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Sentence to translate:

Would you recommend me to read a book or to go for a walk if I asked you for advice?

My attempt:

Librum legere aut deambulationem ire me commendes si te ut consilium quaeram?

  1. Is usage of legere and ire correct here?
  2. I used present subjunctive for commendes and quaeram, is that ok?
  3. Is commendare correct word?
  4. Does ut consilium mean for advice or should for be translatem using different word than ut?
  5. Would petere be better than quaerere here?
  6. Are there mistakes not covered in previous questions? Do you have some other idea how to improve it?
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  • The original question is "Shall I read a book, or shall I go for a walk." I think that is usually "utrum, an ..." + future indicative. Rogo, rogabo, and rogavi will take the future subjunctive. Deambulo (1st) is simpler than deambulationem ire.
    – Hugh
    Jul 30, 2017 at 17:26

1 Answer 1

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The original question is "Shall I read or shall I walk?" (future indicative)

"Legamne an ambulabo?" or "Utrum legam an ambulabo?"

So, if your word for 'recommend' is in the present or future or past-perfect tense, then 'read' and 'go for a walk' will be utrum ..an with the future subjunctive. This is the compound verb composed of the future participle with the present subjunctive of sum, esse.

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  • Something like: Utrum librum lecturum sim an deambulaturum sim me commendes si te ut consilium quaeram? Can first sim be deleted?
    – user1846
    Jul 31, 2017 at 8:48
  • Great: you've sorted the indirect part. The next problem to solve is commendes. At present it is a statement. Somehow you have to turn it into a question. 'If I asked, you would recommend,' into 'If I asked, would you recommend?'
    – Hugh
    Jul 31, 2017 at 11:01
  • Isn't it so that at least some questions in Latin can be formed simply by putting a question mark at the end of a statement?
    – user1846
    Jul 31, 2017 at 11:17
  • If you say so. And in French all the time. But the enclitic interrogative particle would settle the matter.
    – Hugh
    Jul 31, 2017 at 11:26
  • I may be wrong about this. You mean -ne? Isn't it used purely for yes/no questions? To clarify - here I want to ask what the answer would be if I asked the question and not whether the answer would be given if I asked.
    – user1846
    Jul 31, 2017 at 11:31

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