Q. on ex. 69 sentence 2...

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LisaNYork
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Q. on ex. 69 sentence 2...

Post by LisaNYork »

In ex. 69, p. 30 of the text, the translation of this sentence:
Suntne tubae novae in mea casa? Non sunt.
is as follows:
Are not the new trumpets in my cottage? They are not.

Now, I translated it as:
Are there new trumpets in my cottage? There are not.

I learned that Estne? and Suntne? Est/Sunt at the beginning of a sentence mean:
Is there? Are there? There is there are.

Am I incorrect?

D'ooge offers a minute explanation (that you might miss) on the bottom of the page about -ne? in a question. Does he explain it in more detail elsewhere?


thanks

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benissimus
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Post by benissimus »

Your translation is correct. The translation that disagrees with you is not good English and it is incorrect to have "not" in the first part of it where there is no non (a question beginning with "are not..." is expressed by nonne).
flebile nescio quid queritur lyra, flebile lingua murmurat exanimis, respondent flebile ripae

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