Soror et frater in horto flores vident.

in

Breakdown of Soror et frater in horto flores vident.

• et: and
• videre: to see
• hortus: the garden
• soror: the sister
• frater: the brother
• flos: the flower

Questions & Answers about Soror et frater in horto flores vident.

Why is the verb vident in the third-person plural?

Because soror et frater (sister and brother) together make a plural subject. Therefore, the verb must be in the plural form, which in Latin is indicated by -nt for the third-person plural.

What case is flores in, and why?

flores is in the accusative plural. In this sentence, it serves as the direct object of the verb vident (they see).

Why is it in horto instead of something like hortum?

The preposition in can be followed by either the ablative or the accusative. Here it is with the ablative (horto) to indicate location (they are seeing flowers in the garden). If it indicated motion into the garden, you would use the accusative (hortum).

How do you know that soror and frater are the subjects?

Both are nominative forms, which typically serve as the subject in a Latin sentence. They appear at the start, and there is no other nominative that could be the subject. Also, the plural verb agrees with more than one subject.

Why does soror not have an -a at the end if it is nominative singular (like many first-declension nouns do)?

Although most first-declension nouns end in -a in the nominative singular, soror is not a first-declension noun. It actually belongs to the third declension, where the nominative forms can vary. In this case, soror happens to end in -or.

Is the word order Soror et frater in horto flores vident fixed?

Latin word order is quite flexible. You might see variations like Soror et frater flores in horto vident, or In horto soror et frater flores vident, but the meaning remains essentially the same, with context clues (cases, verb endings) determining each word’s function.