Praeteritum singularis

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pmda
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Praeteritum singularis

Post by pmda »

This is latin for the preterite tense in singular. Why is it written like this? 'Praeteritum' is neuter and 'singularis' is masculine shouldn't one of these words have an adjectival role?

modus.irrealis
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Re: Praeteritum singularis

Post by modus.irrealis »

Grammatical terms are very concise and usually drop the noun. Also Latin tends to use the genitive where English would use an adjective. So its praeteritum [tempus] singularis [numeri] = the preterite tense of the singular number. Singularis is genitive here.

pmda
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Re: Praeteritum singularis

Post by pmda »

Thanks for your replies. very concise and clear.

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