In domo nostra magna ianua et paucae fenestrae sunt.

In our house there is a large door and few windows.

Breakdown of In domo nostra magna ianua et paucae fenestrae sunt.

• esse: to be
• in: in
• domus: the house
• magnus: large
• et: and
• fenestra: the window
• noster: our
• ianua: the door
• paucus: few

Questions & Answers about In domo nostra magna ianua et paucae fenestrae sunt.

Which Latin words express “in our house”, and why are they in those forms?

In domo nostra means “in our house.”

• in = in (preposition)
• domo = house in the ablative singular (from domus, domūs, f.)
• nostra = our in the ablative singular feminine (from noster, nostra, nostrum)

The preposition in with the meaning “in / inside” takes the ablative case, so domus (nominative) becomes domo (ablative), and its adjective noster must agree and becomes nostra (ablative feminine singular).

Why is it domo and not domus?

Domus is the nominative singular form (used mainly for the subject).

Here it follows in and shows location: in the house. With “in” meaning “in/inside,” Latin uses the ablative case, so:

• nominative: domus (house)
• ablative: domo (in the house)

So in domo = in the house, not in house or the house (as subject).

Why is it nostra and not noster?

The basic dictionary form is noster (our), but adjectives in Latin must agree with the noun they modify in:

• gender
• number
• case

The noun domo comes from domus, which is feminine, singular, ablative here. So “our” must also be:

• feminine → nostra, not noster (masc.)
• singular
• ablative (to match domo)

Hence domo nostra = our house (in the house of ours), with full agreement.

How do we know that magna goes with ianua and paucae goes with fenestrae, and not with some other words?

You match adjectives to nouns by agreement in gender, number, and case:

• magna ianua

  • ianua = door, feminine nominative singular
  • magna = big, feminine nominative singular → same gender, number, case → they go together: “a big door.”

• paucae fenestrae

  • fenestrae = windows, feminine nominative plural
  • paucae = few, feminine nominative plural → they agree with each other → “a few / few windows.”

Domo nostra is feminine ablative singular, so those two go together and are clearly separate from magna ianua and paucae fenestrae, which are nominative.

Why do some adjectives come before the noun (magna ianua, paucae fenestrae) and one comes after (domo nostra)?

Latin word order is flexible, especially for adjectives. Both:

• magna ianua and ianua magna = big door
• nostra domo and domo nostra = our house

are grammatically correct.

Some tendencies (not strict rules):

• Possessive adjectives (noster, meus, tuus, etc.) often follow the noun: domo nostra.
• Many other adjectives are commonly placed before the noun, especially simple, descriptive ones: magna ianua, paucae fenestrae.

But Latin relies primarily on endings, not word order, to show what goes with what.

Why is ianua singular but fenestrae plural?

The sentence describes:

• one door: ianua (nominative singular) → “door”
• more than one window: fenestrae (nominative plural) → “windows”

So the phrase means: “there is a big door and a few windows in our house.”

The endings show this:

• -a → often nominative singular for 1st-declension nouns (ianua)
• -ae → often nominative plural for 1st-declension nouns (fenestrae)

If there is one door and (at least) two windows, why is the verb sunt plural?

Sunt is the third person plural of esse (to be), so it means “they are / there are.”

The subject of the verb here is both:

• magna ianua (a big door) and
• paucae fenestrae (a few windows)

A compound subject (X and Y) is plural, so Latin uses the plural verb:

• Magna ianua et paucae fenestrae sunt.
  = A big door and a few windows are (there).

If only the door were mentioned, you would say:

• In domo nostra magna ianua est.
  = In our house there is a big door.

What exactly does paucae mean? Is it “few” or “a few”? Is it about size or number?

Paucae comes from pauci, paucae, pauca and means “few (in number)” – it talks about quantity, not size.

• paucae fenestrae = few / a few windows

In many beginner contexts, pauci is translated as “a few, some (but not many)”, often with a slightly limiting nuance: “only a few.”

It does not mean small.
Small windows would be parvae fenestrae (from parvus, -a, -um = small).

Why does in take the ablative here? When would it take the accusative?

The preposition in in Latin has two main patterns:

1. in + ablative → position / rest in a place

   • In domo = in the house (staying inside)

2. in + accusative → motion into a place

   • In domum = into the house (movement towards/into)

In the sentence In domo nostra magna ianua et paucae fenestrae sunt, you are just locating the door and windows inside the house, not moving anything, so in correctly takes the ablative (domo).

Why is there no separate word for “there” (as in “there are”) in the Latin sentence?

English uses “there is / there are” as an existential construction:

• There are a big door and a few windows in our house.

Latin usually just uses the verb “to be” (esse) with the subject:

• Magna ianua et paucae fenestrae sunt in domo nostra.

This literally means:

• A big door and a few windows are in our house.

So Latin doesn’t need a separate word for “there” in this kind of sentence; sunt alone does the job of “are / there are.”