Tintinnabulum tinnitus est

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
funkbunny
Textkit Neophyte
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon May 03, 2004 5:38 pm

Tintinnabulum tinnitus est

Post by funkbunny »

Hi, I'm attempting to translate "the bell has rung" into latin. Using my rusty school latin, I think this should be "tintinnabulum tinnitus est". Can anyone tell me, am I correct?

Amy
Textkit Fan
Posts: 207
Joined: Sun Apr 04, 2004 2:01 am
Location: Massachusetts

Post by Amy »

Basically, except if tintinnabulum is neuter (judging from the ending...I don't know the word), then the verb ending should echo that, being passive perfect, so "tintinnabulum tinnitum est."

funkbunny
Textkit Neophyte
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon May 03, 2004 5:38 pm

tinnitum/tinnitus

Post by funkbunny »

Thanks. When I checked the Notre Dame latin dictionary http://www.nd.edu/~archives/latgramm.htm "tintinnabulum" is indeed listed as neuter. So, from your reply I guess this means "tinnitus" is the correct verb ending?

Amy
Textkit Fan
Posts: 207
Joined: Sun Apr 04, 2004 2:01 am
Location: Massachusetts

Post by Amy »

...Ahh! I'm so sorry I didn't notice....it would be tinnitum if you were using the passive form of the verb (in passive perfect forms, verb endings follow noun genders....so "puella tinnita est", "puellae tinnitae sunt", "corpus tinnitum est", like those make sense or something). But that's the passive form..."Tintinnabulum tinnitum est" means "the bell has been rung." Honestly, leave it up to me to botch answering things like that, should have left it up to benissimus or something.
The bell has rung = tintinnabulum tinnivit. (3rd p.p. is tinnivit, and since the bell is 3rd person singular, you add the ending -it.)
Sorry for all that trouble!!!

edit: puellae tinnitae sunt.
edit 2: saying I edited it.
edit 3: corpus is neuter. will someone please just delete this thread? :roll:
Last edited by Amy on Tue May 04, 2004 12:51 am, edited 3 times in total.

funkbunny
Textkit Neophyte
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon May 03, 2004 5:38 pm

Post by funkbunny »

Excellent! Thank you so much Amy, you have been enormously helpful. :D

Koala
Textkit Neophyte
Posts: 85
Joined: Sun May 25, 2003 10:10 am
Location: Perth, Western Australia

Post by Koala »

umm...

can a bell ring (itself or anything else)?

doesn't it need to be rung to ring?

just musing...

cheers

Amy
Textkit Fan
Posts: 207
Joined: Sun Apr 04, 2004 2:01 am
Location: Massachusetts

Post by Amy »

nope, it can ring...It can't ring something else though. For example
"Julia, the bells ring loudly!"
The sentence has nothing to do with who rung the bells, or whether the bell is ringing something else, but instead the state of the bell itself...here, the bell is ringing.

Post Reply