N&H Preliminary Ones

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phil
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N&H Preliminary Ones

Post by phil »

I have just started N&H and would like some assurance that I am on the right track. These are a selection from the Preliminary Execrcises, which are not covered in the key. Also, please comment on word order if I need to improve.
Gall is separated from Britain by the sea. Gallia e Brittania mari dividitur.
We have taken the camp. Castra occupabamus/occupavimus. - I'm not sure if this should be perfect or imperfect.
Do not give him a sword, but give him arrows. Noli gladium ei dare, sed [ei da] sagittas. - is the 'ei da' needed?
This is Caius's book-give it to him. Hic liber Caio est-eum ei da. Is this construction OK? Or should it be 'est liber Caii'? And is the 'eum' referring to the book OK?
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Aurelia
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Post by Aurelia »

-occupavimus, because the action has been done, it was completed, therefore perfect. (I think so, my Latin isn't perfect but I'm telling you what I know)
-I think "sed sagittas" would be okay (once again I have no confidence on this matter)
-I don't think "eum" is needed, it's implied.

Titus Marius Crispus
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Post by Titus Marius Crispus »

Hic liber Caio est-eum ei da. Is this construction OK? Or should it be 'est liber Caii'?
That is fine. According to the Allen and Greenough:
The Genitive or a Possessive with esse emphasizes the possessor; the Dative, the fact of possession: as, - liber est meus, the book is MINE (and no one's else); est mihi liber, I HAVE a book (among other things).

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benissimus
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Re: N&H Preliminary Ones

Post by benissimus »

Nothing is wrong with any of your sentences, but there are a few things that sound odd to me.
phil wrote:Gall is separated from Britain by the sea. Gallia e Brittania mari dividitur.
I believe a Britannia would be better than e Britannia. ab emphasizes distance from the border of something while ex places emphasis on one thing coming out of (and away from) another. This is sometimes a difficult distinction to make and is blurred, but it is much clearer when talking about countries.
We have taken the camp. Castra occupabamus/occupavimus. - I'm not sure if this should be perfect or imperfect.'
Definitely the perfect. While the perfect or imperfect can be translated into English without ''have'', any English sentence with ''have'' will be perfect in Latin.
Do not give him a sword, but give him arrows. Noli gladium ei dare, sed [ei da] sagittas. - is the 'ei da' needed?
No, the repetition is not necessary.
This is Caius's book-give it to him. Hic liber Caio est-eum ei da. Is this construction OK? Or should it be 'est liber Caii'? And is the 'eum' referring to the book OK?
I think the dative use is fine here. The second part after the hyphen is quite repetitive and I would use a different demonstrative for ''it'', perhaps hunc or quem. It is understandable that eum is referring to the book.
Last edited by benissimus on Tue Aug 03, 2004 7:01 am, edited 1 time in total.
flebile nescio quid queritur lyra, flebile lingua murmurat exanimis, respondent flebile ripae

phil
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Post by phil »

Thank you all. :)

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