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Questions & Answers about Salvete, amici.
Why does the sentence use Salvete instead of Salve?
Salve is used when addressing one person, while Salvete is for addressing more than one person. Both are imperatives meaning "greetings" or "be well," derived from the verb salvēre.
Which case is amici in this sentence?
The word amici is in the vocative plural case, because the speaker is directly addressing multiple friends. In the second declension, the nominative plural and the vocative plural are spelled the same.
Why is amici spelled with an "-i" at the end?
In Latin, masculine nouns of the second declension typically form their plural endings with -i in both the nominative and vocative cases. The singular form is amicus (friend), and the plural form is amici (friends).
How would I greet just one friend instead of many?
To greet a single friend, you would say Salve, amice. Here, Salve is the singular imperative, and amice is the vocative singular of amicus ("friend").
Does the greeting Salvete, amici imply anything about formality?
Salvete, amici is quite standard and friendly. Latin doesn’t strictly distinguish between casual and formal greetings in the way some modern languages do, so it’s appropriate in most contexts when addressing multiple friends.
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