The Magnificent Car – A Grammatical Commentary /  by Anthony Gibbins

Today’s page has three sentences and an exclamation. The bare bones of the first sentence are Marcellus descendit Marcellus descends. scalis by the stairs is known as an Ablative of Instrument because it is in the Ablative Case and tells us the instrument Marcellus is using to descend. ad viam is a Prepositional Phrases meaning to the street.

Marcellus descends the stairs to the street.

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

lo!

The bare bones of the second sentence are agitator eum exspectat a driver is waiting for him. Out of interest, agitator is the word for a chariot driver. infra is an Adverb meaning below. cum autoraeda is Prepositional Phrase meaning with a car. autoraeda is described by the Adjective magnifica magnificent.

A driver waits for him below with a magnificent car.

The bare bones of the third sentence are Monas eum intuetur Monas is watching him. intuetur is a Deponent Verb, so it has a Passive ending but an Active meaning. The Adverb adhuc means still.

Monas is still watching him.

Meanwhile, Marcellus… – A Grammatical Commentary /  by Anthony Gibbins

Today’s page has only two sentences. The bare bones of the first sentence are Marcellus it Marcellus is going. The Ablative of Time When hoc tempore at this time tells us when this is happening. There are two Prepositional Phrases that provide further detail. in alia parte means in another part. parte is expanded upon by oppidi of the town. trans maenianum means across the balcony. maenianum is expanded upon by cauponae of the restaurant. Marcellus is described by the Perfect Passive Participle indutus having been adorned. vestimentis by clothing - in the Ablative Case - tells us by what Marcellus is adorned, or what he is wearing. vestimentis is described by two Adjectives, conjoined by et and. The first is novis new and the second is pretiosis expensive.

At this time, in another part of town, Marcellus is going across the balcony of the restaurant wearing new and expensive clotheing.

The bare bones of the second sentence are Monas Brickvir eum spectat Monas Brickvir is watching him. The Adverb clam means secretly. I really like the way he is glancing out between his hat and the newspaper.

Monas Brickvir is secretly watching him.

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.

The Hidden Clothing – A Grammatical Commentary /  by Anthony Gibbins

Today’s page has two sentences. The bare bones of the first sentence are tabernaria intus ivit the shopkeeper went inside. intus is an Adverb that can mean both inside and to the inside. Here the latter is meant. mox is an Adverb meaning soon. cum cives ceteri cubitum irent is known as a Temporal Cum Clause. Temporal because it tells us something about when the shopkeeper went inside and Cum because, as you can see, it begins with that word. cum in these clauses can be understood in a number of ways, dependent on the relationship between the Cum Clause and the Main Clause. It could be, for example, when the other citizens, since the other citizens, although the other citizens et cetera. In this sentence, however, the tamen nevertheless in the Main Clause suggests that although would be the best translation of cum. cives, as you have probably determined, means citizens. cives is described by ceteri the other. cum often appears with a Subjunctive Verb, as here with irent were going. cubitum is a Supine. A Supine is a form of a Verb that can be used to express purpose after Verbs implying movement, such as irent. cubitum is from cubare to lie in bed. Togehter cubitum irent is very much like the English idiom they were going to bed. So, altogether, cum cives ceteri cubitum irent means although the other citizens were going to bed. ut se pararet that she might prepare herself is a Purpose Clause and provides the purpose for which the shopkeeper went inside. ad noctem for a night provides the goal of her preparations. noctem is described by occupatam busy and occupatam is expanded upon by valde very.

Soon, although other citizens were going to bed, the shopkeeper nevertheless went inside that she might prepare herself for a very busy night.

The bare bones of the second sentence are arcam aperuit she opened a chest. ut eximeret is another Purpose Clause, telling us why she opened the chest. ut eximeret is best understood as that she might take out. vestimenta means clothing. In this sentence, vestimenta is described by occulta hidden or secret.

She opened a chest that she might remove some hidden clothing.

The Return of Pico – A Grammatical Commentary /  by Anthony Gibbins

Today’s page has an exclamation followed by three sentences. The exclamation is ecce! look! see! lo! behold! The Cassell’s Latin Dictionary says it is an Adverb, used to indicate a thing or person present, or to draw attention to a point.

Look!

The bare bones of the first sentence proper are Pico eam visitavit Pico visited her. The context of the story would suggest that her is the shopkeeper. Pico is described as noster our, an affectionate epithet. He is also described as ieiunus hungry, and ieiunus is further expanded upon with the Adverb semper always. For the record, the real Pico was (almost) always hungry. The Pronoun eam is described with a Present Active Participle cenantem dining.

Our Pico – always hungry - visited her (while she was) dining.

The bare bones of the second sentence are illa aliquid Piconi dedit et eum mulsit She gave something to Pico and patted him. The Pronoun illa she tells us that the subject has changed from Pico in the previous sentence. The two Verbs dedit gave and mulsit patted are joined by the conjunction et and. The Object of dedit is aliquid something. Piconi, in the Dative Case, tells us to whom she gave it. Now, aliquid is often used with a Noun in the Genitive Case to mean something of or some of. aliquid cenae, for example, means something or some of dinner. This type of a Genitive is called a Partitive Genitive, for the aliquid is Part of a larger whole. cenae is described by the Reflexive Possessive Adjective suae meaning her own – it ‘reflects’ back onto the sentence’s Subject – in this case illa. Finally, mulsit is expanded upon by the Adverb molliter softly. The Object of mulsit is eum him.

She gave some of her dinner to Pico and patted him softly.

The bare bones of the third sentence are tabernaria animalia amat The shopkeeper loves animals. animalia, by the way, is the Plural of animal. The conjunction enim for signals that this sentence will provide an explanation for what has come before. animalia is described by the Adjective omnia all. valde very much is an Adverb expanding upon amat.

For the shopkeeper loves all animals very much.

Cooking Dinner – A Grammatical Commentary /  by Anthony Gibbins

Today’s page has four sentences. The bare bones of the first sentence are cenam parabat she began to prepare dinner. The subject is not stated, but the end of the Verb tells us that it is either he, she or it. In Latin, if a subject is unstated like this, we maintain the subject from the previous sentence, the shopkeeper. sibi is in the Dative case and tells us for whom she was preparing dinner. This is the Reflexive Pronoun, meaning that it refers back to the subject, for herself. mox soon is an Adverb telling us when this took place. in maeniano on the balcony is a Prepositional Phrase telling us where.

Soon she began to prepare dinner for herself on the balcony.

The bare bones of the second sentence are ea coquere mavult she prefers to cook. The Pronoun ea she need not have been included here. nam for links this sentence with what has gone before, indicating that an explanation or further detail is about to be given. sub caelo beneath the sky is a Prepositional Phrase telling us where the shopkeeper prefers to cook. This is emphasised by the Adverb foris which means outside.

For she prefers to cook outside under the sky.

The bare bones of the third sentence are sibi cogitabat she was thinking to herself. Once again, the Subject of the Verb can be assumed from the previous sentence to be the shopkeeper. Notice the similar (and yet different) use of the Reflexive Pronoun sibi. The bare bones of what she was thinking are oppidum est locus the town is a place. oppidum is described by hoc this. locus is described by tam amoenus. amoenus means pleasant or delightful. tam is an Adverb meaning so or such, strengthening amoenus.

‘This town is such a pleasant place,’ she was thinking to herself.

The forth sentence contains a wish that is contrary to reality. utinam is an unusual word, in that it cannot be translated into English. Instead, it works with a Subjunctive Verb to indicate that a hope or wish is being expressed. When that Subjunctive Verb is in the Imperfect Tense, as is possem, it indicates that the wish is contrary to fact. I would understand utinam possem as something like if only I was able. manere to remain is an Infinitive Verb completing possem. hic is an Adverb meaning here.

‘If only I was able to remain here.’

Coming Home – A Grammatical Commentary /  by Anthony Gibbins

Today’s page has three sentences. The bare bones of the first sentence are tabernaria in cenaculo habitat The shopkeeper lives in an attic apartment. This sentence is expanded upon with sicut Marcellus, which means like Marcellus. You may remember that Marcellus also lives in an attic apartment, in the building that houses the French Restaurant.

Like Marcellus, the shopkeeper lives in an attic apartment.

The bares bones of the second sentence are diu habitat she has been dwelling for a long time. It is interesting to note the difference in tense use between English and Latin. habitat alone means she is dwelling or she dwells. It is the Adverb diu that suggests this has been going on for an extended period. English requires us to change the tense of the Verb, Latin does not. nec… nec… neither… nor… is used here to group two things, neither of which are true. in hoc cenaculo means in this attic apartment. in oppido means in the town. oppido is described by the Demonstrative Adjective ipso itself. The entire sentence is linked to what has come before with the Conjunction sed but.

But she has been dwelling neither in this apartment nor in the town itself for a long time.

The bare bones of the third sentence are huc migravit she migrated to here, huc being an Adverb that means to here. This statement is expanded upon by the Adverb nuper recently. The sentence is joined to what has come before by the Particle immo rather. immo often begins a sentence that will correct something that has come before and/or provided further detail. Here it corrects the (denied) assertion that the shopkeeper has dwelt in Legonium for a long time. ut officium faceret that she might perform a duty is a Purpose Clause. It explains the purpose for which the shopkeeper migrated to Legonium. Purpose is often expressed by ut and a Subjunctive Verb, here faceret that she might perform. officium duty is described by a Genitive of Value. As the name implies, a Genitive of Value is written or spoken in the Genitive Case and provides the value of something. magni momenti means of great importance.

Rather, she migrated to here recently to perform a duty of great importance.

Closing Up - A Grammatical Commentary /  by Anthony Gibbins

Today’s page has three sentences. The bare bones of the first sentence are tempus erat revenire It was time to return. Note how the Noun tempus time works with an Infinitive Verb, revenire to return, to say that it is (or was) time to do something. tabernariae, in the Dative Case, tells us for whom the statement is true, namely for the shopkeeper. domum is domus home in the Accusative Case. This is one of the few words that can indicate Movement Towards just by being in the Accusative; so domum means (to) home. sole occidente is an Ablative Absolute, so called because a) both words are in the Ablative Case and b) it is grammatically disconnected (absolute) from the remainder of the sentence. sole is the Noun sun and occidente is the Present Active Participle setting. Together it means something like with the sun setting. deinde is an Adverb meaning then, next or from there. It links this sentence with what has come before.

Then, with the sun setting, it was time for the shopkeeper to return home.

The bare bones of the second sentence are tabernaria dixit The shopkeeper said. In this sentence the Dative avi to the bird tells us to whom the shopkeeper said something. The shopkeeper is described with the Present Active Participle claudens closing. An Active Participle can take its own Object, and claudens has ianuam door in the Accusative Case. So, now to what the shopkeeper said. As she is addressing the bird, she uses the Vocative Case loquax chatterbox. She is telling the bird to sleep, so she could have used the Imperative Verb dormi sleep!, but the Second Person Subjunctive is softer, meaning something akin to may you sleep. The Adverb bene means well, and clarifies how the shopkeeper wants the bird to sleep.

‘May you sleep well, chatterbox,’ The shopkeeper says to the bird, closing the door.

The bare bones of the third sentence are psittacus iteravit The parrot repeated. What did he say? bene dormias May you sleep well.

‘May you sleep well,’ the parrot repeated.