Is this exercise just about agreement of adjectives?

Latin Learning Latin
1

In Exercitia for Cap xxxvi (exercitium 6) Orberg has an exercise which he introduces as follows:

Exempla:

media Italia = medium (= media pars) Italiae
prima/postrema aestas = initium / inis (=prima/postrema pars) aestatis
summus/infimus mons = summum/infimum (= summa/infima pars) montis…

I don’t really understand this. Is this an exercise to distinguise between adjectival use ‘media Italia’ and the noun + gen ‘medium Italiae’?

By some instinct I did get most of it right – but I’m ont really clear what he’s trying to teach.

The following questions are thus confusing to me (all of the text below is Orberg):

  1. Naxos in medi__ mar__ Aegaeo [= in medio maris Aegaei] sita est.

  2. Hora sexta dicitur ‘meridies’, id est medi__ di__ [= medium diei].

  3. Sol altissimus est hora sexta vel meridie, id est med__ di__ [= medio diei]

The correct answer to these is given by Orberg as follows:

  1. Naxos in medi[o] mar _Aegaeo [= in medio maris Aegaei] sita est.
    \
  2. Hora sexta dicitur ‘meridies’, id est medi[us] di[es] [= medium diei].
    \
  3. Sol altissimus est hora sexta vel meridie, id est med[io] di[e] [= medio diei]


    Let me try to explain my thinking:
    \
  4. Naxos in medio mari Aegaeo [= in medio maris Aegaei] sita est.
    \
  • ‘medio’ = neuter ablative adjective to agree with noun ablative ‘mari’
    \
  • ‘mari’ = ablative of neuter noun ‘mare’.

    \
  1. Hora sexta dicitur ‘meridies’, id est medius dies [= medium diei].
    \
  • ‘medius’ = masculine nominative singular adjective to agree with ‘dies’. It is the middle of the day.

    \
  1. Sol altissimus est hora sexta vel meridie, id est medio die [= medio diei]
    \
  • ‘medio’ = masculine ablative to agree with ‘die’ – to indicate a time when.

    This is just about agreement of adjectives isn’t it..?_
2

Est // Yes.

…in a place where other languages use a genitive in preference modernly. He’s highlighting the construction.
…cum aliae linguae genetivum casum his diebus praeferunt. Emphasim ad formam dat.

3

In Execitia Capituli XXXVI Orberg scribit:

  1. Sol altissimus est hora sexta vel meridie, id est medi_ di_ [=medio diei]

Now it seems the answer should be ‘…id est medius dies’ (given the hint he has in square brackets) but he has ‘medio die’…? What am I missing here?

…especially since in the following question (6.) he asks:

Sexta hora noctis est medi_ nox [= medium noctis].

…the correct answer being:

Sexta hora noctis est media nox..

i.e. Nominative Feminine singular - this is what it is..

the strong implication to me is that he is looking for an answer in the nominative to question 5.

4

Sic non concludit. Is ablativum jam denotavit per hoc: [=medio diei].
No. He has already specified the ablative with [=medio diei].