Breakdown of Secunda hora puella cum amicis pila in horto ludit.
in
in
amicus
the friend
puella
the girl
hortus
the garden
Questions & Answers about Secunda hora puella cum amicis pila in horto ludit.
What does secunda hora mean grammatically, and why is there no word for at?
Secunda hora is in the ablative case and is an ablative of time when. Latin often expresses “at [a certain time]” using the ablative alone, without a preposition:
- secunda hora = at the second hour / at two o’clock
- nocte = at night
- tertia die = on the third day
So the idea of “at” is built into the ablative ending; Latin does not need a separate word for it here.
Why is it secunda hora and not something like secundus hora?
Adjectives in Latin must agree with the nouns they describe in gender, number, and case.
- hora is feminine, singular, ablative (1st declension).
- Therefore the adjective must also be feminine, singular, ablative: secunda.
If the noun were masculine, you would see secundus; neuter would be secundum. Here the form secunda matches hora.
What case is puella, and what is its function in the sentence?
Puella is nominative singular, and it is the subject of the verb ludit.