Nuntius dicit: “Mox dea ad urbem ambulabit et templum laetum erit.”

to be

Breakdown of Nuntius dicit: “Mox dea ad urbem ambulabit et templum laetum erit.”

• laetus: happy
• et: and
• urbs: the city
• ambulare: to walk
• ad: to
• nuntius: the messenger
• mox: soon
• templum: the temple
• dea: the goddess
• dicere: to say

Questions & Answers about Nuntius dicit: “Mox dea ad urbem ambulabit et templum laetum erit.”

Why is dea in the nominative case?

In Latin, the nominative case indicates the subject of the sentence. Here, dea (goddess) is the one performing the action (walking), so the nominative case is used.

What does Mox convey, and why use it instead of something like cito?

Both mox (“soon”) and cito (“quickly”) introduce a sense of immediacy, but mox specifically suggests an event that will happen in the near future, while cito focuses on speed or quickness rather than nearness in time.

How do we parse ambulabit?

Ambulabit is the third-person singular future active indicative form of ambulare (“to walk”). It tells us that the goddess “will walk” at a point in the future.

Why does templum laetum erit use the adjective laetum instead of laeta?

The noun templum is neuter in gender, so the adjective that describes it must also be in the neuter form. Hence, laetum matches the neuter gender of templum.

How is dicit introducing the direct speech in this sentence?

Dicit literally means “he/she says.” When used before a direct quotation in Latin, it functions like an English verb such as “says” or “states,” signaling that the words following are spoken by the subject (in this case, the messenger).