Question 1

What is NCEA AS 91194 about?

Accepted Answer

In this external exam, students read a passage of Latin (about 150 words, adapted from a real ancient text) and write a full English translation of it. A vocabulary list is provided, but students must know Latin grammar and sentence structures themselves. The exam is worth 6 credits and sits at NCEA Level 2.

Question 2

What do students need to do for AS 91194?

Accepted Answer

1. Read a Latin passage of about 150 words — usually a narrative story adapted from an authentic ancient source (in 2025 it involved Hercules). 2. Use the provided vocabulary list to look up word meanings, parts of speech, and grammatical information. 3. Apply your knowledge of Latin grammar — things like verb tenses, noun cases, participles, and sentence structures — to work out what each part of the passage means. 4. Write a complete, accurate English translation that captures both the basic story and the finer details of the Latin.

Question 3

What's the difference between Achieved, Merit, and Excellence for AS 91194?

Accepted Answer

Achieved: You get the overall story right. You translate straightforward verb tenses correctly, link nouns with their adjectives, handle basic prepositional phrases, and use the vocabulary list sensibly (e.g. choosing the right meaning when a word has options). Merit: You handle trickier grammar accurately too — things like present and past participles, pronouns in different cases, infinitives used after certain verbs, and most verb tenses including less common ones. You use the vocabulary list carefully to distinguish between similar-looking words. Excellence: You correctly translate the most complex structures: ablative absolute phrases (rendered as a full clause in English), indirect speech (also as a full clause), future infinitives, and deponent verbs. Your English is clear and unambiguous throughout, with no missing detail.

Question 4

What mistakes do students typically make in AS 91194?

Accepted Answer

1. Mixing up similar-looking Latin words — for example confusing reficere and recrearet, or forte ('by chance') with a form of 'brave'. 2. Not recognising pluperfect tenses and translating them as simple past or imperfect instead. 3. Failing to link nouns correctly with their adjectives or participles (e.g. getting the number or case agreement wrong, as with cibo gravatum vinoque). 4. Not distinguishing between in + accusative (motion towards) and in + ablative (location). 5. Leaving out whole phrases from the translation. 6. Translating ablative absolutes or indirect speech as single words or short phrases rather than as full clauses — this is one of the main things separating Merit/Excellence from lower grades. 7. Writing alternative translations in brackets in the answer — examiners do not count this as an improvement and it can actually hurt your mark. 8. Not reading the introductory passage context before starting, which makes it harder to follow the story.

Translating Latin

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