Heavy Construction

Quantity of Vowels.

a. Vowels. A vowel before another vowel or h is short: as, via, trahó.

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• Exceptions. - 1. In the genitive form -ius, í is long: as, utríus, núllíus. It is, however, sometimes short in verse (§ 113. c).

  

• 2. In the genitive and dative singular of the fifth declension, e is long between two vowels: as, diéí; otherwise usually short, as in fideí, reí, speí.

  

NOTE: It was once long in these also: as, plénus fidéí (Ennius, at the end of a hexameter). A is also long before í in the old genitive of the first declension: as, auláí.

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• 3. In the conjugation of fíó, i is long except when followed by er. Thus, fíó, fíébam, fíam, but fíerí, fíerem; so also fit (§ 606. a. 3).

  

• 4. In many Greek words the vowel in Latin represents a long vowel or diphthong, and retains its original long quantity: as, Tróes (Trwes), Thalía (Jaleìa), héróas (hrwas), áér(ahp).

  

NOTE: But many Greek words are more or less Latinized in this respect: as, Académia, chorea, Malea, platea.

5. In d=ius, in eheu usually, and sometimes in Diána and ohe, the first vowel is long.

b. Diphthongs. A Diphthong is long: as, foedus, cui,[1][Rarely dissyllabic cui (as Mart. i. 104. 22).] aula.

Exception. - The preposition prae in compounds is generally shortened before a vowel: as, prae-ustís (Aen. vii. 524), prae-eunte (id. v. 186).

NOTE: U following q, s, or g, does not make a diphthong with a following vowel (see § 5. N. 2). For a-ió, ma-ior, pe-ior, etc., see § 11. d and N.

c. Contraction. A vowel formed by contraction (crasis) is long: as, níl, from nihil; cógó for co-agó; máló for má-voló.

NOTE: Two vowels of different syllables may be run together without full contraction (syniz=esis, § 642): as, deinde (for deinde), meós (for meós); and often two syllables are united by Synaeresis (§ 642) without contraction: as when parietibus is pronounced paryetibus.

d. A vowel before ns, nf, gn, is long: as, ínstó, ínfáns, sígnum.

Quantity of Syllables.

e. A syllable is long if it contains a long vowel or a diphthong: as, cá-rus, ó-men, foe-dus.

f. Position. A syllable is long by position if its vowel, though short, is followed by two consonants or a double consonant: as, adventus, cortex.

But if the two consonants are a mute followed by 1 or r the syllable may be either long or short (common) ; as, alacris or alacris; patris or patris.

Vowels should be pronounced long or short in accordance with their natural quantity without regard to the length of the syllable by position.

NOTE 1: The rules of Position do not, in general, apply to final vowels before a word beginning with two consonants.

NOTE 2: A syllable is long if its vowel is followed by consonant i (except in biiugis, quadriiugis): see § 11. d.

NOTE 3: Compounds of iació, though written with one i, commonly retain the long vowel of the prepositions with which they are compounded, as if before a consonant, and, if the vowel of the preposition is short, the first syllable is long by position on the principle of § 11. e.

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• obicis hostí (at the end of a hexameter, Aen. iv. 549).

  

• inicit et saltú (at the beginning of a hexameter, Aen. ix. 552).

  

• próice téla manú (at the beginning of a hexameter, Aen. vi. 836).

  

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• Later poets sometimes shorten the preposition in trisyllabic forms, and prepositions ending in a vowel are sometimes contracted as if the verb began with a vowel:

  

• • 

  • (1) cúr an|nós obi|cis (Claud. iv C. H. 264).

    

  • (2) reice ca|pellás (Ecl. iii. 96, at end).

    

  NOTE 4: The y or w sound resulting from synaeresis (§ 642) has the effect of a consonant in making position: as, abietis (abyetis), fluviórum (fluvy=orum). Conversely, when the semivowel becomes a vowel, position is lost: as, siluae, for silvae.

  FINAL SYLLABLES.

  604.

  The Quantity of Final Syllables is as follows: -

  a. Monosyllables ending in a vowel are long: as, mé, tú, hí, né.

  1. The attached particles -ne, -que, -ve, -ce, -pte, and re- (red-) are short; sé- (séd-) and dí- are long. Thus, sécédit, séditió, exercitumque redúcit, dímittó. But re- is often long in réligió (relligió), rétulí (rettulí), répulí (reppulí).

  b. Nouns and adjectives of one syllable are long: as, sól, ós (óris), bós, pár, vás (vásis), vér, vís.

  Exceptions. - cor, fel, lac, mel, os (ossis), vas (vadis), vir, tot, quot.

  c. Most monosyllabic Particles are short: as, an, in, cis, nec. But crás, cúr, én, nón, quín, sín - with adverbs in c: as, híc, húc, síc - are long.

  d. Final a in words declined by cases is short, except in the ablative singular of the first declension ; in all other words final a is long. Thus, ea stella (nominative), cum eá stellá (ablative) ; frústrá, vocá (imperative), posteá, trígintá.

  Exceptions. - éia, ita, quia, puta (suppose); and, in late use, tríginta etc.

  e. Final e is short: as in núbe, dúcite, saepe.

  Exceptions. - Final e is long - 1. In adverbs formed from adjectives of the first and second declension, with others of like form: as, alté, longé, miseré, aperté, saepissimé. So feré, fermé.

  But it is short in bene, male ; ínferne, superne.

  2. In nouns of the fifth declension: as, fidé (also famé), facié, hodié, quáré (quá ré).

  3. In Greek neuters plural of the second declension: as, cété; and in some other Greek words: Phoebé, Circé, Andromaché, etc.

  4. In the imperative singular of the second conjugation: as, vidé.

  But sometimes cave, habe, tace, vale, vide (cf. § 629. b. 1).

  f. Final i is long: as in turrí, fílí, audí.

  Exceptions. - Final i is common in mihi, tibi, sibi, ibi, ubi ; and short in nisi, quasi, sícuti, cui (when making two syllables), and in Greek vocatives: as, Alexi.

  g. Final o is common: but long in datives and ablatives; also in nouns of the third declension. It is almost invariably long in verbs before the time of Ovid.

  Exceptions. - cito, modo (dummodo), immo, profecto, ego, duo, cedo (the imperative); so sometimes octo, ílico, etc., particularly in later writers.

  h. Final u is long. Final y is short

  i. Final as, es, os, are long ; final is, as, ys, are short: as, nefás, rúpés, servós (accusative), honós ; hostis, amícus, Tethys.

  Exceptions. - 1. as is short in Greek plural accusatives: as, lampadas ; and in anas.

  2. es is short in the nominative of nouns of the third declension (lingual) having a short vowel in the stem: as, míles (-itis), obses (-idis), - except abiés, ariés, pariés, pés ; in the present of esse (es, ades) ; in the preposition penes, and in the plural of Greek nouns: as, héróes, lampades.

  3. os is short in compos, impos ; in the Greek nominative ending: as, barbitos: in the old nominative of the second declension: as, servos (later servus).

  4. is in plural cases is long: as in bonís, nóbís, vóbís, omnís (accusative plural).

  5. is is long in the verb forms fís, sís, vís (with quívís etc.), velís, málís, nólís, edís ; in the second person singular of the present indicative active in the fourth conjugation: as, audís ; and sometimes in the forms in -eris (future perfect indicative or perfect subjunctive).

  6. us is long in the genitive singular and nominative, accusative, and vocative plural of the fourth declension ; and in nouns of the third declension having ú (long) in the stem: as, virtús (-útis), incús (-údis). But pecus, -udis.

  j. Of other final syllables, those ending in a single consonant are short Thus, amat, amátur ; dónec, fac, procul, iubar.

  Exceptions. - híc (also híc); alléc; the ablatives illóc, etc.; certain adverbs in -c: as, illíc, istúc; lién, and some Greek nouns: as, áér, aethér, crátér.

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