You have now read the passage through carefully, and thought out the vocabulary to the best of your ability. Begin then to translate the opening sentence, and pay great attention to these +7. General Rules.+--(1) Underline the +Principal Verb+, +Subject+ (if expressed), and +Object+ (if any). (2) If the sentence contains +only one finite verb+, all you have to do is to group round Subject, or Verb, or Object the words and phrases that belong to each of the three. (3) Translate the sentence literally. Do this mentally, without writing it down. (4) Then write down the best translation you can. For example:-- +At GERMANI celeriter, consuetudine sua phalange facta, IMPETUS gladiorum EXCEPERUNT.+ _But the Germans quickly formed into a phalanx, as was their custom, and received the attacks of the swords_ (i.e. of the Romans with drawn swords). (5) If the sentence contains one or more subordinate clauses, +consider each subordinate clause as if it were bracketed off separately+, and then deal with each clause as if it were a principal sentence, finding out its Subject, Verb, Object, and adding to each its enlargements. Then return to the sentence as a whole, and group round its Subject, Predicate, and Object the various subordinate clauses which belong to each. +8. Help through Analysis.+--Very often analysis will help you to find out the +proper relation of the subordinate clauses+ to the three parts of the Principal Sentence. You need not always analyse on paper, but do it +always in your mind+. You will find an example of a simple method of analysis at the close of Demonstrations I and IV, pp. 23, 47. When analysing, notice carefully that:-- (1) An enlargement of a Noun may be (a) An adjective +TERTIAM aciem.+ (b) A noun in apposition +Publius Crassus ADULESCENS.+ (c) A dependent genitive +impetus GLADIORUM.+ (d) A participle or participial +nostris LABORANTIBUS.+ phrase (e) An adjectival clause +Publius Crassus QUI EQUITATUI PRAEERAT.+ (2) An enlargement of a Verb may be (a) An adverb +CELERITER exceperunt.+ (b) A prepositional phrase +EX CONSUETUDINE SUA exceperunt.+ (c) An ablative absolute +PHALANGE FACTA exceperunt.+ (d) An adverbial clause +ID CUM ANIMADVERTISSET, Publius Crassus misit.+ +9. Help through Punctuation.+--Though only the full-stop was used by the ancients, the punctuation marks which are now used in all printed texts should be carefully noticed, especially in translating long and involved sentences. Thus in Demonstrations III and IV notice how the subordinate clauses are for the most part enclosed in commas.