LLPSI exercise queries

Latin Learning Latin
1

LLPSI Cap. XXIX - Navigare necesse est
Gubernator: Iactura mercium navis servata est.
Is mercium an alternative for mercum (gen. pl.)?


LLPSI Cap. XXIX - Exercitia Latina I - Ex. 4
6. Marcus tam sordidus erat ut pater eum vix cognosc…
Expected answer: cognoscat
My answer: cognosceret.
Doesn’t “ut” require the subjunctive?

LLPSI Cap. XXXI - Exercitia Latina - Ex. 5
8. Nex hominis est scelus quod severe punitur.
Not the first time I have come a cropper over “quod”.
The murder of a man is a crime, just so that he be severely punished. (clunky, I know.)
Murdering a man is a crime, and not just a severe punishment. Wrong translation, but perhaps the underlying meaning?

Any help would be much appreciated!

2

  1. Mercium is (as far as I know) the normal form. What makes you think it should be mercum?

  2. I agree that it should be cognosceret (but note that cognoscat is a subjunctive, so the mistake in the Key is not about that but about using the present instead of the imperfect).

  3. Quod is just the relative pronoun here.

3
  1. Merx on Cactus2000 gives Mercum for Merx genitive plural
  2. Sorry, should have made clear I meant subjunctive imperfect.
  3. Murdering a man is a crime, which is to be severely punished. Is that now correct?

Shenoute - gratias tibi ago.

4

  1. Strange. I can’t find a single example of mercum here. Maybe it’s just a typo, or maybe Cactus2000 is relying on data that is automatically generated and doesn’t deal well with forms that do not conform strictly to consonant vs. -i stem divide. I remember there is a similar problem with Whitaker, where you can find such forms as corporium or patrium for the Gen. pl. of corpus and pater.

  2. Almost :slight_smile: “which is to be severely punished” > “which is severely punished”.

Glad I could help!