Questions tagged [syntax]
The syntax tag has no usage guidance.
1
vote
1answer
35 views
Need translation Please of: Promissary of the future
Dear Translation Helpers, Could you please help me translate "Promissary of the Future" into true Latin? I have looked the words up, but they don't seem to make sense as the syntax is different and I ...
6
votes
1answer
51 views
Can “quam” be used as a mere intensifier to a superlative?
In a question about Augustine, this quotation is given:
Frustra itaque nonnulli, immo quam plurimi, aeternam damnatorum poenam et cruciatus sine intermissione perpetuos humano miserantur affectu, ...
8
votes
1answer
89 views
When and where to use which construction expressing purpose
To the best of my knowledge, the following constructions are used to express purpose in Latin:
ut + [subjunctive clause]
ad + [accusative gerund]
ad + [accusative gerundive] + [accusative noun]
[...
4
votes
1answer
64 views
Parsing Priapea IV
I'm kind of 'intermediate' Latin, and I can't find a completely satisfactory way to parse this poem (Priapea IV, Bucheler Ed. via latinlibrary):
Obscaenas rigido deo tabellas
dicans ex ...
4
votes
2answers
275 views
“Felix est rex is quem omnes cives amant”. Is the pronoun “is” necessary?
Considering the original phrase:
The king who all citizens love is happy.
(Portuguese: Feliz é o rei a quem todos os cidadãos amam.)
Here is a proposed Latin translation:
Felix est rex ...
8
votes
1answer
103 views
When to use “ac” instead of “et”?
What's the difference between the conjunctions: "et", and "ac"?
Which one corresponds to what kind of situation?
Allow me to elaborate for clarification, and to distinguish from similar questions. ...
4
votes
1answer
33 views
“Alligatus ego vinculis vitae” does it translate to “I am bound by the chains of life.”
I was wondering if this translates well. If it does not translate well to mean that phrase, I would appreciate if you could suggest a way to better phrase it in Latin.
5
votes
1answer
51 views
“I am divided. I am balanced. I am one.”
I was hoping someone with more experience in Latin could help me confirm whether this translation is correct or not:
Ego sum dividitur. Ego sum libratum. Ego sum unum.
Does this translate properly ...
5
votes
1answer
70 views
How to continue doing something?
There are many Latin verbs meaning roughly "continue", but I failed to find a description how to use any of them with another verb.
I would like to say things like "Keep walking!" and "She continues ...
4
votes
1answer
147 views
I'm really having trouble with “but” (as in “except”) in this phrase
I'm trying to say "No one but [i.e. except] love provokes me with impunity." where love is a metonymic stand-in for the person I love. I hope it makes sense. (You can read it as a personification if ...
3
votes
1answer
136 views
Fiat justitia in imperative mood?
I came across the Fiat ivstitia motto. The Wikipedia entry translates it as "Let justice be done". I need a bit of help to understand this.
I know justitia is a noun (like justicia, in Spanish, or ...
11
votes
1answer
79 views
How can participles (inflected forms) be distinguished from deverbal adjectives (derived forms) in Latin?
Many modern linguistic analyses of languages like English draw a sharp theoretical distinction between participles, which are analyzed as inflected forms belonging to the paradigm of some verb, and ...
5
votes
2answers
74 views
Irreal condition expressed by a prepositional phrase
In English one can say:
Without you I would not be here.
This is roughly the same thing as:
If you had not helped, I would not be here.
The exact wording depends on context.
In the second ...
8
votes
1answer
126 views
Was Classical Latin syntax complex on purpose?
Whenever I see Classical texts, the syntax of almost every sentence is really complex. On the other hand, medieval or Renaissance texts seem to have a word order that is more similar to modern Romance ...
4
votes
0answers
82 views
Mr Bean's Latin lyrics
I just saw an episode of Mr Bean and once again heard the choir sing in Latin.
Based on what I remember hearing and what I found online, the four segments sung are:
Start: Ecce homo qui est faba &...
6
votes
1answer
52 views
Use of Infinitive
Moreland has this adapted paragraph from Cicero's De Senectute. I'm slightly confused about the use of infinitive over here.
Moriens Cyrus maior haec dicit: "nolite arbitrari, o mihi carissimi
...
3
votes
0answers
41 views
Is the following sentence grammatically correct?
I'm in university and in creative writing they asked us to write a short story. I chose a mystery story and composed this sentence for it:
Omni usurpant optimes sapientes virtutes acceptum verum ...
4
votes
3answers
268 views
What is the correct way to write “The Prince's Book” in Latin?
Greetings Latin StackExchange. One of my hobbies is to write stories and in one of my stories I would like to incorporate an item called "The Prince's Book". My ideal goal is that this item is written ...
4
votes
3answers
282 views
Using “ad” vs. dative
The self-exercises in CAPVT VIII of Wheelock's Latin (7th Edition) include the following sentence (#11):
Litterās ad virginem scrībit.
He is writing a letter to the maiden.
I'm confused about ...
2
votes
1answer
88 views
What case is virtutis in “prope virum summae virtutis sto”?
Consider the sentence, "prope virum summae virtutis sto." What case is virtutis and why?
I'm pretty sure that it is genitive due to description, but I'm not sure. In case it helps, I translated it as,...
7
votes
2answers
99 views
Translating “We are her sword” into Latin
I'm trying to translate a sentence "We are her sword". It's supposed to be a motto for a warriors' guild under leadership of a female elf warrior in our tabletop RPG game. Other than the obvious ...
7
votes
2answers
244 views
Why is “et sine ipso factum est nihil quod factum est” translated into past tense?
I'm a beginner and noticing "est" a present tense verb, being translated in dozens of resources as "was." Why?
et sine ipso factum est nihil quod factum est = and without him nothing was made that ...
5
votes
1answer
55 views
Ne … quidem with preposition
What would be the translation of: He does not play even with his brother?
Could it be: Ne cum fratre suo quidem ludit?
Normally I have seen the structure ne ... quidem with a noun in the nominative ...
2
votes
1answer
58 views
Can a morphologically singular collective noun be syntactically plural?
In English the noun "family" is singular but it means a group (of people).
Syntactically it can be singular or plural: one can say "the family is/are…" with either choice.
Can this kind of ...
3
votes
1answer
42 views
Doing things “out of vanity”
How can I say "he did it out of vanity" in Latin?
The only thing I could see is a causal ablative: vanitate sua ita fecit.
Are there other options for doing something "out of vanity", "out of pity", ...
7
votes
1answer
287 views
how to tell when to use cum temporal and when cum circumstantial
So I have never, ever, ever been able to grasp fully any explanation in any textbook of the difference between cum temporal and cum circumstantial, because the examples they give always seem to ...
4
votes
1answer
101 views
Relative Clause of Purpose with Quo
Moreland has this sentence in Relative Clause of Purpose (Unit 14):
Properatis quo celerius adveniatis.
which it translates as:
You hasten by which you may arrive more quickly.
The adjective '...
4
votes
1answer
52 views
Epistemic Modality
Before the erudition of Cerberus, the concept of epistemic modality (EM) had passed me by. Now, I have a Q on this topic.
North & Hillard Ex. 216: "Whether the enemy were dismayed at so strange a ...
2
votes
1answer
585 views
How to parse “Dis Manibus” syntactically?
Almost everyone who has ever seen a Roman grave inscription has seen the phrase Dis Manibus or its abbreviation DM.
It starts almost every Roman tombstone I have seen.
I know it means "to/for the ...
3
votes
1answer
43 views
Does this adverb phrase apply to one or both verbs separated by 'vel'?
The quote below is from the Instituta Patrum de modo psallendi, an anonymous Carolingian or High Medieval (I myself would date it 800s or 900s) document on singing psalms in Gregorian chant. Source ...
3
votes
1answer
73 views
Numeral form for one pluralia tantum noun
One pants? One scissors? Oh, no way! This is a follow-up to the @brianpck's question How do I specify how many “litterae” or “castra” there are?, and the accepted answer was to use distributive ...
9
votes
1answer
1k views
Homo Novus vs Novus Homo
To my surprise, the English Wikipedia article about the concept of homines novi is called Novus Homo, not homo novus as I would expect.
I have been taught that Latin order is almost always ...
2
votes
1answer
69 views
Can the absolute ablative be used with a prepositional phrase?
In all cases of ablativus absolutus that I know, there is a main word and an attribute and both are in ablative.
For example, me absente is "while I am away" and Caesare duce is "when Caesar is in ...
6
votes
2answers
576 views
Walking “hand in hand”
How can I translate the sentence "We are walking hand in hand" in Latin?
I am not sure how to render "hand in hand".
A direct translation would be Ambulamus manus in manu.
But can I use a nominative ...
3
votes
1answer
63 views
Passive periphrastic with two datives
I want to translate the following as a passive periphrastic:
You must give your money to me!
My attempt so far is:
pecunia tua tibi danda est mihi
Because Latin rarely acknowledges word order, ...
6
votes
1answer
105 views
Translating “God knows how much/long” and similar
Consider these examples:
Mr. Johnson has been the janitor for God knows how long.
Right behind this park is the new bridge that cost God knows how much.
You can replace "God knows how" with "...
4
votes
2answers
36 views
Describing relative locations of material objects in Latin
I tried translating three sentences regarding topic in question and will appreciate it if you take time to check my attempts.
Chest is to the left of the bed.
Arca ad sinistram lectuli est.
...
4
votes
2answers
56 views
Event happening during action
How to translate to Latin sentences describing event occurring during another action. E.g.:
Walking under trees I noticed it.
My attempt:
Dum sub arboribus ambulabam id conspicavi.
Is ...
6
votes
3answers
6k views
How to curse someone in Latin?
Suppose I want to curse someone — I want to ask some gods or spirits to do evil upon a particular person.
(No, I'm not angry at any user of this site.)
How do I do this in Latin?
I am not ...
5
votes
1answer
137 views
The use of subjunctive in the future
I came across the usage of subjunctive the other day. I read that if the main verb is in the present, future or perfect with have, the subjunctive is in the present whereas if the main verb is in the ...
11
votes
3answers
4k views
“Deep” Meaning of “Gloria in excelsis Deo”
Sorry if the question is not very deep, please edit the question if it is not accurate in meaning.
According to Wikipedia (and common understanding of people who sang Gloria), the meaning is stated ...
4
votes
1answer
66 views
Translating “the nature of man” in Ancient Greek
As far as I know, the nature of man could be translated in at least two ways in Attic Greek:
ἡ φῠ́σῐς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου
ἡ τοῦ φῠ́σῐς ἀνθρώπου
The second version seems to have been more ...
12
votes
2answers
402 views
Does Latin have a mechanism to disambiguate possessive pronouns of the same gender referring to distinct persons?
Question: does Latin have a grammatical mechanism to disambiguate the ambiguous use of `his' in the third of the three following English sentences?
Person A wrote a book.
Then person B wrote a ...
7
votes
1answer
87 views
Does Classical Latin have “lilies prolepsis”?
There's a particular type of prolepsis in Greek which is often called "lilies prolepsis" because of the most famous example:
καταμάθετε τὰ κρίνα τοῦ ἀγροῦ πῶς αὐξάνουσιν
Consider the lilies of ...
10
votes
1answer
215 views
How to translate a deponent passive?
I was thinking about the verb sequi, an deponent which means to follow. I was wondering, how do you translate the deponent into a passive form?
So is it possible to translate the following sentences ...
5
votes
1answer
179 views
On the word order of “Sapere aude”
In putting together his dictum, Horace, as a native speaker of Latin, perhaps instinctively chose to put first the word "sapere," and then the word "aude," even if, strictly grammatically speaking, "...
4
votes
2answers
95 views
Using two future tenses together
I was trying to translate something to Latin, and I ended up writing something that made me feel uncertain.
For the purposes of this question, I stripped all unnecessary content to focus on what ...
6
votes
3answers
81 views
On the dative of reference
If I want to say in Latin I speak Latin easily, I say:
In Latīnā facile loquere possum.
But if I want to add to this the idea that it is in my opinion that I speak Latin easily, do I simply use ...
11
votes
1answer
214 views
What is the difference between accusative and genitive with meminisse?
The verb meminisse can take an accusative or a genitive object.
Also other constructions are possible (see the entry in L&S), but I want to focus on comparing these two in classical Latin.
Are ...
6
votes
1answer
61 views
In an indirect statement, could there be two infinitives in the dependent clause for different purposes?
The sentence is "The sailor realized that he himself ought to give the money back to the girl."
My translation is "Nauta intellexit se debere dare pecuniam retro puellae."
(If there are any errors ...
