3 Predicates

“Ah, an excellent question. To answer that we need predicates. A Predicate states a property of the subject of a verb. In English the predicate usually comes AFTER the verb. For example: I am a playwright. The pig was our dinner. Tomatoes are red. Translate these two sentences. But before you do, be aware of today’s RULE:”

“TODAY’S RULE: AFTER YOU READ THE LATIN ALOUD, MARK THE WORDS THAT ARE THE SUBJECT, THE VERB, AND THE PREDICATE, AND WRITE WHAT THE PERSON AND NUMBER OF THE VERB ARE, THEN TRANSLATE, LIKE THIS:”

Tū (subject) es (verb, 2nd singular) adulescēns (predicate). You are a young man. Nōs sumus geminī. (1)

Is est adulescēns. (2)

“Personal names are nouns and thus can serve as subjects or predicates. Translate these, but don’t forget the RULE:”

Tū es Menaechmus. (3)

Messeniō est adulescēns. (4)

“Here are seven little words, useful for making sentences, plus a handy phrase. Try to translate the short phrases after each one:”

quoquetooego quoque

nōnnotnōn sum

“The word nōn is normally spoken or written before the verb in Latin.”

quisquiswhoeverquisquis tū es

sedbutsed nōn ego

etandis et ea

nōmen mihi estmy name isnōmen mihi est Messeniō

sum, esseto be“We will study esse later.”

“You can combine any subject with any predicate that makes sense for it. Here are some sentences where the subjects are pronouns. Mark these according to the Rule and tell me how to say these in Latin.”

I (subj.) am (verb, 1st sing.) Messenio (pred.).Ego sum Messeniō. We too are twins. (5)

He is Menaechmus, but you are not. (6)