I've got a question for you guys--most recently inspired by something metrodorus said on the composition board--but definitely encountered elsewhere.
here's the quote from metrodorus:
(note: I'm still only at about chapter 30 of Wheelock, so it's quite likely that this is something he hasn't taught us yet)Mihi est propositum fabula infinita scribendamus
I recognize scribendamus as a future passive participle (gerundive). I also recognize that a form of "to be" is found in est. Further still, I recognize that there is what could possibly be a dative of agent (mihi), but something tells me that this is not a run-of-the-mill passive periphrastic construction. I understand the sense of the sentence, something along the lines of "I propose that we write an endless story", but the grammar isn't quite falling into place.
How is the gerundive to be translated when it's not found in a passive periphrastic construction?
Gratias vobis ago,
Rufus
PS.
If I'm completely off base in my assumptions, please feel free to let me know.