Help identifying a technical form - understood subjects.

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sr10ca
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Joined: Thu Nov 03, 2011 7:47 pm

Help identifying a technical form - understood subjects.

Post by sr10ca »

Hi all,

I'm working through a passage and I have to identify verbs, their forms and their subject and object.

I'm having trouble with a side comment: "neque erat difficile scire" (and it was not difficult to know)

I know that my main verb is erat and the object is the predicate adjective difficile. So that suggests to me that "erat" is a copulative (linking) verb with an internal subject. Or is this an impersonal verb? Or is there another term for this kind of construction.

So very, very confused.

MatthaeusLatinus
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Re: Help identifying a technical form - understood subjects.

Post by MatthaeusLatinus »

scire is the subject here, erat is its verb. Very straightforward sentence; similar English construction. I don't see your problem.

sr10ca
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Re: Help identifying a technical form - understood subjects.

Post by sr10ca »

Ah, my "problem" was that I wasn't aware that an infinitive could function as a subject. Just because you found it simple doesn't mean everybody else does.

Thank you for the help though. Makes much more sense.

Kasper
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Re: Help identifying a technical form - understood subjects.

Post by Kasper »

I agree. We are all at different levels of understanding or learning, and what may seem simple to one person may appear very complex to another. There is no utility in a dismissive type of response. It limits discussion and sets up barriers for asking questions, to the detriment of us all.

MatthaeusLatinus
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Re: Help identifying a technical form - understood subjects.

Post by MatthaeusLatinus »

Non intellexi rogantis difficultatem.

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