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Mercator veteres tunicas vendit, sed magnum pretium petit.

Mercator veteres tunicas vendit, sed magnum pretium petit.
The merchant sells old tunics, but asks a high price.

Breakdown of Mercator veteres tunicas vendit, sed magnum pretium petit.

mercator
the merchant
sed
but
petere
to ask for
vendere
to sell
magnus
high
pretium
the price
tunica
the tunic
vetus
old
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Questions & Answers about Mercator veteres tunicas vendit, sed magnum pretium petit.

In the sentence, what does mercator tell us grammatically? Is it the subject?

Yes. Mercator is the subject of the sentence.

  • Form: nominative singular, masculine
  • Declension: 3rd declension (dictionary form: mercātor, mercātōris, m.)
  • Function: It is the one doing the actions vendit (sells) and petit (asks).

So mercator = the merchant (subject).

What form is veteres, and why is it plural?

Veteres comes from the adjective vetus, veteris (3rd-declension adjective meaning old).

  • Form of veteres: nominative or accusative plural, masculine or feminine
  • In this sentence, it is accusative plural feminine, because it agrees with tunicas (also accusative plural feminine).

It is plural because it describes tunicas, which is also plural: veteres tunicas = old tunics.

How do we know that veteres describes tunicas and not mercator?

By agreement in case, number, and gender:

  • Mercator: nominative singular masculine
  • Veteres: nominative/accusative plural masculine/feminine
  • Tunicas: accusative plural feminine

Only veteres and tunicas match: both are accusative plural feminine.
So veteres must modify tunicas, not mercator.

Meaning: veteres tunicas = old tunics, not old merchant.

Why is tunicas in the accusative case instead of tunicae?

Because tunicas is the direct object of vendit:

  • Tunica, tunicae, f. (1st declension)
    • nominative singular: tunica (subject: a tunic)
    • nominative plural: tunicae (subject: tunics)
    • accusative singular: tunicam (object: a tunic)
    • accusative plural: tunicas (object: tunics)

In this sentence, the merchant sells tunics, so tunicas must be accusative plural as the thing being sold.

What tense and person are vendit and petit, and what are their dictionary forms?

Both verbs are:

  • 3rd person singular
  • present tense
  • active voice
  • indicative mood

So each means “he/she/it …” in the present.

Dictionary forms:

  • vendit ← vendō, vendere, vendidī, venditum = to sell
  • petit ← petō, petere, petīvī/petiī, petītum = to seek, ask for, aim at, attack (meaning depends on context)

Here:

  • vendit = he sells
  • petit = he asks (for).
Does petit just mean “asks”? I’ve seen it also translated as “seeks” or “attacks.”

Petō is a very flexible verb, and its meaning depends heavily on context:

  • to seek, aim at (general sense)
  • to ask for, request (often with an object: aliquid ab aliquō petit – he asks someone for something)
  • to attack (especially in military contexts: urbem petit – he attacks the city)

In this sentence:

  • magnum pretium petit = literally he seeks/asks for a great price,
    so the natural translation is “he asks a high price” or “he demands a high price.”

It does not mean “he attacks a great price” here; context (trade, merchant, price) makes “asks for” the right sense.

Why do we say magnum pretium petit instead of something like pretium magnum vendit?

Latin uses two different idioms for price:

  1. With vendere (to sell)

    • common pattern: aliquid magnō pretiō vendere
    • magnō pretiō = ablative of price: “for a high price”
    • e.g. mercator tunicas magnō pretiō vendit = The merchant sells tunics for a high price.

  2. With petere (to ask for, demand)

    • common pattern: magnum pretium petere (pro aliquō)
    • literally: “to seek/ask for a great price (for something)”
    • our sentence: magnum pretium petit = he asks a high price.

So:

  • vendere
    • ablative (magnō pretiō) = sell for a high price
  • petere
    • accusative (magnum pretium) = ask a high price

Pretium magnum vendit would be odd, because you normally sell a thing, not sell a price.

What are the genders and declensions of mercator, tunica, and pretium?

  • mercātor, mercātōris, m.

    • Gender: masculine
    • Declension: 3rd
    • Meaning: merchant

  • tunica, tunicae, f.

    • Gender: feminine
    • Declension: 1st
    • Meaning: tunic

  • pretium, pretī, n.

    • Gender: neuter
    • Declension: 2nd
    • Meaning: price, value

In the sentence:

  • mercator = nominative singular masculine (subject)
  • tunicas = accusative plural feminine (object)
  • pretium (in magnum pretium) = accusative singular neuter (object of petit).
Could the word order be changed, for example to mercator tunicas veteres vendit or magnum petit pretium?

Yes. Latin word order is quite flexible.

  • Mercator tunicas veteres vendit
  • Mercator tunicas vendit veteres
  • Tunicas veteres mercator vendit

All can still mean “The merchant sells old tunics”, provided the forms agree in case, number, and gender.

Similarly:

  • magnum petit pretium
  • pretium magnum petit

can also mean “he asks a high price.”

Changes in word order can affect:

  • emphasis (what is highlighted)
  • rhythm / style

But the basic grammatical relationships are shown by the endings, not by word order.

What does sed mean exactly, and how is it different from autem?

Sed is a coordinating conjunction meaning “but” and introduces a clear contrast or opposition:

  • vendit, sed magnum pretium petit
    • he does sell, but (on the other hand) he asks a high price.

Autem also has an adversative/contrastive sense, often like “however”, but:

  • it is postpositive: it usually comes second in its clause
    • e.g. mercator autem veteres tunicas vendit
  • its contrast is often a bit softer or more discourse-oriented (like “by the way, however”) rather than a sharp “but”.

Here, sed is natural because the contrast is strong:
He sells old tunics, but he asks a high price.

How would the sentence change if there were several merchants instead of one?

You mainly need to make the subject and verbs plural.

Singular (original):

  • Mercator veteres tunicas vendit, sed magnum pretium petit.

One good plural version:

  • Mercatores veteres tunicas vendunt, sed magnum pretium petunt.
    • mercatores = nominative plural
    • vendunt, petunt = 3rd person plural
    • veteres tunicas: already plural, so unchanged
    • magnum pretium: still a single “high price” (could be understood as the kind of price they each ask)

If you really want plural prices, you can say:

  • Mercatores veteres tunicas vendunt, sed magna pretia petunt.
    • magna pretia = accusative plural neuter, high prices.

Both are grammatically correct; the version with magnum pretium is slightly more neutral and general.

Is veteres tunicas better translated as “old tunics” or “used/second-hand clothes”?

Literally, veteres tunicas = old tunics.

However, vetus in a commercial context (especially with a merchant selling clothes) can naturally suggest:

  • used,
  • second-hand,
  • not new.

So depending on context and style, good English translations might be:

  • old tunics (literal)
  • second-hand tunics
  • used clothes/tunics

For learning Latin, it’s safest to remember the core meaning as “old”, and then choose a more idiomatic English phrase (like “second-hand”) when the context makes that clearly appropriate.