i have just finished CAP. I from lingua latina (i thoroughly enjoyed it, by the way) and i was wondering about the difference between the question-words num and estne.
is the answer of a question introduced with ‘num’ always expected to be negative? whereas an answer to a question introduced with ‘estne’ can either be positive or negative?
thanks
There are three words of this type: num, nonne, and the enclitic -ne. In their simplest forms:
-ne is a simple question expecting either a yes or a no.
Amasne me? Do you love me?
nonne expects a positive answer.
Nonne me amas? Surely you love me?
num expects a negative answer.
Num me amas? Surely you don’t love me?
cool, that clears things up. thanks much.