please ensure you are able to access copies of any required textbooks prior to enrolling on a course but please keep in mind that courses with insufficient students enrolled will be cancelled. The Department accepts no responsibility for books bought in anticipation of a course running.

Fees

Description Costs
Course Fee £360.00

Funding

If you are in receipt of a UK state benefit, you are a full-time student in the UK or a student on a low income, you may be eligible for a reduction of 50% of tuition fees. Please see the below link for full details:

Concessionary fees for short courses

Tutor

Dr Holly Hunt

Holly studied Classics at Balliol College, Oxford, where she earned a BA and an MSt. She moved five minutes down the road to St Anne’s College during her DPhil, to teach papers on ancient Greek language and literature at this college. Upon completing her doctorate on Aristophanes and humour theory, she became a lecturer in Classical languages at Regent’s Park College (still, despite the name, in Oxford). Her interests encompass archaic and classical Greek literature, and the application of cognitive theory to reading ancient texts.

Course aims

To consolidate and broaden students' knowledge of Latin grammar, syntax and vocabulary and familiarise them with aspects of the culture; to develop students' confidence in translating extended Latin texts.

Course objectives: 

  • To revise and consolidate the Latin grammar studied to date.
  • To expand students' knowledge of verbs, adjectives, pronouns, uses of the cases, and familiarise them with some more complex syntax.
  • To expand the range of Latin vocabulary.
  • To examine Latin texts at the appropriate level of difficulty.
  • To discuss the myths of the foundation of Rome, and some events of its early and late republican history.

Teaching methods

Learning takes place on a weekly schedule. At the start of each weekly unit, students are provided with learning materials on our online platform, including one hour of pre-recorded video, often supplemented by guided readings and educational resources. These learning materials prepare students for a one-hour live webinar with an expert tutor at the end of each weekly unit which they attend in small groups. Webinars are held on Microsoft Teams, and provide the opportunity for students to respond to discussion prompts and ask questions. The blend of weekly learning materials that can be worked through flexibly, together with a live meeting with a tutor and their peers, maximise learning and engagement through interaction in a friendly, supportive environment.

 

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course, students will:

  • have learnt some new tenses, comparative and superlative adjectives and adverbs, and several new pronouns;
  • become familiar with perfect and future participles and with an important syntactical construction, the indirect statement;
  • have acquired some new vocabulary items and idioms;
  • be able to read with confidence Latin texts at the appropriate level of difficulty;
  • be prepared to undertake the module Latin: Lower Intermediate - Part 2.

Assessment methods

You will be set short, optional weekly tasks to consolidate your learning and help you progress at your own pace.

Application

Please use the 'Book' or 'Apply' button on this page. Alternatively, please complete an Enrolment form for short courses | Oxford University Department for Continuing Education

Level and demands

Requirements: at the beginning of the course, you will already be familiar with the grammar covered in sections 1(A-G) and 2(A-E) of Jones’ and Sidwell’s Reading Latin: Grammar and Exercises. You will have experience in reading, analysing and translating extended Latin passages (appropriately adapted).

 

Terms & conditions for applicants and students

Information on financial support