Please check this basic translation homework--passive verbs

Here you can discuss all things Latin. Use this board to ask questions about grammar, discuss learning strategies, get help with a difficult passage of Latin, and more.
Post Reply
munna
Textkit Neophyte
Posts: 6
Joined: Wed Nov 24, 2004 12:08 am

Please check this basic translation homework--passive verbs

Post by munna »

Beginner's homework -- I really don't think I have got the hang of the passive voice. Any corrections of grammar and word order would be welcome!

1. The girl was loved by the farmers.
puella ab agricolis amabatur

2. The old fields will have been given to the king.
agri vetus a regi dati erunt

3. The poet is being impeded by the horse.
poeta equo impeditur

4. The boar had been seen by the bold man.
aper a viro audacis conspectus erat

5. The sick citizens will be led to the temple.
ciues aegri ad templum ducetur

6. The king was being warned about the wicked sailors.
rex de nautis malo monitus erat

7. The books of the poet will be read by everybody.
libri poetae ab omni legentur

8. The sad father was never loved by his son.
pater maestus a filio non amabatur

9. The soldier seems brave to the whole army.
miles exercitui omni videtur

10. A small city will always be taken by a huge army.
urbs paruus exercitui magno capietur semper

Turpissimus
Textkit Enthusiast
Posts: 424
Joined: Thu Jul 15, 2004 12:49 pm
Location: Romford

Post by Turpissimus »

I'll only comment on the ones that appear to me to have errors:
2. The old fields will have been given to the king.
agri vetus a regi dati erunt
Agri veteres.
To the king is: regi, on its own.
4. The boar had been seen by the bold man.
aper a viro audacis conspectus erat
a viro audaci (audax is a vowel stem of the third declension)
6. The king was being warned about the wicked sailors.
rex de nautis malo monitus erat
De nautis malis
I'd say was being warned would be monebatur
7. The books of the poet will be read by everybody.
libri poetae ab omni legentur
ab omnibus
8. The sad father was never loved by his son.
pater maestus a filio non amabatur
numquam
9. The soldier seems brave to the whole army.
miles exercitui omni videtur
You forgot the word for brave! Audax.
10. A small city will always be taken by a huge army.
urbs paruus exercitui magno capietur semper
Urbs is feminine.
Ablative of agent is needed here: a magno exercitu

munna
Textkit Neophyte
Posts: 6
Joined: Wed Nov 24, 2004 12:08 am

one more question

Post by munna »

Thanks for the help. Just one question about the second translation: you said that

To the king is: regi, on its own.

But I thought that if the sentence has a personal agent, then it has to be preceded by preposition a/ab? So shouldn't it be "Agri veteres a regi dati erunt"?

Turpissimus
Textkit Enthusiast
Posts: 424
Joined: Thu Jul 15, 2004 12:49 pm
Location: Romford

Post by Turpissimus »

Thanks for the help. Just one question about the second translation: you said that

To the king is: regi, on its own.

But I thought that if the sentence has a personal agent, then it has to be preceded by preposition a/ab? So shouldn't it be "Agri veteres a regi dati erunt"?
Ab of course takes the ablative, so you could never have "a regi" together. A roman would think that is as ungrammatical as "The man was hit by he".

Ab rege: by the king (personal agent)
regi: to the king (indirect object)

If you wanted to say the old fields will have been given by the bad farmer to the king you would say:

Agri veteres = the old fields
a malo agricola = by the bad farmer
regi = to the king
dati erunt = will have been given.

In truth, your sentence contains no personal agent, just an indirect object.

munna
Textkit Neophyte
Posts: 6
Joined: Wed Nov 24, 2004 12:08 am

Post by munna »

Thanks for clearing that up for me -- much easier to understand than the explanation I got from my textbook!

User avatar
benissimus
Global Moderator
Posts: 2733
Joined: Mon May 12, 2003 4:32 am
Location: Berkeley, California
Contact:

Re: Please check this basic translation homework--passive ve

Post by benissimus »

munna wrote:5. The sick citizens will be led to the temple.
ciues aegri ad templum ducetur
"citizens" is plural... should be ducentur.
flebile nescio quid queritur lyra, flebile lingua murmurat exanimis, respondent flebile ripae

Turpissimus
Textkit Enthusiast
Posts: 424
Joined: Thu Jul 15, 2004 12:49 pm
Location: Romford

Post by Turpissimus »

should be ducentur
There's always one I don't catch...:sigh:

munna
Textkit Neophyte
Posts: 6
Joined: Wed Nov 24, 2004 12:08 am

Post by munna »

Thanks so much, both of you! Its great that you take the time to help beginners, especially when I had made so many mistakes!

Post Reply