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CH6 SA7
Posted: Thu Jul 15, 2010 8:08 am
by Aphrodite
How can I translate the sentence "Patria Romanorum erat plena Graecorum librorum statuarumque pulchrarum." into English? The word patria and plena is f.,"statuarumque pulchrarum" should beautification them. Which do the words"Romanorum,Graecorum librorum" beautification? I am confused about them.
Re: CH6 SA7
Posted: Thu Jul 15, 2010 5:15 pm
by furrykef
What do you mean "beautification"? Do you mean "modify"?
"Rōmānōrum" modifies "patria". "Graecōrum librōrum" and "statuārum pulchrārum" modify "plēna". The adjective "plenus" is used with the genitive to mean "full of..."
Do you understand the sentence now?
Re: CH6 SA7
Posted: Sun Jul 18, 2010 9:14 am
by Aphrodite
patria is feminine gender, Romanoram is masculine gender, if it want to modify patria, it must be Romanarum. How do you explain the structure?
Re: CH6 SA7
Posted: Sun Jul 18, 2010 12:47 pm
by modus.irrealis
"Romanorum" is genitive so it doesn't have to agree in gender with what it modifies. Literally you have
patria romanorum = homeland of the Romans
If you had an adjective, then it would agree in gender, so
patria romana = the Roman homeland.
Re: CH6 SA7
Posted: Sun Jul 18, 2010 9:16 pm
by furrykef
And, for that matter, "patria Rōmānārum" would mean "the country of the Roman women". Such a phrase could make sense if you're talking about a specific group of women -- perhaps it'd be translated better as "the Roman women's homeland" in such a case.
Also, if "Rōmānōrum" did have to agree with "patria", you'd get "Rōmānae" -- it'd become singular, too. But of course the point is moot because, as modus.irrealis pointed out, genitives don't work that way.