Avia pueros rogat: "Quomodo hodie vos sentitis?"

Grandmother asks the boys: "How do you feel today?"

Breakdown of Avia pueros rogat: "Quomodo hodie vos sentitis?"

• puer: the boy
• vos: you
• hodie: today
• sentire: to feel
• rogare: to ask
• avia: the grandmother
• quomodo: how

Questions & Answers about Avia pueros rogat: "Quomodo hodie vos sentitis?"

What does avia mean exactly, and what form is it in?

Avia means grandmother. It is:

• Nominative singular
• First-declension noun
• Feminine gender

So avia is the subject of the verb rogat: Avia … rogat = The grandmother asks…

Why is pueros in the accusative case instead of nominative?

Pueros is the accusative plural of puer (boy).

In Latin, rogare usually takes a direct object in the accusative for the person being asked:

• Avia pueros rogat = Grandmother asks the boys.

So pueros is not doing the action; it is receiving the action of the verb (it is what we might call in English “the person asked”), so it must be in the accusative, not nominative.

What does rogat mean here, and how is it parsed?

Rogat comes from rogō, rogāre (to ask). Here it is:

• 3rd person singular
• Present tense
• Active voice
• Indicative mood

So rogat = she asks.
Because avia is the subject, Avia … rogat = Grandmother asks…

Why is there a colon after rogat?

The colon introduces direct speech: what the grandmother actually says.

So:

• Avia pueros rogat: = Grandmother asks the boys:
• Followed by Quomodo hodie vos sentitis? = “How are you feeling today?”

Classical Latin manuscripts didn’t use modern punctuation, but in edited texts a colon (or sometimes a comma) is used to signal that what follows is a direct quotation.

What does Quomodo mean, and why is it used instead of something like quid?

Quomodo literally means in what way? or how?

• quō = in what manner / whither (an old form)
• modo = way, manner

Together, quomodo ⇒ how?

Quomodo is used to ask how something is, not what it is.
Quid means what? (as in “What is this?”), so it wouldn’t fit the meaning How are you feeling?

Is quomodo one word or two, and is there any variation in spelling?

In most classical and teaching texts you will see it as one word: quomodo.

Historically it comes from quō modō, and sometimes you may see quo modo written as two words, especially in older or more philological editions, but in normal student Latin you can treat quomodo as a single interrogative adverb meaning how.

What does hodie mean, and why doesn’t its ending change?

Hodie means today. It is an adverb, not a noun or adjective.

Adverbs in Latin generally do not decline (they don’t change ending for case, number, or gender), so hodie keeps the same form no matter what:

• Hodie legimus. – We read today.
• Hodie vos sentitis. – Today you (pl.) feel…

It always stays hodie.

Why is vos included when the verb sentitis already shows it’s “you (plural)”?

Latin can omit subject pronouns because person and number are built into the verb ending. So:

• Sentitis by itself already means you (plural) feel.

However, a pronoun like vos can be added for:

• Emphasis: How are *you (as opposed to others) feeling today?*
• Clarity: For learners or in contrastive contexts it can be clearer.

So:

• Quomodo hodie sentitis? – perfectly correct.
• Quomodo hodie vos sentitis? – adds a bit of focus to you.

How is sentitis parsed, and what does it mean here?

Sentitis comes from sentiō, sentīre (to feel, perceive, sense). It is:

• 2nd person plural
• Present tense
• Active voice
• Indicative mood

So sentitis = you (pl.) feel.

In context, Quomodo hodie vos sentitis? conveys How are you feeling today? (literally: In what way today do you feel?).

Why is there no separate word for “are” as in “How are you feeling?” in English?

Latin doesn’t need a helper verb like “are” for this idea. Instead of “are feeling”, Latin simply uses the present tense of sentio:

• English: How *are you feeling?* (auxiliary + participle)
• Latin: Quomodo vos sentitis? – literally How do you feel?

Latin often uses a simple present where English uses a progressive form (am feeling, are doing, is going etc.).

What kind of question is Quomodo hodie vos sentitis? — and why is there no -ne on the verb?

This is a direct question introduced by an interrogative word (quomodo = how).

In Latin:

• If a question uses an interrogative word (e.g. quis, quid, ubi, quomodo),
  you do not add -ne to the verb.
• -ne is used for yes/no questions without any interrogative word, e.g.
  Vos hodie bene sentitisne? – Do you feel well today?

Since we already have quomodo, no -ne is needed.

Could the question be worded with a different order, like Quomodo vos hodie sentitis?, and would that change the meaning?

Yes, the word order can change:

• Quomodo hodie vos sentitis?
• Quomodo vos hodie sentitis?
• Vos hodie quomodo sentitis?

All essentially mean How are you (pl.) feeling today?

Latin word order is much more flexible than English. Changing the order can slightly shift rhythm or emphasis, but there is no big change in basic meaning here; it still clearly reads as How are you feeling today?.

Could this have been written with an indirect question instead of a colon and direct speech?

Yes. Instead of direct speech:

• Avia pueros rogat: “Quomodo hodie vos sentitis?”

you could have an indirect question, e.g.:

• Avia pueros rogat quomodo hodie se sentiant.

Key points in the indirect version:

• No colon and no quotation marks.
• The verb of the question (sentio) goes into the subjunctive (sentiant).
• The reflexive se refers back to the boys (how they feel).

Meaning: Grandmother asks the boys how they are feeling today.