IB Test Taking Issues

Scansion test: What I noticed Always mark the last syllable with an “x” There are NO dipthongs that begin with “i” When doing elision, the first vowel goes away, not the second. The exception to this rule is if the second word is “est”, then the “e” goes away e.g. Illa est = illa (e) st The “e” in “que” is not long by nature. “i” before “u” is frequently consonantal. If the first vowel is part of the base and the second is part of the endings, it is not a dipthong. Danaum base dana ending um therefore au not a dipthong.

Scansion continued In dactylic hexameter ( Vergil) the only options are: Dactyl long short short Spondee long long Fifth foot must be dactyl, last foot long x In elegiac couplet (Ovid Heroides) the only options are Dactyl Spondee Long syllable by itself as the third measure and the last measure 4 th foot and 5 th foot must be dactyls

Basic rules of scansion Every vowel is a syllable unless it is a dipthong. Dipthongs are two vowels that make one sound and are counted as one syllable; they are always long; dipthongs are Ae Au Oe Ei Eu Ui But if the first letter is part of the base and the second letter is part of the ending, it does not count as a dipthong. “y” is a vowel; “i” frequently is not a vowel if if makes the “y” or “j” sound like in Iulia. The “u” after a “q” does not count as a vowel.

Long position Vowel followed by two consonants = long “h” does not count “x” and “z” count as two consonants If you have a vowel followed by b,d,g,p,t,c,f, (bad dogs get paid to catch flies) followed by l or r, the vowel can be either long or short If one word ends with a vowel, and the next word begins with a vowel, the first vowel elides or goes away. You can also elide the “um” in some instances. See earlier note about est.

Long by nature The following endings are long by nature for nouns and usually adjectives All accusative plurals except the neuter a Dative and ablative plural “is” All ablative singulars except the “e” for third declension Nearly all vowels in second declension masc except nom sing and acc sing No acc singulars are long by nature All nom pl except neuter are long