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Nunc medicus dicit infantem sanum esse et mater gaudet.

Nunc medicus dicit infantem sanum esse et mater gaudet.
Now the male doctor says that the baby is healthy and mother rejoices.
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Questions & Answers about Nunc medicus dicit infantem sanum esse et mater gaudet.

Why is infantem in the accusative case and not infans in the nominative?

Because infantem is the subject of an infinitive (esse) inside an indirect statement (also called accusative + infinitive, or AcI).

In Latin, after verbs of saying, thinking, knowing, etc., you do not use a clause with “that …” as in English. Instead you use:

  • accusative = the logical subject of the reported statement
  • infinitive = the verb of the reported statement

So:

  • medicus dicit infantem sanum esse
    = literally: the doctor says the baby to be healthy
    = idiomatic English: the doctor says that the baby is healthy

Therefore infantem must be accusative, because it is the subject of the infinitive esse in an AcI construction, not the main-clause subject.

What exactly is sanum esse, and how does it work grammatically?

Sanum esse is an infinitive phrase:

  • esse = infinitive “to be”
  • sanum = adjective “healthy” in the accusative singular, modifying infantem

Together, infantem sanum esse is the content of what the doctor says:
that the baby is healthy.

Structure:

  • main verb: dicit (he says)
  • subject of dicit: medicus
  • indirect statement (object of dicit): infantem sanum esse

So sanum esse by itself is “to be healthy”, and with infantem in the accusative it forms the indirect statement: “that the baby is healthy.”

Why is sanum and not sanus used here?

Because sanum must agree with infantem in:

  • gender: masculine (assuming the baby is male; infans is “common gender” but can be treated as masculine or feminine depending on the actual sex)
  • number: singular
  • case: accusative

Sanus, -a, -um is a first/second-declension adjective.
The accusative masculine singular form is sanum.

Since infantem is accusative singular and treated as masculine, its adjective must also be accusative singular masculine: sanum.

So:

  • nominative: infans sanus est – the baby is healthy
  • accusative + infinitive: medicus dicit infantem sanum esse – the doctor says that the baby is healthy
How does medicus dicit infantem sanum esse correspond to the English “the doctor says that the baby is healthy”?

They match like this:

  • medicus = the doctor (subject of says)
  • dicit = says
  • infantem = the baby (subject of the reported clause)
  • sanum = healthy
  • esse = to be

Latin uses the accusative + infinitive pattern:

medicus dicit infantem sanum esse
literally: the doctor says the baby to be healthy
natural English: the doctor says that the baby is healthy

So the English word “that” corresponds to nothing explicit in Latin; its function is replaced by the accusative + infinitive construction.

Could I say medicus dicit: Infans sanus est instead? What’s the difference?

Yes, you can, but the meaning changes slightly in terms of reported vs. direct speech.

  1. Indirect speech (reported):

    • medicus dicit infantem sanum esse
      = the doctor says that the baby is healthy
      This reports the content of what he says without quoting his exact words.

  2. Direct speech (quoted):

    • medicus dicit: Infans sanus est.
      = the doctor says: “The baby is healthy.”
      This presents his actual words as a quote.

Both are grammatically correct; the first is indirect speech (oratio obliqua), the second direct speech (oratio recta). Latin uses both, just as English does.

Why does gaudet stand alone without any object? Shouldn’t there be something like de infante?

Gaudeo means “rejoice,” “be glad,” “be happy.” It can be:

  • used absolutely, with no explicit object:
    • mater gaudet = the mother is glad / rejoices
  • or followed by:
    • an ablative of cause (e.g. gaudet hoc nuntio – she rejoices at this news)
    • a clause (e.g. gaudet quod infans sanus est – she is glad that the baby is healthy)

In Nunc medicus dicit infantem sanum esse et mater gaudet, the context clearly supplies the reason for her joy: the doctor’s statement about the baby. Latin is comfortable leaving that implied, so mater gaudet by itself is perfectly normal Latin: the mother is (very) happy.

What tense are dicit and gaudet, and how should I translate them?

Both dicit and gaudet are present tense, 3rd person singular, active.

  • dicit – he/she says
  • gaudet – she rejoices / is glad

In English, the Latin present can usually be translated either as:

  • simple present: the doctor says …; the mother rejoices
  • progressive: the doctor is saying …; the mother is rejoicing

Here, natural English is:

  • Now the doctor says that the baby is healthy and the mother is glad.
    or
  • Now the doctor says that the baby is healthy and the mother rejoices.
What does nunc contribute? Is it just “now”?

Yes, nunc is an adverb meaning “now, at this (present) time.”

In this sentence it indicates that:

  • at this moment (as opposed to earlier),
    the doctor is making this statement and the mother is rejoicing.

It can imply a contrast with a previous time when perhaps:

  • the baby was not healthy, or
  • the doctor could not yet say infantem sanum esse.

So nunc can carry a small narrative nuance: now, finally / now, at last, depending on context.

Could nunc be placed somewhere else in the sentence?

Yes. Nunc is an adverb and Latin word order is flexible. You might see:

  • Medicus nunc dicit infantem sanum esse et mater gaudet.
  • Medicus dicit nunc infantem sanum esse et mater gaudet.
  • Medicus dicit infantem sanum esse nunc et mater gaudet.

All are possible, though some positions are more stylistically natural than others. The first (the original position at the very start) emphasizes the time: Now the doctor says …

Placing nunc earlier in the clause (as in the original) tends to give it more prominence.

Why is mater in the nominative, while infantem is in the accusative?

Because they have different grammatical roles:

  • mater is the subject of the verb gaudet in the main clause:

    • mater gaudet = the mother is glad

  • infantem is not a subject of a finite verb; it is the subject of the infinitive esse in an indirect statement:

    • infantem sanum esse = that the baby is healthy

So:

  • nominative: mater → subject of gaudet
  • accusative: infantem → subject of esse in an AcI depending on dicit
What is the grammatical subject of esse?

The subject of the infinitive esse is infantem (in form: accusative singular).

In Latin:

  • in finite verbs, the subject is nominative;
  • in infinitive clauses used in indirect statement, the logical subject is put in the accusative.

So in infantem sanum esse:

  • logical subject: infantem (the baby)
  • verb: esse (to be)
  • predicate adjective: sanum (healthy)

Even though infantem is accusative, it behaves like the subject of esse within that infinitive phrase.

Is infans masculine or feminine? How does that affect sanum?

Infans, infantis is common gender:

  • it can be masculine or feminine depending on the real person referred to.

In this sentence, infantem is accusative singular of infans. The adjective sanus, -a, -um must match the chosen gender:

  • masculine accusative singular: sanum
  • feminine accusative singular: sanam

So if the text intends a baby boy, infantem sanum is correct.
If it clearly referred to a baby girl, you could see infantem sanam instead.

Often, if the sex is not specified, Latin defaults to the masculine.

Is there any special reason why the order is infantem sanum esse instead of sanum infantem esse?

Latin word order is fairly flexible, especially inside accusative + infinitive constructions.

Both:

  • infantem sanum esse
  • sanum infantem esse

are grammatically possible. The difference is mainly one of emphasis and style, not of meaning.

  • infantem sanum esse slightly highlights who it is about (the baby) and then describes his state (healthy).
  • sanum infantem esse might draw a little more attention to the quality (healthy) first.

The given order infantem sanum esse is very natural and common: [accusative subject] [predicate adjective] [infinitive].

Why is the sentence joined by et and not separated into two sentences?

Et is a coordinating conjunction meaning “and.”

Here it joins two independent clauses:

  1. Nunc medicus dicit infantem sanum esse – Now the doctor says that the baby is healthy
  2. (nunc) mater gaudet – (and now) the mother is glad

Joined:

  • Nunc medicus dicit infantem sanum esse et mater gaudet.

Latin could have written them as two separate sentences, but combining them with et smoothly shows the logical connection:

  • the doctor’s statement and
  • the mother’s emotional reaction

occurring at the same time (nunc).

Could we say mater gaudet quod infans sanus est instead? How is that different?

Yes, you could say:

  • mater gaudet quod infans sanus est = the mother is glad because the baby is healthy
    or the mother is glad that the baby is healthy

Differences:

  1. Type of clause

    • infantem sanum esse is indirect statement (AcI)
    • quod infans sanus est is a subordinate clause introduced by quod

  2. Focus

    • In the original, the focus is on what the doctor says, and the mother’s joy follows.
    • With quod, the focus is directly on the reason for the mother’s happiness.

  3. Style

    • The AcI (medicus dicit infantem sanum esse) is a very typical Latin way of reporting speech.
    • The quod-clause is also correct, but slightly different in feel: more like a “because/that” clause than a formal report of speech.