Breakdown of Pactum summam dotis continet.
pactum
the agreement
continere
to contain
summa
the sum
dos
the dowry
Questions & Answers about Pactum summam dotis continet.
What is the subject of continet in this sentence?
The subject is pactum.
Here, continet is a singular verb, so we look for a singular nominative noun to match it. Pactum is nominative singular neuter, so it means the agreement / contract and serves as the subject.
So the basic structure is:
- pactum = the agreement
- continet = contains
Why is summam in that form?
Summam is accusative singular, which shows that it is the direct object of continet.
The verb continere means to contain, and the thing being contained goes into the accusative case. So:
- summa = sum, amount
- summam = the sum / amount as the direct object
In other words, the agreement contains what?
It contains summam.
What does dotis mean, and why is it genitive?
Dotis is the genitive singular of dos, dotis, meaning dowry.
The genitive here shows a relationship like of in English:
- summa dotis = the amount of the dowry
So dotis depends on and tells us or .