Nonne apiarius favum eximit?

Nonne introduces a question that expects the answer yes.

So this is not just a neutral question like Does the beekeeper remove the honeycomb? It is more like:

• Surely the beekeeper removes the honeycomb?
• Doesn’t the beekeeper remove the honeycomb?

Latin often uses nonne when the speaker assumes the statement is true.

Apiarius is the subject of the sentence, so it is in the nominative singular.

It means beekeeper (or one who deals with bees). In this sentence, apiarius is the person doing the action.

A native English speaker may not be used to seeing the subject marked by a special ending, but in Latin the ending helps show the word’s role in the sentence.

Because favum is the direct object of the verb, so it is in the accusative singular.

• favus = nominative singular
• favum = accusative singular

Since the honeycomb is the thing being removed, Latin puts it in the accusative case.

This is one of the most important patterns in Latin:

• subject → nominative
• direct object → accusative

Favum is accusative singular.

You can tell because:

1. It is the thing affected by the verb eximit.
2. The ending -um is a common accusative singular ending for a second-declension masculine noun.

So the grammar is:

• apiarius = nominative singular subject
• favum = accusative singular object

Eximit is a verb meaning he/she/it removes or takes out.

Grammatically, it is:

• 3rd person singular
• present tense
• active voice
• indicative mood

So it matches a singular subject like apiarius.

If you break it down:

• the ending -t usually means he/she/it
• the present tense here gives the sense removes / is removing

Eximit comes from eximere, which means to take out, remove, or draw out.

Its principal parts are:

• eximo
• eximere
• exemi
• exemptum

This is a compound of ex- (out) and a verb related to taking.

A learner may notice that eximit does not look exactly like the infinitive eximere. That is normal in Latin: the stem changes shape somewhat in different forms.

Latin word order is much more flexible than English word order because the endings show the grammatical roles.

In English, word order is crucial:

• The beekeeper removes the honeycomb is different from
• The honeycomb removes the beekeeper

In Latin, the endings already tell you who is doing what:

• apiarius = subject
• favum = object

So Latin can say:

• Nonne apiarius favum eximit?
• Nonne favum apiarius eximit?
• Apiarius nonne favum eximit?

These can all mean roughly the same basic thing, though the emphasis may shift.

It very often comes near the beginning, especially at the start of the sentence, because it signals right away that this is a yes-answer expected question.

So Nonne apiarius favum eximit? is very natural.

In principle, Latin word order is flexible, but putting nonne first is common and clear.

Latin does not usually need a separate helping verb like English do/does to make a question.

English says:

• Does the beekeeper remove the honeycomb?

Latin simply uses the verb form itself:

• apiarius favum eximit

Then it can mark the sentence as a question by:

• intonation in speech
• punctuation in writing
• a question particle such as nonne

So Latin expresses in one word, eximit, what English often expresses with does remove.

Yes. It is a very normal kind of Latin question.

Latin has several common ways to ask questions:

• -ne for a neutral question
• nonne for a question expecting yes
• num for a question expecting no

So this sentence is specifically shaped as a question where the speaker assumes the answer is probably yes.

The ending -us here shows nominative singular.

Also, the verb eximit is 3rd person singular, so the subject must be singular too.

If the subject were plural, you would expect a plural noun and a plural verb, for example something like:

• singular: apiarius eximit = the beekeeper removes
• plural: apiarii eximunt = the beekeepers remove

So both the noun ending and the verb ending point to a singular subject.

Favus, favi is a second-declension masculine noun.

In this sentence you see its accusative singular form, favum.

A learner may want to remember its basic pattern:

• nominative singular: favus
• genitive singular: favi
• accusative singular: favum

Knowing the dictionary form helps you recognize why favum appears here.

Yes. The Latin present tense can often be translated in more than one way in English, depending on context:

• removes
• is removing
• does remove

In a simple sentence like this, removes is usually the most natural basic translation, but is removing can also be possible if the context suggests an action in progress.