What would be the right way to say "I haven't drove this red car in a year"

Question

I am thinking of either Nōn in annō hanc raedam rubrmam gubernō. or.. Nōn annum hanc raedam rubram gobernō.

I want to say something in the lines of "It's been a year since I last drove this red car".

To be fair, I am a beginner and I still struggle with cases lol. Hope anyone can help, and thank you :)

Sebastian Koppehel · Accepted Answer · 2021-12-13 22:32:47Z

6

There is a way to use cum with the indicative:

Unus annus est, cum raedam non guberno.
It is now one year that I have not driven the car.

Compare Cic. Phil. 12,24:

Vicesimus annus est, cum omnes scelerati me unum petunt.
For twenty years all the evildoers have assailed me alone.

answered Dec 13, 2021 at 22:32

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Thank you so much.
– Diego Ojeda
Commented Dec 14, 2021 at 2:08
Unless I'm getting mixed up, "unus" is a cardinal number, "vicesimus" is ordinal. Can either be used in this construction?
– Kingshorsey
Commented Dec 15, 2021 at 3:10
1

@Kingshorsey oops, you're right, that Cicero quote is not the best example. But see e.g. ad fam. 15,14: multi enim anni sunt, cum ille in aere meo est et a me diligitur. Both are possible, but now I'm wondering if vicesimus annus est does not mean "it has been nineteen years"? And in this case we would have to say secundus annus est, which seems a little weird to me; for one year, I like the cardinal-number version better.
– Sebastian Koppehel
Commented Dec 15, 2021 at 23:25

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