In the text book Evagrius Magister, schola I, I saw a paragraph:
Magister: “Et quod nomen vobis est？”
Discipulus: “Mihi nomen est Rufinus.”
Discipulus: “Horatius mihi nomen est.”
Here, “nomen” is sigular, followed by “est”, but “vobis” is plural form of “tibi”. According to the response of students, their names are different with each other, which means there are multiple names in total. I do not understand, why could it not be “nomina vobis sunt”?
And question 2, why it is “quod”, but not “quid”. I have seen “quid est nomen tibi” many times and this sounds more reasonable. What does “quod” at here mean? Is it exchangeable with “quid”?
I believe this is Latin idiom. It asks “what is your (pl.) name” where English asks “what are your names”.
And question 2, why it is “quod”, but not “quid”. I have seen “quid est nomen tibi” many times and this sounds more reasonable. What does “quod” at here mean? Is it exchangeable with “quid”?
“Quis, quid” is a pronoun, “qui, quae, quod” is an adjective that agrees with a noun.
I humbly suggest you use a real textbook that teaches grammar. No-grammar talky methods are overrated.
Then does this usage only apply to this condition, or could be used quite common? If I say “Ubi est casa vobis” , is it still legal in grammar?
And what happend if those two students are in a group which has a group name? How could they distinguish this quetsion is for their own names or the group name?
“Quis, quid” is a pronoun, “qui, quae, quod” is an adjective that agrees with a noun.
I humbly suggest you use a real textbook that teaches grammar. No-grammar talky methods are overrated.
Still a little confused here. Which noun does the “quod” agree with? I see this kind of sentence as a structure of :
A est B
then, in " Quid est nomen tibi", it is: A = quid B = nomen tibi;
in “Quod est nomen vobis”, is it: A = quod nomen B = vobis ?
No. Latin here would not use a pronoun, but the possessive adjective, casa vestra.
The good news: extrapolating and thinking about how the language is working is a good thing. The bad news (well, not really bad), hold any conclusions beyond what the book is actually teaching you tentatively because new information might overturn what you are thinking. Languages don’t always work in a way that seems logical to the learner.
And what happend if those two students are in a group which has a group name? How could they distinguish this quetsion is for their own names or the group name?
Not sure altogether what a group name would be, but let’s say they are brothers, Gaius Caecilianus Turpissimus and Quintus Caecilianus Stultissimus. They could then say “nomen nobis Caecilianum est” or some variant thereof.