AP Latin Short Answer Question Practice
25 Short Answer Questions written in the AP format. Pick one, read the Latin passage, and answer every part.
Your first scored response is included. A plan unlocks unlimited scoring.
25 questions
sorted by unit
Juno's divine petition for Latium's future
Answer the following questions in English unless the question specifically asks you to provide Latin words. Base your answers on the Latin passage below.
Source: Vergil, Aeneid 12.819-828
Illud te, nulla fati quod lege tenetur,
pro Latio obtestor, pro maiestate tuorum:
cum iam conubiis pacem felicibus (esto)
component, cum iam leges et foedera iungent,
ne vetus indigenas nomen mutare Latinos
neu Troas fieri iubeas Teucrosque vocari
aut vocem mutare viros aut vertere vestem.
Sit Latium, sint Albani per saecula reges,
sit Romana potens Itala virtute propago:
occidit, occideritque sinas cum nomine Troia.
Albanus, -a, -um, adj.: Alban, inhabiting Alba Longa (a city in Italy)
foedus, -eris, n.: alliance
indigenus, -a, -um, adj.: native
Italus, -a, -um, adj.: Italian
iungo, -ere: to join
Latinus, -a, -um, adj.: Latin, of Latium
maiestas, -atis, f.: dignity
neu, adv.: nor
obtestor, -ari: = oro, -are
propago, -inis, f.: offspring
sino, -ere: to allow
Troas: acc. pl., "Trojans"
(i) Translate in context the phrase nulla fati quod lege tenetur (line 1).
(ii) Identify the case of lege.
Translate in context the phrase pro maiestate tuorum (line 2).
Identify the antecedent of quod (line 1).
Translate in context the phrase vocem mutare viros (line 7).
Identify or describe the grammatical use of the subjunctive verb Sit (line 8).
Identify one and only one action that Juno asks Jupiter not to require of the Latins in lines 5–7 (ne...vestem).
Identify what Paris did that made Juno hostile to the Trojans and thus contributed to the events leading to the Trojan War.
What the Short Answer Question asks
The Short Answer Question is FRQ 1 on the AP Latin exam. You get a passage of Vergil or Pliny from the required readings and answer a series of short questions on translation, grammar, scansion, style, and context.
- 15 min
- suggested time
- 8 points
- across parts A to G
- 10%
- of your exam score
Part A: Translate and identify
Translate a phrase in context, then identify a case, form, or construction in it
2 pts
Part B–G: Six short answers
Meaning in context, antecedents, grammar, content, and background from the readings
6 pts
How Short Answer Question practice works
Each question follows the exam’s format, from the full prompt to a score on every part.
Read the passage and every part
The Latin passage and all seven parts, A through G, laid out the way the exam shows them.
Write on a 15-minute timer
The time to plan for on exam day. Pause it or turn it off, and your response saves as you go.
Submit for a score out of 8
Your response is scored against the scoring guidelines written for that question. Your first score is included.
Feedback on every part
A summary at the top tells you what to work on next. Below it, each part shows whether you earned the point and what the scoring guidelines were looking for.
Detailed Feedback
Part A(A(i)): 0/1 point
Did not earn the point. Your translation 'Having being untied from fear in the same manner' has two problems. First, 'adeo' means 'so' or 'to such a degree' — it's an intensifier, not 'in the same manner.' You needed something like 'so free from fear' or 'freed from fear to such a degree.' Second, 'untied' is a stretch for 'solutus' — while it technically comes from 'solvo,' the contextual meaning here is 'free' or 'released.' The intensifier 'adeo' is the key word you missed.
Part A(A(ii)): 1/1 point
Earned the point. You correctly identified 'metu' as ablative.
Part B: 1/1 point
Earned the point. You identified 'maximo' as meaning 'maximum' or 'to the fullest extent,' which captures the superlative sense required. To make this even stronger, you could note that it contrasts with 'studioso animo' to show the scale of Pliny's spirit in undertaking the mission.
Questions about the Short Answer Question
How many responses can I get scored?
You can read every question without a plan. Your first scored response is included. A plan unlocks unlimited scoring.
How do I mark scansion?
Pick one notation and keep to it: D and S for dactyls and spondees, or - and u for long and short syllables. You can also switch to handwrite and add a photo of your marked lines.
How much should I write for each part?
Only what the part asks. If it asks for one action, give one. A translate-in-context part needs English that shows the Latin syntax, like “in order to” for a purpose clause.
Which authors are on it?
Vergil’s Aeneid and Pliny the Younger’s Letters, from the required readings. Each question uses one passage from one of them.
Are these real College Board questions?
No. We wrote them in the AP format, with passages from the required readings, and wrote scoring guidelines for each one.
More AP Latin practice
Write your first Short Answer Question
Pick one from the list, or let us choose for you.
Teaching AP Latin? Assign these Short Answer Questions to your class