D'ooge EX. 39/40

Are you learning Latin with D'Ooge's Beginners Latin Book? Here's where you can meet other learners using this textbook. Use this board to ask questions and post your work for feedback and comments from others.
Post Reply
jsc01
Textkit Neophyte
Posts: 33
Joined: Fri Dec 12, 2003 7:26 pm
Location: Ohio, USA

D'ooge EX. 39/40

Post by jsc01 »

Hello all,

I am new to Latin, new to D'ooge and new to this forum. I was wondering if anyone would be able to clarify something for me in Exercises 39 and 40.

In Exercise 39 Part I Number 1, it asks for the English translation of "Diana est dea", which I translate as "Diana is a goddess". In the Latin version, why is dea, which is the object of the sentence, in nominative singular form and not accusative singular?

This leads into my question in Exercise 40 (conversation), Number 1. Here it asks you to translate into English and answer in Latin. The question is "Quis est Diana?". My answer is "Diana is the goddess of the moon". Would that be "Diana est dea lunae" or would it be "Diana est deam lunae"?[/i]

Episcopus
Textkit Zealot
Posts: 2563
Joined: Sat Jun 14, 2003 8:57 pm

Post by Episcopus »

Hello, jsc01! A very warm welcome to you!

Basically sum is intransitive meaning that it can not take a direct object. The compliment of sum is nominative here "Diana est dea lunae" as you rightly said. As in english we don't say "whom are you" but "who are you", yet if an object "whom did you choose to become goddess?"

I'm sure some one else (i.e Skylax) can explain that more clearly. I'm sure D'Ooge says something about this.

Welcome again and I hope you post often and with great eagerness :o

jsc01
Textkit Neophyte
Posts: 33
Joined: Fri Dec 12, 2003 7:26 pm
Location: Ohio, USA

Post by jsc01 »

I think I figured this out.

In Diana est dea we use the nominative singular form of dea because the noun dea is not an object. There is no verb in this sentence to govern any object. There is only the copula, est. Therefore, it would not be proper to use the accusitive singular form.

Given this, in order to say "Diana is the goddess of the moon" we would write Diana est dea lunae.

Does this sound like a plausable explanation?

Episcopus
Textkit Zealot
Posts: 2563
Joined: Sat Jun 14, 2003 8:57 pm

Post by Episcopus »

yes :)

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

Post by benissimus »

Part of the reason for this is that you can reverse the apparent subject and predicate with relatively little change in the sentence's meaning, and no change at all in the event described. I believe all Indo-European languages follow this rule.

Think about it:
Dea est Diana = A goddess is Diana
Diana est dea = Diana is a goddess

Meus est filius = Mine is the son
Filius est meus = The son is mine.

The first examples sound a bit odd to our ears because English has fairly recently abandoned such constructions for the most part, but hopefully you can see that the meaning is unchanged.
flebile nescio quid queritur lyra, flebile lingua murmurat exanimis, respondent flebile ripae

jsc01
Textkit Neophyte
Posts: 33
Joined: Fri Dec 12, 2003 7:26 pm
Location: Ohio, USA

Post by jsc01 »

Yes, I think I understand. That is scary.

Thanks!

Post Reply