My attempt at writing in Latin

[purasbabosadas]

Salvēte,doctissimī.Latīnē scrībēre volō:

Subitō virum vīdī foedissimum:"Ego",inquit,"rēs numquam oculīs vīsa sum......."

(Anglicē:All of the sudden I caught sight of a despicable looking man:"I am a monstrosity",he said......)

Quid vōbīs vidētur?




There is no context.Just my attempt at writing something random.(maybe something said in a story?)Is it OK for a beginner?

 

[Scholiast]

Hello again purasbabosadas

Subitō virum vīdī foedissimum:"Ego",inquit,"rēs numquam oculīs vīsa sum......."

A decent first attempt, but the sentence in direct speech needs improvement. For 'I am a monstrosity' you could try simply '(ego) monstrum sum', or more elaborately 'oculis humanis [dative] indignus sum videri' ('I am not fit to be beheld by human eyes').

You do not need, incidentally, to mark in the macron signs, though modern Lexica and grammar-manuals do. Roman authors never used them—though of course you may find it helpful to do this while you study.

If you are really serious about this project, I would strongly recommend looking for a local or online tutor, with whom you can communicate by e-mail and Skype.

Σ

 

[bearded]

scrībēre

A marginal remark: it should be scriběre (stress on i, since the first e is short). I'm sure you know the penultimate-syllabe rule.

 

[purasbabosadas]

Hello again purasbabosadas


A decent first attempt, but the sentence in direct speech needs improvement. For 'I am a monstrosity' you could try simply '(ego) monstrum sum', or more elaborately 'oculis humanis [dative] indignus sum videri' ('I am not fit to be beheld by human eyes').

You do not need, incidentally, to mark in the macron signs, though modern Lexica and grammar-manuals do. Roman authors never used them—though of course you may find it helpful to do this while you study.

If you are really serious about this project, I would strongly recommend looking for a local or online tutor, with whom you can communicate by e-mail and Skype.

Σ

Thanks for the constructive criticism.You're right about the macrons,but I just like the way they look in texts.After purchasing a translation of Virgil(from the Loeb books you recommended),I've gotten a lot better at reading Latin,although I'm still a beginner.Before I was mainly memorizing vocab and grammar and forgetting a lot of what I learned.By reading more authentic content,everything is starting to make more sense.

A marginal remark: it should be scriběre (stress on i, since the first e is short). I'm sure you know the penultimate-syllabe rule.

Right.My mistake.