Indirect Conditions & Questions

Latin Learning Latin
1

I am trying to learn how to swap between direct and indirect conditions and questions. Here are four I’m having a go at. The sentences below in bold are the original indirect Latin, and the direct versions in Latin, and the English translations, are my attempt. (The English is really crunchy, because I am trying to get the tenses exactly right. I’d never do it in real life!) Could someone give them a look over and see how close I am?

Indirect: intellexit nihil sibi profuturum (sc. esse) si Polyphemum interfecisset.
He understood that if he had killed Polyphemus, it would be no use to him.
Direct: nihil mihi proderit, si Polyphemum interficero
It will be no use to me if I will have killed Polyphemus. (i.e. I’m not stuffed now, but at some point in the future when I have killed him, I will be in the soup.)

Indirect: intellexit si quid gravius ei accidisset, omnium salutem in summo discrimine futurum (sc. esse)
He understood that if something rather serious had happened to him, the safety of everyone would be in great danger.
Direct: si quid gravius tibi acciderit, omnium salus in summo discrimine erit.
If something rather serious will have happened to you, the safety of everyone will be in great danger.

Indirect: cum quidam Scipionem interrogasset, si quid illi accidisset, quemnam respublica aeque magnum habitura esset imperatorem, Scipio “fortasse” inquit …
When some bloke had asked Scipio, if something had happened to him, which great ruler the republic would have, Scipio said “perhaps…”
Direct: si quid tibi acciderit quemnam respublica aeque magnum habebit imperatorem?
If something will have happened to you, which great ruler will the republic have?
(you might notice that I can’t think of a good translation for ‘aeque’. ‘Equally’ doesn’t seem to me to fit.)

Indirect: Durslei horrescebant rati quid dicturi essent finitimi si in viam suam advenirent Potteri
The Dursleys dreaded to think what the neighbours would say if the Potters came into their street.
Direct: quid finitimi dicent si Potteri in viam nostram advenient?
What will the neighbours say if the Potters come to our street?
or:
Direct: quid finitimi dicant si Potteri in viam nostram adveniant?
What would the neighbours say if the Potters were to come into our street?
(I think I read somewhere that there is no difference between future-vivid and future-less-vivid in indirect questions. Did I get that right?)

Gosh this post has got long. I hope someone is still reading!
Cheers
Phil

2

I think what you have is right.

“aequè magnum” = “who pray might the republic consider [to be] equally great as emperor?”

I think so, because otherwise a future-less-vivid which uses a present subjunctive would still use a present subjunctive and that would be ambiguous (after A&G, §575, note).

Someone else will give a more informed response, maybe.

Quod scripsisti bonum est, ut mihi videtur.

Ita est, ut reor,—aliter si futurum minùs vividum per subjunctivum modum praesenti tempore in quaestione obliquâ comprehendatur, id ambiguum sit.

Fortassè alius meliùs tibi respondebit.

3

I think you’re on the right track (and the examples look good to me). The best way to get these to really stick is to look at tons and tons of examples, and to compose some of you own, using every possible combination of direct and indirect, primary and secondary sequence, etc. And you’ll probably still need to review it from time to time!

If you have a copy of Bradley’s Arnold, there’s a lot of good examples in there, Sections 450-476.