Questions & Answers about Iudex de gravi facinore discit.
Why is iudex the subject, even though it does not end in -us like many Latin nouns?
Because iudex is a third-declension noun, not a second-declension one.
Its dictionary form is iudex, iudicis and it means judge. In this sentence, iudex is nominative singular, so it is the subject: the judge is the one doing the action.
A learner often expects the subject to look like dominus or servus, but many Latin subjects do not end in -us. Third-declension nouns have a wider variety of nominative endings, and -ex is one of them.
What case is de gravi facinore, and why is it in that case?
De gravi facinore is in the ablative because the preposition de takes the ablative.
So:
- de = about / concerning
- gravi facinore = ablative singular
Latin prepositions often control a specific case. Here, de must be followed by the ablative, so both the noun and its adjective appear in the ablative:
- gravi = ablative singular
- facinore = ablative singular
Why is it gravi facinore and not grave facinus?