Log inSign up

Mercator piscem vendit et magnum pretium petit.

Mercator piscem vendit et magnum pretium petit.
The merchant sells fish and asks a high price.
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Latin grammar and vocabulary.

Start learning Latin now

Questions & Answers about Mercator piscem vendit et magnum pretium petit.

How do we know that mercator is the subject and piscem is the object?

Latin shows who is doing what mostly by endings, not by word order.

  • mercator ends in -or and is in the nominative singular, the usual case for the subject of the verb.
  • piscem ends in -em and is in the accusative singular, the usual case for the direct object.

So even if you changed the word order (for example, Piscem mercator vendit), the endings still tell you:

  • mercator = the one doing the action (subject)
  • piscem = the thing receiving the action (object)
Why is it piscem and not piscis?

The dictionary gives the noun as piscis, piscis (m.) – “fish.”

This noun belongs to the 3rd declension:

  • Nominative singular: piscis – “(a) fish” as subject
  • Accusative singular: piscem – “(a) fish” as object

In the sentence, the fish is being sold (it receives the action), so Latin uses the accusative → piscem.

So:

  • Piscis vendit would look like “The fish sells…”
  • Piscem vendit = “(He) sells a fish.”
Why isn’t there a separate word for “the” or “a” in mercator piscem vendit?

Latin has no articles (no words for “the, a, an”).

  • mercator can mean “a merchant” or “the merchant”.
  • piscem can mean “a fish” or “the fish”.

Which English article you choose depends on context, not on any Latin word. Here, “The merchant sells a fish” is a natural translation, but “A merchant sells the fish” could also be possible in another context.

Where is the word “he” in this sentence?

Latin usually doesn’t need a separate subject pronoun (like “he, she, it”) because the verb ending already tells you the person and number.

  • vendit = “he/she/it sells” (3rd person singular present)
  • petit = “he/she/it asks for” / “seeks” (3rd person singular present)

The subject is understood from the verb ending -t plus the noun mercator:

  • mercator vendit = “The merchant sells” / “The merchant is selling”
  • No extra is or he is required in Latin.
Why does magnum end in -um and not -us like magnus?

Magnus, -a, -um is an adjective meaning “great, big, large.”

Adjectives must agree with the noun they modify in:

  • gender (masculine/feminine/neuter)
  • number (singular/plural)
  • case (nominative/accusative/etc.)

The noun here is pretium:

  • pretium is neuter, singular, accusative (object of petit)
  • So magnus must take its neuter, singular, accusative form: magnum

Hence:

  • magnum pretium = “a high/large price”

magnus (m.), magna (f.), magnum (n.)

How do we know that magnum goes with pretium and not with piscem?

Again, by agreement of endings:

  • piscem – masculine, singular, accusative
  • pretium – neuter, singular, accusative
  • magnum – neuter, singular, accusative

Since magnum matches pretium exactly in gender, number, and case, it must describe pretium, not piscem.

So the sense is:

  • He sells a fish (piscem vendit)
  • And asks a high price (magnum pretium petit)

Not “He sells a big fish.” That would be magnum piscem vendit (with magnum made masculine to match piscem).

Why is there no word meaning “for” in magnum pretium petit (“he asks for a high price”)?

In English we say “ask for a price.” Latin uses the verb peto with a direct object instead:

  • petit pretium = “he asks a price / he demands a price”
  • No extra preposition like “for” is needed.

So:

  • magnum pretium petit = “he asks (for) a high price”
    The “for” is built into how petere is used with its object.
What exactly do vendit and petit tell us about time? Are they “sells” or “is selling”?

Both vendit and petit are present tense:

  • 3rd person singular present active indicative

Latin’s present tense can cover several English forms:

  • “he sells”
  • “he is selling”
  • “he does sell”

Context decides which English version sounds best. Here, “The merchant sells a fish and asks a high price” or “is selling … and is asking …” both represent the Latin present accurately.

Why is the dictionary form vendo, vendere but the sentence has vendit?

Latin dictionaries list verbs like this: 1st person singular present + infinitive, e.g.

  • vendo, vendere – “I sell, to sell”
  • peto, petere – “I seek/ask for, to seek”

To say “he/she/it sells”, you conjugate vendo in the present tense:

  • vendo – I sell
  • vendes – you (sg.) sell
  • vendit – he/she/it sells
  • …

So vendit is the 3rd person singular present form of vendo.

Similarly:

  • peto, petere → petit = “he/she/it seeks / he/she/it asks for”
Why is pretium also ending in -um if it’s an object? Isn’t -um sometimes nominative?

Yes, for neuter nouns in the 2nd declension, nominative and accusative singular are identical:

  • pretium (nom. sg.) – “a price” as the subject
  • pretium (acc. sg.) – “a price” as the object

Which case it is depends on how it’s used in the sentence:

  • If pretium were the subject, we’d expect a meaning like “The price is high.”
  • Here, pretium is what is being asked for (object of petit), so it’s accusative.

Latin often relies on function and verb meaning, not just form, to distinguish this with neuter nouns.

Why is et placed between the verbs vendit and petit and not between the objects?

Et is a coordinating conjunction meaning “and.” It can link:

  • Words: piscem et pretium – “a fish and a price”
  • Phrases or clauses: piscem vendit et magnum pretium petit

In this sentence, et is linking two actions of the same subject:

  • (mercator) piscem vendit – the merchant sells a fish
  • (mercator) magnum pretium petit – (the same merchant) asks a high price

Latin doesn’t need to repeat mercator; it is understood as the subject of both verbs linked by et.