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Servus ante ianuam stat.

Servus ante ianuam stat.
The servant stands in front of the door.
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Questions & Answers about Servus ante ianuam stat.

Why is there no word for “the” or “a” in this Latin sentence?

Latin normally has no separate words for “the” or “a/an.”
So:

  • servus can mean “a slave” or “the slave,”
  • ianuam can mean “a door” or “the door.”

Whether it’s “a” or “the” is decided by context, not by a special article word as in English.

What is the grammatical role and form of servus?

Servus is:

  • Case: nominative
  • Number: singular
  • Gender: masculine
  • Function: it is the subject of the verb stat (“stands”).

In a basic Latin sentence, the subject is usually in the nominative case, so servus = “a/the slave” as the one doing the standing.

What is the grammatical role and form of ianuam?

Ianuam (from the noun ianua, “door”) is:

  • Case: accusative
  • Number: singular
  • Gender: feminine
  • Function: it is the object of the preposition ante.

The preposition ante (“before, in front of”) normally takes the accusative case, so ianua changes to ianuam to show it depends on ante (“before the door”).

What does ante mean, and which case does it govern?

Ante is a preposition meaning:

  • “before” (in front of, spatially or sometimes in time).

It always takes the accusative case in classical Latin. Here it governs ianuam (accusative singular), giving ante ianuam = “in front of the door.”

What exactly does stat mean, grammatically?

Stat is a verb form meaning “(he/she/it) stands.” More precisely:

  • Verb: stō, stāre (“to stand”)
  • Person: 3rd person
  • Number: singular
  • Tense: present
  • Mood: indicative
  • Voice: active

So stat = “he/she/it stands.” In this sentence, it refers back to servus: “The slave stands …”

Why doesn’t the Latin sentence use a separate word for “he” (like “he stands”)?

Latin usually does not need subject pronouns like “I, you, he, she” because the verb ending shows who is doing the action.

  • stat by itself already means “he/she/it stands.”
  • Since servus is clearly the subject, Latin doesn’t add is (“he”) in front of stat.

You could say is servus stat, but that would be more emphatic (“that slave stands”), not the neutral default.

Why is the present tense stat translated as both “stands” and “is standing”?

Latin’s present tense regularly covers both:

  • English simple present: “the slave stands”
  • English present progressive: “the slave is standing.”

Context decides which English form sounds more natural. There is no special separate progressive form in Latin; stat can express both ideas.

Can the word order be changed, or must it be Servus ante ianuam stat?

The order can be changed; Latin word order is fairly flexible. For example, all of these are normal and mean the same basic thing:

  • Servus ante ianuam stat.
  • Servus stat ante ianuam.
  • Ante ianuam servus stat.
  • Ante ianuam stat servus.

The endings (not the position) show who is subject and what depends on what. Word order is used more for emphasis and style than for basic grammar.

What are the dictionary (lexical) forms of each word in this sentence?

You would typically find them in a dictionary as:

  • servus, servī (m.) – “slave, servant”
  • ante (prep. + acc.) – “before, in front of”
  • iānua, iānuae (f.) – “door”
  • stō, stāre, stetī, statum – “to stand”

The forms in the sentence are servus (nominative singular), ante (unchanged), iānuam (accusative singular), stat (3rd sg. present ind. active).

Why does ianua change to ianuam?

Iānua is a first-declension feminine noun. Its endings change according to case:

  • Nominative singular (subject form): iānua – “(the) door”
  • Accusative singular (object form): iānuam – used after prepositions like ante, ad, etc.

Because it is the object of the preposition ante, it must be put in the accusative: iānuam.

How do you pronounce Servus ante ianuam stat in Classical Latin?

In Classical pronunciation:

  • servus = SEHR-woos
    • e like in set, v pronounced like English w.
  • ante = AHN-teh
  • ianuam = YAH-noo-ahm
    • initial i before a vowel = consonant y sound.
  • stat = staht (short a, like in father but short)

All together (with roughly equal length on syllables):
SEHR-woos AHN-teh YAH-noo-ahm staht.

Could ante ianuam have a time meaning like “before the door” = “before the door opens”?

In many contexts, ante can be temporal (“before [something happens]”), but:

  • When used directly with a noun of place like ianuam (“door”), and especially in a simple sentence like this, ante ianuam is naturally taken as spatial: “in front of the door.”
  • For a time meaning, you’d usually have ante with a time word (ante merīdiem – “before midday”) or a clause (antequam ianua aperitur – “before the door is opened”).

So here it should be understood as spatial: “in front of the door.”