Tempus in urbe fugit, sed in silva manet.

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Breakdown of Tempus in urbe fugit, sed in silva manet.

• sed: but
• urbs: the city
• silva: the forest
• tempus: the time
• fugere: to flee
• manere: to remain

Questions & Answers about Tempus in urbe fugit, sed in silva manet.

Why is Tempus in the nominative case?

Tempus is the subject of the verb fugit, and in Latin, the subject of a verb appears in the nominative case.

Why does in urbe use the ablative case?

Because in is followed by the ablative when indicating location (where something/someone is). This rule of a preposition taking the ablative case is common in Latin when expressing a stationary position.

Why is there a contrast between fugit and manet?

Fugit literally means flees or escapes, while manet means remains or stays. The sentence contrasts what happens to time in the city versus in the forest.

Why is sed used instead of another conjunction like et or aut?

Sed means but and introduces a contrast between the two clauses. Et means and (adding or connecting), while aut means or (providing an alternative). Here, the speaker contrasts the city with the forest.

Why is silva also in the ablative case?

As with in urbe, the phrase in silva also denotes location and, with in used in a stationary sense, it requires the noun (silva) to be in the ablative case.