Civis locuples non semper immunis est.

to be

Breakdown of Civis locuples non semper immunis est.

• non: not
• semper: always
• civis: the citizen

Questions & Answers about Civis locuples non semper immunis est.

Why is civis the subject of the sentence?

Because civis is in the nominative singular, which is the case normally used for the subject of a sentence.

Here, est means is, so the sentence is structured like:

• civis = subject
• locuples = adjective describing the subject
• immunis = predicate adjective after est
• est = verb

So civis is the person being talked about: the/a citizen.

What case is civis, and how can I tell?

Civis is nominative singular here.

A learner may notice that civis can also be genitive singular in some contexts, but in this sentence it is clearly nominative because:

• it fits as the subject of est
• the adjectives locuples and immunis also match it as nominative singular
• the meaning of the sentence requires a subject: A wealthy citizen is not always exempt/immune

So syntax helps you identify the case.

Why are there two adjectives, locuples and immunis, and what is each one doing?