-ne nonne num

Some questions begin with a question word, such as quis, cur, quo modo or ubi. But questions asked to simply confirm whether or not something is a fact have their own elegant set of rules in Latin. 

You can simply indicate a question with the tone of your voice or, in a modern punctuation system, with a question mark. But to very clear, you can add an enclitic -ne to the first word in the question (often a verb). For example. Marcellus in caupona habitat. Marcellus lives in the restaurant.  habitatne Marcellus in caupona? Does Marcellus live in the restaurant?

If I have an opinion as to what I think the answer of my question should or will be, I can indicate that by adding nonne or num to my question. For example. nonne Marcellus in caupona habitat? Marcellus does live in a restaurant, doesn't he? num Marcellus in caupona habitat? Marcellus doesn't live in a restaurant, does he?

Surely Marcellus does't live in a restaurant? No, not at all! The restaurant is situated on the ground floor. Our Marcellus lives in the cenaculum.

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aedificium pulcherrimum

This is the official Lego product image of Parisian Restaurant (Set No. 10243-1). This was the first modular set I ever saw being built - at my friend Will's house. It was also the first modular set I bought. It was Will who described this as the 'perfect modular'.

Talking about tabulata and the maenianum reminds me of Rusticatio and brings a smile to my face. If you don't know about the wonderful Rusticatio program, I highly recommend you look into it. If you have any opportunity of going (and you know some Latin) it is a life changing experience.

This is the building in which Marcellus lives. It has three floors. On the second floor there is a balcony.

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ambulans

Not too much to say here. Marcellus is crossing the modular boundary from the Brick Bank to the Parisian Restaurant. You can just make out the menu on the left side of the screen. I have a friend who describes the Parisian Restaurant as the 'perfect modular'. In that case, its probably not inappropriate to use the superlative pulcherrimum.

Marcellus is walking home. The home of Marcellus is situated in this street. Marcellus lives in a very beautiful building.

mea pictura

Finally, a picture I took myself. argentaria is a bank. The Brick Bank was released on the 1st of January of this year, and it's a great kit. Not as colourful as other recent modulars, but it adds a sense of gravitas to the street. perplacet is stronger than placet. Marcellus really likes walking. fortasse is a handy word - it means perhaps. Like, mea sententia, it can soften your more outlandish exclamations.

Today Marcellus is walking in the street near the bank. Marcellus really likes to walk in the street. Perhaps you are asking to where Marcellus is walking.

mihi placet fabulam Latinam scribere

Remember The Sims? I only ever played the first of The Sims games, so I'm not sure how different it is now. But I remember that the way Sims would make friends (or not) was by walking up to complete strangers and talking to them about whatever was on their mind. If they liked the same things (tennis racket, judge's wig, video game) they became friends. If not, they did't.

One of the easiest way to make friends in Latin, then, must be mihi placet - it pleases me. Throw on an infinite verb and you have just declared one of your favourite things to do. mihi placet in horto ambulare - It pleases me to walk in the garden.

This picture was painted by Marcellus.* It pleases Marcellus to paint.

*It wasn't. Again, I don't know who made this, but I think its awesome.

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qui quae quod

Did you know that the most common word in Latin classical literature is the relative pronoun qui, quae, quod (in all its various forms)? I have to admit to being surprised by this, as I thought it would be et. But, the existence of -que splits the vote (so to speak) and so et and -que come in second and third respectively.

I didn't make this picture, but I think its awesome. I found it online by googling 'lego painter'. A better man than I would track down the original creator and ask for permission, but I have to confess to not even trying. Full disclosure.

Do you know what a painter is. I will tell you. Literally, I will make you more certain. A painter is a man or a women who paints pictures. 

By the way, the direct question would be quid est pictor? est becomes sit in an indirect question.

mea sententia

This is such a handy little expression, I thought I'd highlight it in this post. mea sententia - it is in the ablative case, so both final a's are long - means in my opinion (IMHO). If you are speaking Latin and you don't want it to sound like everything you say is a declaration of truth, then mea sententia is a godsend. Moreover, it doesn't even muck up the grammar, by beginning an indirect statement or anything of that sort. Go ahead - use it!

Marcus is holding such instruments because he is a painter. Marcellus, in my opinion, is an excellent painter.

Indirect Questions

One of the things I like about having a narrator, is that she can ask questions of the reader, or make assumptions about the things that they might like to know. This allows for quite a few indirect questions, such as the one below. First, lets begin with a translation. There are two words here that I needed to look up. peniculus - paintbrush - wasn't hard to find. I found discus pigmentarius - palette - in a Latin/German dictionary of modern vocabulary.

The page reads; Firstly, perhaps you are asking why Marcellus is holding a paintbrush and palette.

If this was a direct question - Why is Marcus holding... - the Latin would be cur Marcus tenet? But when that question is imbedded into a longer sentence as an indirect question, the verb changes ever so slightly - quaeris cur Marcellus teneat.