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Present Participle

Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 4:11 pm
by thesaurus
Could somebody tell me if I am using the present participle correctly? That is, can you use it in the past sense as I have it here, or is another form of expression preferred? I would be appreciative if you noted any other errors, too.

Proxima nocte in bibliotheca Collegii Georgiopolitani tempus mea cum puella agebam praesertim legendo quoddam librum Anglicum ingentem, nomine Le Morte Darthur, sc. 'Arthuri Mors', ab auctore Thoma Malory scriptum, anno 1485 divulgatum ab Gulielmo Caxton. Si nescis, liber Anglice scriptus est cum titulum Francogallice sit atque de vita rebusque gestis Arthuri regis, viro magno forte audaceque sed fortasse solum mythico, qui tempore prisco Angliae vixisse fertur domans reges et Hiberniae et Europae, Lucium etiam Imperatorem Romanum trucidans eiusque patriam totamque Europam vastans. Certo haec scribens mihi ipsi patet nullo modo talem virem vixisse posse quem Malory suo in libro narravit, cui regi etiam comes fuisse dicitur ille Merlinus magus, senex sagax res futuras obscurasque miro modo vaticinans atque ipsam, mirabile dictu, formam suam in novas mutans.

Re: Present Participle

Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 5:46 pm
by thesaurus
What about this rendering? Would it be preferable to use perfect infinitives?

Here is my most recent version with some changes:
liber Anglice scriptus est etiam cum titulum Francogallice sit atque de vita rebusque gestis Arthuri regis, viri magni fortis audacisque sed fortasse solum mythici, qui tempore prisco Angliae vixisse fertur necnon domavisse reges et Brittanicos et Europaeos, Lucium etiam Imperatorem Romanum trucidavisse ac eius patriam totamque Europam vastavisse, cui regi etiam comes fuisse dicitur ille Merlinus magus, senex sagax res futuras obscurasque miro modo vaticinatus fuisse atque se, mirabile dictu, novas in formas mutavisse.

In addition to the relation of present particples to tenses, I may be confused on how "fertur" works in reported speech.

Re: Present Participle

Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 9:47 pm
by bedwere
I think that after fertur, dicitur, etc. you should put the accusative+infinitive construction, not the nominative.

Re: Present Participle

Posted: Tue Mar 17, 2009 1:01 am
by thesaurus
bedwere wrote:I think that after fertur, dicitur, etc. you should put the accusative+infinitive construction, not the nominative.
It appears that this is not the case with these verbs. I was unsure and had a reply typed up of my questions and musings, but I've found conclusive evidence. Vide: http://books.google.com/books?id=u31fAA ... #PPA441,M1

So, as in these examples, "Homerus dicitur fuisse caecus" is preferable to "dicitur Homerum fuisse caecum," and same with "prometheus fertur coactus esse," and "Haec videntur facilia esse."

It also says that compounded verbs, like "dictum est," are usually impersonal forms of expression and would use the accusative+inf, while compounded verbs, like "dicitur," would use the personal form of expression. Thus, "traditum est Homerum caecum fuisse" rather than "Homerus traditus est caecus fuisse."

I hope this has been of help to somebody besides myself!

Re: Present Participle

Posted: Tue Mar 17, 2009 3:56 pm
by bedwere
I stand corrected, sir! :D