LLPSI Familia Romana Cap XXIV translation help

[adoratio]

On p.191 of LLPSI FR I am having some trouble fully understanding one paragraph, especially the underlined:
Syra: "Si vos laudati estis, quod pulchrius scripseratis et recitaveratis quam Marcus, nonne ille tam recte scripserat quam vos? Ego Marcum bene novi, nec puto eum vobis stultiorem esse"

Syra: If you had been praised because of writing and reciting more beautifully than Marcus, surely that man had written as correctly as you had (?) I knew Marcus well and don't consider him any more stupid than you"
[I have just checked Wiktionary and learned that 'novi' is usually translated in the present so that makes more sense]

I've managed to get this far into Familia Romana without needing help and so I'm looking forward to hearing from the experts. thanks in advance.

[bedwere]

If you have been praised because you had written and recited more beautifully than Marcus, had not he written as correctly as you had? I know Marcus well and don't consider him any more stupid than you"

laudātis estis is perfect, not pluperfect as you translated it. I think that your somewhat free translation of that causal made it more difficult for you to get the meaning, although you basically got it right. nōnne is the interrogative nōn, expecting an affirmative answer.

[adoratio]

Thankyou bedwere.
The English translation is still unclear to me however -
'had not he written as correctly as you had?'
Is she talking about Marcus here? It seems to contradict the fact that Marcus had written very badly. Or is the sense that she is asking the question 'Didn't he write just as well as you did?' (like she is surprised).

[seneca2008]

The English translation is still unclear to me however -
'had not he written as correctly as you had?'

Perhaps earlier in the text we are told that M. had written very badly but in the text you have quoted we are simply told that Q wrote and recited more beautifully than M. So the question that follows introduced by nonne simply asks "didnt M write as correctly (at least) as you did?" I write "at least" because the next sentence tells us that M isn't more stupid than Q. So the sense is You might have been praised for speaking and writing more beautifully than M but M isn't stupid so I imagine he wrote as correctly as you (if not beautifully).

We have comparatives here. S wrote more beautifully than M. But does that mean that what M wrote was not correct? I labour the point because I think you haven't quite understood that there is a comparison - not a straight forward Q was good M was bad.

Does that make it any clearer?

Please dont use Wiktionary there are better resources such as http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/morph?l=novi&la=la and https://logeion.uchicago.edu/morpho/novi. In Logeion if you are looking up inflected forms remember to toggle to Consult Μορφώ. Ask if you can't work out how it works.

[adoratio]

Great they are fantastic resources. I appreciate the advice.