There are a few examples of this construction in Thompson & Craddock’s “Latin: A Four-Year Course to G.C.E. Ordinary Level”, Vol. II, Lesson 1.
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Utrum puellam an puerum amat regina?
“Does the queen love the girl or the boy?”
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Utram puellam vidisti?
“Which of the two girls did you see?”
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Utrum rex an frater moenia transiluit?
“Did the king or his brother leap over the walls?”
What is the rule here? When is ‘uter’ declined according to gender and case? Why not ‘uter rex an frater’, or would that be a grammatically correct alternative? Is the neuter always used when it refers to the subject of the clause?
uter, tra utrum is used when the options are not expressed explicitly: uter puer necatus est?, utram puellam osculatus es?, utrum ornamentum tuae sponsae dedisti?; utrum… an…, which is a form by itself, is used whenever the two opposed options are shown: utrum aves an canes pulchrius canunt?
Gratias tibi ago, Roberte!
The way I learned it, is that uter is declined when it’s used as an adj., meaning which (of the two). Utram puellam amat? the utram is an interrogative adj. modifying puellam and should agree with it in number, case and gender. Utrum…an… is an idiomatic construction that presents both options in a this or that construction.
Hope that helps.
Ariodant
Yes, thanks to you both. Very helpful indeed.