Disputatio Usoris:Robert.Baruch/Composition Exercises 2

Annotationes (utiles??)

Reflexive pronouns. Se. It is a noun that has no nominative. It means his/her/its/their own, always referring to the subject of the phrase ...

I'd say rather "It means himself/herself/itself/themselves, always referring to the subject of the phrase." Andrew Dalby (disputatio) 09:29, 29 Decembris 2013 (UTC)

Definitely. And done! --Robert.Baruch (disputatio) 19:00, 29 Decembris 2013 (UTC)

• You saw your father? My father and I also saw your father.
  • Vidisne patrem tuum? Ego et pater meus quoque patrem tuum viderunt.

I'd have said "Ego quoque et pater meus [tuum patrem] vidimus." In English it would be strange to repeat "your father" (better "him") and in Latin also, I think. Surely "My father and I" add up to the first person plural? Andrew Dalby (disputatio) 09:41, 29 Decembris 2013 (UTC)

No, in at least spoken English I'd repeat "your father". Let me make it an exclamation, that might be more clear. But you're spot on about 2nd person plural. My bad. --Robert.Baruch (disputatio) 19:00, 29 Decembris 2013 (UTC)

The most natural pattern over here is "You saw your father? My father and I also saw him." (The intonational peak is on the word also.) Except perhaps for classroom purposes, a repetition of "your father" in English seems forced. ¶ Also, the traditional comparative of clear is clearer. IacobusAmor (disputatio) 14:26, 2 Ianuarii 2014 (UTC)

Oh, that's interesting. My dialect almost always refuses to add -er to single-syllable adjectives that end in /r/. So more bare, more dear, more sore. The sole exception I can think of is nearer (and far -> farther but that's because *farer). --Robert.Baruch (disputatio) 05:39, 4 Ianuarii 2014 (UTC)

As happens sometimes, "over there" and "over here" agree 95%: we disagree with Robert, who is (I think) somewhere in between :) [I wrote "100%", but then it struck me that when the sentence is a straight question the normal verb form, "over here", would be "Did you see ...?", not "You saw ...?"] Andrew Dalby (disputatio) 16:18, 2 Ianuarii 2014 (UTC)

After thinking about it, I think I agree. --Robert.Baruch (disputatio) 05:20, 4 Ianuarii 2014 (UTC)

* Vidistine patrem tuum? Ego et pater meus quoque patrem tuum vidimus. Neander (disputatio) 14:06, 2 Ianuarii 2014 (UTC)

Yep, I'm hitting my forehead right now in shame. --Robert.Baruch (disputatio) 05:20, 4 Ianuarii 2014 (UTC)

• Marcus and I are men.
  • Ego et Marcus homines sunt sumus. Neander (disputatio) 14:10, 2 Ianuarii 2014 (UTC)

Aargh! Corrected, thanks. --Robert.Baruch (disputatio) 05:16, 4 Ianuarii 2014 (UTC)

• Metellus was a blacksmith, and he constructed his own tools. This man was very strong.
  • Metellus ferrarius faber erat, et instrumenta sua fabricabatur. Quam validissimus erat. Neander (disputatio) 14:25, 2 Ianuarii 2014 (UTC)

Never quite sure when to use the imperfect over the perfect. Used to construct vs has constructed and has now finished constructing ('cuz he's probably dead)? I think you're going for "How very strong he was" but why not just hic, this man? --Robert.Baruch (disputatio) 05:15, 4 Ianuarii 2014 (UTC)

• I made my bed; now I lie in it.
  • Lectum meum fabricatus sum; nunc in eo cubo.

Fabricor is a deponent verb in classical prose; fabrico is poetic and late. Neander (disputatio) 14:25, 2 Ianuarii 2014 (UTC)

Ah, good to know. Thanks! --Robert.Baruch (disputatio) 05:15, 4 Ianuarii 2014 (UTC)

Exempla

I saw my idiot neighbor today, and he said, "You seem like a squirrel."

• Vicinum meum stultum hodie vidi, atque dixit "Similem ad sciurum videris." | IACOBVS.CELSVS (disputatio) 21:25, 7 Ianuarii 2014 (UTC)