Multi numquam sine amicitia vivunt.

Many people never live without friendship.

Breakdown of Multi numquam sine amicitia vivunt.

• multus: many
• numquam: never
• amicitia: the friendship
• sine: without
• vivere: to live

Questions & Answers about Multi numquam sine amicitia vivunt.

What does multi mean here, and where is the noun it goes with?

Multi means “many”. Literally it’s the nominative plural of the adjective multus, -a, -um (“much, many”).

In this sentence it is used on its own as a noun (a “substantive adjective”). The full idea is:

• multi (homines) = many (people)

Latin often omits a very obvious noun like homines (“people”), especially when adjectives like multi, pauci, boni, mali etc. are used. English usually has to supply people in translation.

What case, number, and gender is multi, and how do we know?

Multi is:

• case: nominative
• number: plural
• gender: masculine

We know it’s nominative plural because it is the subject of vivunt (“they live”) and must agree with that verb in person and number (3rd person plural).

The masculine is the default for a mixed or generic group of humans in Latin, so multi here is naturally understood as many people.

What exactly does numquam mean, and how is it different from just non?

Numquam is an adverb meaning “never”.

• non simply negates: “not”.
  • vivunt = “they live”
  • non vivunt = “they do not live”
• numquam adds the idea of time/frequency: “at no time, on no occasion, never”.
  • numquam vivunt = “they never live” / “they never (at any time) live”

So in multi numquam sine amicitia vivunt, numquam says that at no time do they live without friendship — in other words, they always live with friendship.

Could Latin also say non umquam instead of numquam? Is there a difference?

Yes, Classical Latin can also use non umquam (“not ever”) with essentially the same basic meaning as numquam (“never”).

• numquam is the standard single word.
• non umquam can sound more emphatic or more literary/poetic, drawing attention to the “ever” part.

In most simple prose, numquam is what you’ll see. The meaning here would not change in any important way if someone used non umquam instead.

Where does numquam normally go in a Latin sentence? Could we move it?

Latin word order is flexible, especially for adverbs like numquam.

Your sentence is:

• Multi numquam sine amicitia vivunt.

Other possible orders:

• Multi sine amicitia numquam vivunt.
• Numquam multi sine amicitia vivunt.
• Sine amicitia multi numquam vivunt.

All are grammatically correct; the differences are mostly about rhythm and emphasis.

A common neutral position is just before the verb or near the phrase it logically negates. Here numquam sits before the prepositional phrase sine amicitia and before vivunt, and it “covers” the whole idea “live without friendship”.

What does sine mean, and what case does it take?

Sine is a preposition meaning “without”.

It always takes the ablative case in Classical Latin. The pattern is:

• sine
  • ablative = “without _”

So in the sentence:

• sine amicitia → amicitia must be ablative: “without friendship”.

Why is amicitia ablative here, and how can I tell?

Amicitia is from the noun amicitia, -ae, f. (“friendship”).

The forms of the singular are:

• nominative: amicitia
• genitive: amicitiae
• dative: amicitiae
• accusative: amicitiam
• ablative: amicitia

So amicitia can be nominative or ablative. Context decides:

• After sine, we must have the ablative.
• So here amicitia is ablative singular, required by sine, and it means “(away) from friendship, without friendship”.

This is an example of the ablative of separation with sine.

Could we say sine amicis instead of sine amicitia? What would change in meaning?

Yes, you could say sine amicis (ablative plural of amici, “friends”).

• sine amicitia = “without friendship” (friendship as an abstract quality/state)
• sine amicis = “without (their) friends” (actual people)

Your sentence:

• Multi numquam sine amicitia vivunt.
  → “Many people never live without friendship.”

If you wrote:

• Multi numquam sine amicis vivunt.
  → “Many people never live without friends.”

The original with amicitia feels more general and abstract (they always have friendship in their lives), not just “there are always some friends physically around”.

What is the form of vivunt, and what are its principal parts?

Vivunt is:

• verb: from vivo, vivere, vixi, victum (“to live”)
• tense: present
• voice: active
• mood: indicative
• person: 3rd
• number: plural

So vivunt means “they live”, matching the subject multi (many people).

Should I translate vivunt as “live”, “are living”, or “do live”? Does Latin distinguish these?

Latin present indicative covers all three English present forms:

• “they live” (simple present, habitual)
• “they are living” (progressive)
• “they do live” (emphatic)

Context decides which English form sounds best. Here the idea is habitual (“as a rule, in their lives”), so:

• “many people never live without friendship”
  or more idiomatically,
• “many people never live without friends/friendship”

The Latin vivunt itself does not force one of these English nuances; it just says “they live” in the present.

Why is there no word for “they” or “people” in the Latin sentence?

Latin doesn’t need a separate subject pronoun when the verb ending already shows the person and number:

• vivunt → 3rd person plural → “they live”

The “people” idea is contained in multi, which acts as a substantive adjective:

• multi = “many (people)”

So Latin has:

• Multi numquam sine amicitia vivunt.
  → literally: “Many never without friendship live.”

English usually must supply “people” and “they” to make a natural sentence, but Latin doesn’t.

Is the word order Multi numquam sine amicitia vivunt fixed, or can we rearrange it?

The order is not fixed. Latin allows a lot of flexibility. For example, all of these are grammatically possible:

• Multi numquam sine amicitia vivunt.
• Multi sine amicitia numquam vivunt.
• Numquam multi sine amicitia vivunt.
• Sine amicitia numquam multi vivunt.

They all still mean essentially “many people never live without friendship”.

Word order in Latin is often used for emphasis and style rather than basic grammar, which is mainly shown by endings (cases, verb endings, etc.). Your original order is perfectly normal: subject – adverb – prepositional phrase – verb.

Why doesn’t the Latin sentence have words like “a” or “the”?

Classical Latin has no articles like English “a, an, the”.

• Multi can mean “many”, “many people”, “many of them”, etc.
• amicitia can be “friendship”, “a friendship”, “the friendship”, depending on context.

When translating, you choose “a” or “the” (or nothing) in English based on what sounds natural and what the context suggests. The Latin itself leaves that unspecified.

How would you pronounce Multi numquam sine amicitia vivunt in Classical Latin?

In a common reconstructed Classical pronunciation (stressed syllables in caps):

• MÚL-ti – MUL-tee
• NÚM-quam – NOOM-kwam
• SÍ-ne – SEE-neh
• a-mi-CI-ti-a – ah-mee-KEE-tee-ah (stress on CI)
• VÍ-vunt – WEE-woont (classical v is [w])

So, roughly:

MÚL-ti NÚM-quam SÍ-ne a-mi-CÍ-ti-a VÍ-vunt

In Ecclesiastical (Church) Latin, v is like English v, and c before i is like ch in cheek: ah-mee-CHEE-tee-ah, VEE-voont.