Word
Hic templum deae pulchrae dedicatur; dea pacem amat.
Meaning
(This temple is dedicated to a beautiful goddess; the goddess loves peace.)
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
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Questions & Answers about Hic templum deae pulchrae dedicatur; dea pacem amat.
Why is deae pulchrae used instead of dea pulchra in the first clause?
Latin often uses the dative case with the verb dedicatur (meaning is dedicated) to indicate to whom something is dedicated. Since deae pulchrae describes the beautiful goddess in the dative singular (both deae and pulchrae must match in case, number, and gender), it shows that the temple is being dedicated to her.
How can I tell that dedicatur is in the passive voice?
In Latin, passive endings often include -tur or -ntur for the third person. Here, dedicatur ends with -atur, which indicates a third-person singular passive (he/she/it is dedicated).
What is the subject of dedicatur?
The subject is templum, because templum is in the nominative case and corresponds to the thing being dedicated. In a passive construction, the subject receives the action.
Why is pacem in the accusative case?
In the clause dea pacem amat, the verb amat (she loves) needs a direct object, and that direct object is pacem (peace) in the accusative case. Latin uses the accusative to show the direct object of a transitive verb like amat.
Is hic used here as an adjective or as an adverb?
In this sentence, hic functions more like an adverb meaning here, describing where the temple is dedicated. If it were an adjective, it would agree in case, number, and gender with templum (for example, hoc templum if we meant this temple).
Why do we see dea in the second clause but deae in the first?
In Hic templum deae pulchrae dedicatur, deae is in the dative case because the temple is dedicated to the goddess. In the second clause, dea pacem amat, dea is in the nominative case because she is the subject performing the action (loving peace).