Breakdown of Post cenam servus in culina manet et cum coquo de die longo loquitur.
Questions & Answers about Post cenam servus in culina manet et cum coquo de die longo loquitur.
Post is a preposition that means after (in time) or behind (in space).
In Latin, post takes the accusative case, so the noun that follows it must be in the accusative.
- cena = dinner (nominative singular)
- cenam = dinner (accusative singular)
So:
- post cenam = after dinner
The accusative here is required by the preposition post, not because cenam is a direct object of a verb.
Servus is in the nominative singular, which is the case used for the subject of the verb.
- servus (nom. sg.) = the slave / servant (subject)
- servum (acc. sg.) = the slave (object)
- servo (dat. or abl. sg.) = to/for the slave, or by/with/from the slave
In the sentence:
- servus … manet … loquitur
servus is the one who stays and talks, so it must be nominative.
In can take either the accusative or the ablative, with a change of meaning:
- in
- accusative = into, onto (motion towards a place)
- in
- ablative = in, on (location in a place)
Here we have:
- in culina: culina is ablative singular (from culina, culinae, f. = kitchen)
- So in culina means in the kitchen (location).
The servant is remaining in the kitchen, not going into it, so the ablative is correct.
Manet is 3rd person singular present active indicative of maneo, manēre.
Basic meanings:
- to remain, stay in a place
- by extension, sometimes to wait, to stay behind
In context:
- servus in culina manet
can be translated as “the slave stays/remains in the kitchen”, or quite naturally in English as “the slave stays in the kitchen” or “the slave remains in the kitchen”.
“Waits” would usually be exspectat, but manet can shade into “stays behind” in some contexts.
Latin word order is far more flexible than English. A very common neutral pattern is:
- Subject – Other elements – Verb (SOV)
So:
- servus in culina manet et … loquitur
literally: the slave in the kitchen stays and … speaks
About the missing subject:
- Latin is a “pro-drop” language: if the subject is clear from context and the verb ending, it can be left out.
- The subject servus is already given in the first clause.
- loquitur has the -tur ending, which here means he/she/it talks (3rd person singular).
- So the understood subject of loquitur is still servus.
That’s why Latin doesn’t repeat servus or add a separate word for “he.”
Cum is a preposition that means with, and it takes the ablative case.
The noun is:
- coquus, coqui (m.) = cook
Its ablative singular is:
- coquo = with/by/from the cook
So:
- cum coquo = with the cook
You see coquo because cum requires the ablative, and coquus (nominative) would be a subject form, which it isn’t here.
Yes, they do different jobs:
cum
- ablative: indicates with whom someone speaks.
- cum coquo = with the cook
de
- ablative: indicates about what someone speaks, thinks, writes, etc.
- de die longo = about the long day
So the pattern is:
- loquitur cum coquo de die longo
= he talks with the cook about the long day.
De is a preposition meaning:
- down from, from (literal)
- more commonly here: about, concerning
It takes the ablative case.
The noun:
- dies, diei (usually m.) = day
Ablative singular of dies is die:
- die = (from/about) the day
The adjective:
- longus, -a, -um = long
It must agree with the noun in gender, number, and case, so it becomes:
- longo (ablative singular masculine) to match die.
So:
- de die longo = about the long day
Word-for-word: about [the] day long.
Dies belongs to the fifth declension, which is less common in beginners’ Latin than the first and second.
Its main forms (singular) are:
- nominative: dies (day – subject)
- genitive: diei (of the day)
- dative: diei (to/for the day)
- accusative: diem (day – object)
- ablative: die (by/with/from the day)
In de die longo we use die (ablative) because de requires the ablative.
The adjective longus is regular (2nd decl. masculine), but it must match the fifth-declension noun dies in gender/number/case, so it appears as longo.
Loquitur is from a deponent verb: loquor, loqui, locutus sum = to speak, talk.
Deponent verbs:
- look passive in form
- but are active in meaning
For loquor:
- loquor = I speak
- loqueris = you speak
- loquitur = he/she/it speaks
- loquimur = we speak
- loquimini = you (pl.) speak
- loquuntur = they speak
So loquitur (3rd person singular present) = he/she talks/speaks.
It ends in -tur (a passive ending) but is translated actively because loquor is deponent.
Many deponent verbs, including loquor, do not usually take a direct object in the accusative. Instead, they use prepositional phrases.
For loquor:
- loquor cum + abl. = I speak with someone
- loquor de + abl. = I speak about something
So:
- cum coquo = with the cook (person spoken with)
- de die longo = about the long day (topic spoken about)
Using loquitur diem longum would be unidiomatic; Latin expects those prepositions instead.
You’d make the subject plural and change the verbs to plural 3rd person forms:
- Post cenam servi in culina manent et cum coquo de die longo loquuntur.
Changes:
- servus → servi (nominative plural) = slaves
- manet → manent (they stay)
- loquitur → loquuntur (they talk; 3rd person plural of loquor)
Everything else (post cenam, in culina, cum coquo, de die longo) stays the same.
Yes, that is still correct Latin.
Latin word order is relatively free; the grammatical roles are mostly shown by the endings, not by position. Your version:
- Servus post cenam in culina manet et loquitur cum coquo de die longo
is perfectly fine and quite clear.
Some alternative (still correct) orders:
- Post cenam servus in culina manet et loquitur cum coquo de die longo.
- Servus in culina post cenam manet et cum coquo de die longo loquitur.
The original order slightly emphasizes post cenam by putting it first, but the meaning is essentially the same in all versions.