22 votes

To what extent are Koine and modern Greek mutually intelligible?

It's anecdotal, but whenever I taught ancient Greek, my modern Greek students were usually the first to drop. It is not at all what they expected, and they were not happy about the ancient ...
cmw's user avatar
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20 votes

To what extent are Koine and modern Greek mutually intelligible?

Quite difficult. The pronunciation has changed significantly from Koine to Modern Greek, and anecdotally, my Modern-Greek-speaking friends and I usually have to write out words when discussing them: ...
Draconis's user avatar
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12 votes
Accepted

Is this Latin statement idiomatic? (Can't quite link it to the English translation)

Rather that being idiomatic, it's just a question of style. The Vulgate's translation is simply a little more verbose than the English or even the original Greek. It can be translated from the ...
Expedito Bipes's user avatar
11 votes
Accepted

Why does "Hominem unius libri timeo" use comparativus unius instead of positivus unum?

It looks like a comparative (cf. facilius, melius, and many others) but it is in fact a genitive. Thus unius libri is "of one book". The word unus has an unusual declension: nom: unus, una, ...
Joonas Ilmavirta's user avatar
10 votes
Accepted

How are the objects of comparatives handled grammatically?

Asteroides's answer is spot-on, but since the comments express confusion with it, I'll try explaining it a different way. Lac, as a mass noun, has no plural. Much like you wouldn't say *"the boy ...
Draconis's user avatar
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10 votes
Accepted

Jenney's First Year Latin, Lesson 37, comparatives with "quam"

I think I understand the root of your confusion, and the simple answer to your question: Why don't both sides of the quam agree? Is this: They do agree. I am more like you than he. A first point ...
brianpck's user avatar
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10 votes
Accepted

Are there many irregular adjectives for the Latin comparison?

Let me mention some things to complement your and TKR's lists. First, the adjectives iuvenis and senex have the irregular comparatives iunior and senior. These comparatives are rarely (if ever) used ...
Joonas Ilmavirta's user avatar
9 votes

Are there many irregular adjectives for the Latin comparison?

Allen and Greenough list three more, but they are rare: nequam, nequior, nequissimus "worthless" frugi, frugalior, frugalissimus "useful" dexter, dexterior, dextimus "on the right, handy"
TKR's user avatar
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8 votes

How are the objects of comparatives handled grammatically?

Plus is used as an adverb, adjective and noun. The adjective is used only with plural nouns, so the difference between your sentences is because milk (lac, lactis) is singular and so cannot be used ...
Asteroides's user avatar
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7 votes

To what extent are Koine and modern Greek mutually intelligible?

@Draconis pointed out that Homer is apparently a particularly hard to read example, and instead pointed me to what I believe is an example of Koine Greek (here) which I find relatively easy to read. ...
terdon's user avatar
  • 173
6 votes
Accepted

In the sentence "Glory is better than fame", is "fame" a predicate nominative?

In your title you ask if "fame" is a predicate nominative, and the answer to that question is no. A predicate nominative involves the linking of a noun with the subject via a copula (usually a form of ...
brianpck's user avatar
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6 votes
Accepted

Comparative applied to things other than adjectives or adverbs

There are two constructions you may use. The first is this. The comparative adjective plus (plural: plures, plura), which means "more", combined with quam ("than"). The two things being compared are ...
ktm5124's user avatar
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6 votes

Comparison of participles

We can semantically distinguish an adjective or adverb from a participle. Adjectives and adverbs have no dynamic or temporal force. They cannot take an accusative or clause as their object. They ...
Kingshorsey's user avatar
  • 6,279
6 votes

Comparison of participles

I used corpus searches to constrain the possibility of participle comparison. Here are the observations: Superlative of future participle: The only words with -turissim- are forms of maturissimus. No ...
Joonas Ilmavirta's user avatar
5 votes

Jenney's First Year Latin, Lesson 37, comparatives with "quam"

The two parts of the exercise are two different statements. The first holds the speaker (the subject) to be more like the addressee than someone else is. This becomes obvious if you add ‘is’ to the ...
Tom Cotton's user avatar
5 votes

Why is the comparative adjective of "clarus" not "clariusis"?

This phenomenon is not unique to comparatives. For example, the genitives of tempus and lepus are temporis and leporis, while you might expect tempusis and lepusis. You can simply learn and accept ...
Joonas Ilmavirta's user avatar
5 votes

Why is the comparative adjective of "clarus" not "clariusis"?

Th neuter adjective clarius is of the third declension, just like words such as praeceps (gen. praecipitis) and vetus (gen. veteris). As you can see, the genitive is often quite different from the ...
Cerberus's user avatar
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5 votes

multo/magno in comparative adjectives

The question should rather be, "can magno substitute for multo," and the answer is nullo modo. It is multo that modifies comparatives, magno is not used in that way. multo melior is correct ...
Sebastian Koppehel's user avatar
4 votes
Accepted

Ablative of Comparison w/ Relative Pronoun?

According to Gildersleeve and Lodge, Latin grammar §296, Remark 1.b.2: The Abl. [of comparison] is very common in negative sentences, and is used exclusively in negative relative sentences. So, ...
cnread's user avatar
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4 votes
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When did plus and minus start to mean mathematical operations?

The following extract from the Oxford English Dictionary, art. "plus", is perhaps of interest: The prepositional use (sense A. 1), from which all the other English uses developed, did not exist ...
fdb's user avatar
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4 votes
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Optimus and the comparative and superlative uses of adjectives in Latin

This is a bunch of questions, so I will give only a short answer to each. If you want more details, please ask a follow-up question with a narrower focus to dig deeper. What are the superlative and ...
Joonas Ilmavirta's user avatar
4 votes
Accepted

"Multi quidem facilius se abstinent ut non utantur, quam temperent ut bene utantur" (the usage of comparatives)

The two basic options that come to mind are: Ille facilius legit quam scribit. Illi facilius est legere quam scribere. The second one corresponds with the typical English phrasing. The first one is &...
Joonas Ilmavirta's user avatar
4 votes
Accepted

How do you say "5 times easier than" or "x times easier" in Latin?

In the English "5 times easier than" the number 5 doesn't usually seem to refer to anything concrete or easily measurable. Therefore I'd regard it as an idiom rather than an actual numerical ...
Joonas Ilmavirta's user avatar
3 votes

To what extent are Koine and modern Greek mutually intelligible?

I actually am greek (and my mother language is greek and I've lived in Greece all my life) and was taught ancient greek for some years in high school. The conclusion? It was like a foreign language. ...
Serafeim's user avatar
  • 131
3 votes

Translating "venustiorum" in Catullus 3

The Latin comparative and superlative are often translated as "more/-er" and "most/-est" in English, but not always. Sometimes it's a matter of absolute degree, what in English are ...
cmw's user avatar
  • 52.2k
3 votes

What is a list of 2 or 3 english words which somtimes make good substitutes for the word "quam"?

The usual English way to express that would be "I am happier than him".
Draconis's user avatar
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3 votes
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Are "ἑκάτερος" and "ἕκαστος" different degrees of the same adjective?

Beekes covers this: ETYM The solution of Wackernagel KZ 29 (1888): 144ff. is probably correct (see also Schwyzer: 6304): viz., that the word is from *ἑκάς τις 'every one for himself (cf. εἴς τις '...
cmw's user avatar
  • 52.2k
3 votes

Is this Latin statement idiomatic? (Can't quite link it to the English translation)

It is a matter of style. Reginaldus Foster in Ossa Latinitatis Sola mentions this on Page 43 and following. Contact with Latin literature will convince anyone and everyone of how the Romans loved ...
Figulus's user avatar
  • 4,448
3 votes

Comparison of participles

Pliny, writing of the pyramids of Gizeh in Naturalis Historia XXXVI: sed multo spectatior [comparative degree of positive spectatus, specto's perfect passive participle], "but much more splendid&...
Kevin McFoy Dunn's user avatar
3 votes

Comparison of participles

It seems to be difficult to distinguish participles from nouns/adjectives. This is a problem, because it seems clear that some adjectives with the form of participles have comparative forms. The idea ...
Asteroides's user avatar
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