The Reveal – A Grammatical Commentary / by Anthony Gibbins

Today’s page has three sentences and an exclamation. The bare bones of the first sentence are personam induit she put on a mask. The connection between mask and person in persona goes back to the tradition of actors wearing a mask in the theater. primum means first and omnium is a Genitive Plural Adjective meaning of everything. Together primum omnium work like the English idiom first of all.

First of all, she put on a mask.        

The exclamation is ecce! look! see! lo! behold!

Behold!

The bare bones of the second sentence are tabernaria est Jessica the shopkeeper is Jessica. Jessica is described by ipsa herself.

The shopkeeper is Jessica herself!

The bare bones of the third sentence are Jessica in animo habebat Marcellum invenire Jessica had in mind to find Marcellus. in animo habere to have in mind is similar to the English idiom, and is a perfect way to indicate what someone intends to do. Marcellum invenire means to find Marcellus. Marcellum is described by nostrum our, an affectionate epithet. et and links the sentence with what has come before.  illo tempore at that time is known as an Ablative of Time When because, you guessed it, it is in the Ablative Case and tells us when something happened. illo that is describing tempore time. ut sarcinam reciperet is a Purpose Clause. ut reciperet means in order that she might get back and sarcinam suitcase is the Object of reciperet. sarcinam is described by the Perfect Passive Participle amissam which means having been lost.

And Jessica, at that time, had in mind to find our Marcellus in order that she might get back the [having been] lost suitcase.