Latin Declension and Conjugation as Aid to English Syntax

Abstract

Declension and Conjugation play significant roles in the study of Latin Language Grammar. It can be said that declension and conjugation are Latin. While the five declensions focus on the noun, pronoun adjective, and adverb (ablative), the four groups of conjugation, deal with the verb, essentially. ‘Aid’ in the context of this article implies that Latin is a reference point for effective use of the English language grammatically or syntactically. Syntactic theory which is concerned with the structure of languages is the basis for this article.  The objectives of this article are to address the reasons why grammatical blunders are made in English and secondly, to find solutions by applying the Latin declension and conjugation paradigms. This article discusses two aspects of English usage using Latin as an aid. They include the subject/object structure in a given sentence; and the use of the English twelve tense and aspects.  For the subject/object, the Latin Declension paradigm is the model for its explication.  The twelve tenses and aspects are based on Latin’s six aspects of tense structure irrespective of the four conjugations involved.  The article hinges on the syntactic analysis of the English sentence using Latin declension and conjugation as aid.  The essence of this article is to enhance the effective use of English by students and the general public. The article concludes with a recommendation that Latin be reintroduced in Nigeria’s school system.