Word
Servus ianuam aperit, et dominus hospitem salutat.
Meaning
The servant opens the door, and the master greets the guest.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of Servus ianuam aperit, et dominus hospitem salutat.
et
and
salutare
to greet
aperire
to open
ianua
the door
Questions & Answers about Servus ianuam aperit, et dominus hospitem salutat.
How does each Latin word in the sentence correspond to the English meaning?
Word by word:
- servus – slave / servant (subject)
- ianuam – door (direct object; literally “the door”)
- aperit – opens (verb, “he/she/it opens”)
- et – and
- dominus – master / lord (subject)
- hospitem – guest (direct object; literally “the guest”)
- salutat – greets (verb, “he/she/it greets”)
So: Servus ianuam aperit, et dominus hospitem salutat.
= “The slave opens the door, and the master greets the guest.”
Why is there no word for “the” in the Latin sentence?
Latin has no definite or indefinite articles (no words for “the” or “a/an”).
- servus can mean “a slave” or “the slave”.
- ianuam can mean “a door” or “the door”, depending on context.
The context decides whether we translate with “a” or “the” in English.
Why do ianuam and hospitem end in -am and -em, instead of the dictionary forms ianua and ?