Hi, i am new here, i am a student at a Grammar School in England and I am studying Latin.
nascor, nasci, natus sum is a deponent verb, meaning to be born
But is to be born not passive? The passive of to give birth?
Therefore, how is it deponant?
Also, is it possible to indirectly conjugate the future subjunctive by having the present subjunctive and a future participle? Like sim facturus?
Thanks,
High Priest of Apollo
P.S. watch out for snakes
Hi, i am new here, i am a student at a Grammar School in England and I am studying Latin.
nascor, nasci, natus sum is a deponent verb, meaning to be born
But is to be born not passive? The passive of to give birth?
The verb for “to give birth” is “pario, parere, peperi, partum” - a verb I could never quite get the hang of because of its oddly mixed conjugation. There is no verb nasco. So I suppose that’s why it’s considered a deponent rather than a passive of a normal verb. Also remember that deponent verbs aren’t mirror images of normal Latin verbs. Their gerundive forms are still sort of passive form with a passive meanings and not active form (for none exists) with passive meanings as we would expect.
Also, is it possible to indirectly conjugate the future subjunctive by having the present subjunctive and a future participle? Like sim facturus?
Sometimes this occurs. Mostly in indirect questions.
Direct form:
Quid ages? (How will you be?)
Indirect form:
Rogo quid acturus sis. (I am asking how you will be.)
Rogabam quid acturus esses. (I was asking how you would be.)
This kind of subjunctive is known as the future in the past or the future in the present. I wouldn’t use it outside this context though. The fact that in, say, conditional sentences the sequence of tenses is shifted so that the present is used to express future uncertainty and the imperfect used for present uncertainty or contrary to fact conditions (and the pluperfect for those circumstances in the past) tends to mean that there is no need for a future subjunctive.
re: there is no verb nasco.
cf. Cato De Agr.151 (codd.):
Per aestatem ita uti dictum est fieri oportet, et ubi semen satum siet, stramentis operiri; ubi germen nascere coeperit, tum demi.
~D
(unless you’re a germinascere man)
Castigor.
castigatus magis es,
~D
In addition, just because the expression “to be born” utilizes a passive of the verb “to bear” in English, in no way means that the verb to express the action of birth must be passive in other languages. In fact, this verb is really more middle than active or passive, hence the deponent forms.