| Chapter Realia - Answers and Explanations |
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Nota Bene: In English there is much use of the verb to be as a helper verb in the passive voice. One does not use a form of to be in Latin except when it is the only verb in a sentence as in Cornelia is in the carriage - Cornelia est in raeda or as an enclitic added to the third principal part of a verb to indicate the pluperfect or future perfect active tenses (he had carried - portaverat). Also the perfect passive system as in he has been, had been, or will have been carried. Eventhough we have the word to have as the helper verb, here we use to be: portatus est, portatus erat, portatus erit. However he carries, is carried, was carried, was carrying, will be carried, or carrying will not employ a form of est, erat, or erit.
1. Omnia ab incolîs simul agêbantur.
Omnia is neuter pl. 3rd declension - no noun is used since the neuter pl. form indicates things. The agent doing the action is the incolîs in the ablative with the preposition ab to show by whom these things were being done.
Agêbantur is in the imperfect passive indicative to show it was an ongoing action, thus imperfect and omnia, the subject of the verb is receiving the action of the verb not creating it, hence the passive voice.
2. Bona eôrum ê fenestrîs êieciêbantur.
As with omnia, bona is in the neuter plural indicating good things, and stretched to include therefore goods or belongings. It is the subject of the verb and thus the nominative case.
eorum is used in the masc. gen. pl. to use the generic form but since we do not know the gender of the thrower in this case one can use eârum as well.
Out of is expressed with the prepositon e or ex and since the word for windows begins with a consonant, one choses e which will be followed always by a noun in the ablative case.
were being thrown indicates an ongoing past action and since we do not know who is doing the throwing and the subject of the verb indicates what is being thrown and thus receiving the action of being thrownuse the imperfect passive form.
3. Aqua ad însulam portâbatur or ferêbâtur.
Subject is water, nominative sing. It was being carried to thus ad followed by the accusative case for apartment house; there is only one apartment house mentioned thus the singular form is used.
Portabatur and ferebatur can both be used to show carryagain the imperfect passive to show an ongoing action in the past and that the water is not doing the carrying but receiving the action of being carried.
4. Lîberî miserî flammîs opprimentur.
The children are masculine nominative plural as the subject. They are unhappy, miserable etc. therefore miseri agrees with the noun in case, number and gender.
That which is overwhelming the children is the flames thus it is in the ablative case. No ab is used since flames do not have a brain.
will be overwhelmed is a future tense, and the passive voice is chosen since the children are receiving the action, not doing it.
5. Cornêlia valdê commovêtur ubi lîberôs miserôs videt.
The subject is Cornelia, nominative sg. fem. 1st declension. valde is the adverb meaning very.
commovere is a 2nd conjugation verb and therefore the e indicated present not future tense. In opprimentur the e indicates a future tense since opprimo is a 3rd conjugation verb. Note also that there is no need to express is in Latin. It is part of the tense form.
Ubi - when or where, as a conjugation.
Videt she sees, active voice because she is doing the action and not receiving it.
liberos miseros are in the accusative plural masculine case as the direct object of the verb videt.
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