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Year 9 Latin revision questions

Year 9 is the awkward bridge year: still Key Stage 3 in school life, but already starting GCSE habits. This page gives free Year 9 Latin practice from GradeNinja's own bank - 61 auto-marked questions across 1 Year 9 topic set.

What Year 9 revision should do

The aim is not to cram GCSE papers early. It is to make the first GCSE topics feel normal: short retrieval practice, clear corrections, and enough repetition that classwork sticks before Year 10 gets busy.

Use these as ten-minute checks after a lesson or before homework. If you miss one, read the explanation, then come back tomorrow and answer it cold.

How GradeNinja pitches it

Year 9 questions are pulled from late Key Stage 3 and foundation GCSE bridge material. They should feel harder than Year 8, but they are not meant to be full Year 11 exam questions.

Year 9 (Starting GCSE) - Practice Mix80 questions

Best way to use this page

Answer first, then reveal. The useful bit is the retrieval attempt, not reading the answer. If a topic keeps going wrong, paste the homework or Google Classroom text into GradeNinja's Classroom import tool and turn it into a focused pack.

Year 9 Latin practice questions

Real questions from GradeNinja's own bank, with the answer and the explanation the app gives. Tap to reveal.

Question 1 · Year 9 (Starting GCSE) - Practice Mix
In which year did Mount Vesuvius erupt, destroying Pompeii and Herculaneum?
  1. 62 AD
  2. 79 AD
  3. 27 BC
  4. 410 AD
Show the answer

79 AD

Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD. An earthquake in 62 AD had already damaged Pompeii, which was still being repaired when the eruption struck.

Question 2 · Year 9 (Starting GCSE) - Practice Mix
What does 'aqua' mean in Latin?
  1. Fire
  2. Earth
  3. Water
  4. Air
Show the answer

Water

'aqua' means water. English derivatives: aquarium, aquatic, aqueduct. ignis = fire, terra = earth, aer = air.

Question 3 · Year 9 (Starting GCSE) - Practice Mix
What is the second person singular present active of 'amare' (to love)?
  1. amo
  2. amas
  3. amat
  4. amatis
Show the answer

amas

amas = you (singular) love. Present active conjugation: amo (I), amas (you sg.), amat (he/she), amamus (we), amatis (you pl.), amant (they).

Question 4 · Year 9 (Starting GCSE) - Practice Mix
Which ending marks the dative and ablative plural of third declension nouns?
  1. -um
  2. -ibus
  3. -es
  4. -i
Show the answer

-ibus

-ibus is the dative and ablative plural ending for third declension nouns: militibus (to/for/by the soldiers), regibus (to/for/by the kings).

Question 5 · Year 9 (Starting GCSE) - Practice Mix
The English word 'manuscript' combines which two Latin roots?
  1. manus (hand) + scribere (to write)
  2. mare (sea) + scriptum (written)
  3. magnus (great) + scriptor (writer)
  4. manus (hand) + spectare (to look)
Show the answer

manus (hand) + scribere (to write)

manuscript = manus (hand) + scriptus (written, from scribere): literally 'written by hand'.

Question 6 · Year 9 (Starting GCSE) - Practice Mix
What is the comparative form of the Latin adjective 'magnus' (great)?
  1. maximus
  2. magnissimus
  3. maior
  4. magis
Show the answer

maior

maior = greater/larger (comparative of magnus). The superlative is maximus (greatest/largest). magnus has an irregular comparative and superlative.

Question 7 · Year 9 (Starting GCSE) - Practice Mix
What is the dative singular of 'servus' (slave, second declension)?
  1. servi
  2. servo
  3. servum
  4. serve
Show the answer

servo

Second declension dative singular ends in -o: servus → servo (to/for the slave). servi = genitive singular, servum = accusative singular, serve = vocative singular.

Question 8 · Year 9 (Starting GCSE) - Practice Mix
Translate: 'rex in horto ambulabat'
  1. The king walks into the garden
  2. The king was walking in the garden
  3. The king ran through the garden
  4. The king will walk in the garden
Show the answer

The king was walking in the garden

rex = king (nom.), in horto = in the garden (ablative of place where), ambulabat = was walking (3rd sg. imperfect). Imperfect = ongoing past action.

Question 9 · Year 9 (Starting GCSE) - Practice Mix
Translate: 'milites per vias currunt'
  1. The soldier stands in the street
  2. The soldiers run through the streets
  3. The soldiers march into battle
  4. The soldier fights in the city
Show the answer

The soldiers run through the streets

milites = soldiers (nominative plural), per vias = through the streets (per + accusative plural), currunt = they run.

Question 10 · Year 9 (Starting GCSE) - Practice Mix
Who was Julius Caesar's adopted son and first Roman emperor?
  1. Mark Antony
  2. Pompey
  3. Augustus
  4. Tiberius
Show the answer

Augustus

Gaius Octavius became Augustus Caesar after defeating Mark Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium (31 BC). He was Rome's first emperor.

Question 11 · Year 9 (Starting GCSE) - Practice Mix
What does the Latin perfect tense typically express?
  1. An action happening right now
  2. An action that continues without end
  3. A completed action in the past
  4. An action that will happen
Show the answer

A completed action in the past

The perfect tense describes a completed past action: portavi = I carried / I have carried.

Question 12 · Year 9 (Starting GCSE) - Practice Mix
What does 'laborat' mean?
  1. He/she is sleeping
  2. He/she is working
  3. He/she is eating
  4. He/she is running
Show the answer

He/she is working

'Laborat' is the 3rd person singular present tense of 'laboro' — he/she works (or is working). From this comes the English word 'labour'.

Question 13 · Year 9 (Starting GCSE) - Practice Mix
What does 'nauta' mean?
  1. Soldier
  2. Sailor
  3. Farmer
  4. Merchant
Show the answer

Sailor

'nauta' (first declension masculine) means sailor. miles = soldier, agricola = farmer, mercator = merchant. English: nautical.

Question 14 · Year 9 (Starting GCSE) - Practice Mix
In 'urbe capta' (the city having been captured), what kind of participle is 'capta'?
  1. Present active
  2. Perfect passive
  3. Future active
  4. Present passive (does not exist)
Show the answer

Perfect passive

capta is the perfect passive participle of capere, agreeing with urbe (ablative feminine singular): the action (capturing) happened to the city before the main verb's action.

Question 15 · Year 9 (Starting GCSE) - Practice Mix
In 'librum pulchrum legit', what case and number is 'librum pulchrum'?
  1. Nominative singular
  2. Accusative singular
  3. Genitive plural
  4. Dative singular
Show the answer

Accusative singular

librum pulchrum = accusative singular (the beautiful book — direct object of legit = reads). Both noun and adjective are in the accusative to agree with each other.

Question 16 · Year 9 (Starting GCSE) - Practice Mix
In a Latin sentence, the nominative case is used for:
  1. The object of the verb
  2. The subject of the verb
  3. Showing possession
  4. After prepositions
Show the answer

The subject of the verb

The nominative case marks the subject — the person or thing performing the action. Eg 'Servus laborat' — the slave works ('servus' is nominative).

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Common questions

Are these Year 9 Latin questions GCSE level?

They are bridge questions: harder than early Key Stage 3, but not pitched as full Year 11 GCSE exam papers. The point is to prepare the habits and core knowledge early.

Can I use Google Classroom homework with GradeNinja?

Yes. Use Classroom import in the app: paste the Google Classroom post, homework email or assignment brief and it turns the topics into practice questions and flashcards.

How often should a Year 9 revise Latin?

Short and often. Ten minutes after a lesson or a few times a week is more useful than one long session before a test.

Is GradeNinja free for Year 9?

Yes, signing up is free. GradeNinja has Year 9 bridge content plus the wider question bank across 28 subjects.

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