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Mane mater opus incipit; vespere tamen finire potest.

Mane mater opus incipit; vespere tamen finire potest.
In the morning mother begins the work; in the evening, however, she can finish it.
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Questions & Answers about Mane mater opus incipit; vespere tamen finire potest.

What do mane and vespere mean grammatically—are they nouns or adverbs?
  • mane is an adverb meaning in the morning / in the morning time. It’s often treated as indeclinable in beginner Latin.
  • vespere is the ablative singular of vesper, vesperis (evening) used adverbially: in the evening. (You may also see vesperi in similar meanings; both occur.)
Why is mater in the nominative?

Because mater (mother) is the subject of both verbs:

  • mater incipit = mother begins
  • (mater) potest finire = (mother) can finish

Latin often omits repeating the subject in the second clause when it’s the same person.

Is opus the subject or the object? Its form looks like it could be nominative.

Here opus (work) is the direct object of incipit: she begins (the) work.
It looks “nominative” because opus is a neuter noun, and in neuter nouns the nominative and accusative forms are identical:

  • nominative singular: opus
  • accusative singular: opus

So you decide by function, not by appearance.

Why does Latin put mane first? Is the word order important?

Putting mane first highlights the time setting: In the morning...
Latin word order is flexible, but it’s not random—fronting a word often gives it emphasis or sets the scene.

What tense is incipit, and what does it imply?

incipit is present tense (3rd person singular). Depending on context it can mean:

  • begins (right now), or
  • begins (habitually) / starts (as a routine)

Without more context, it’s often read as a general statement: In the morning, mother begins work...

Why do we get finire potest and not finit?

Because potest (is able / can) regularly takes a complementary infinitive:

  • finire = to finish
  • potest finire = can finish / is able to finish

So the idea is ability/possibility, not the simple action.

Does finire have an object? What exactly is she finishing?

The object is understood from context: she finishes the work mentioned earlier (opus). Latin often omits repeated objects when they’re obvious:

  • opus incipit ... (opus) finire potest

You could also supply a pronoun in other sentences (like id), but it’s not required here.

What does tamen do in the sentence, and why is it placed there?

tamen means however / nevertheless / still. It signals a contrast:

  • morning: she begins the work
  • evening: however, she can finish it

Its placement after vespere is common: the time word sets the frame, then tamen marks the contrast within that frame.

Why is there a semicolon? Is it two sentences?

It’s effectively two independent clauses:

  • Mane mater opus incipit
  • vespere tamen finire potest

A semicolon shows they’re closely related in meaning. You could also use a period or sometimes a comma, depending on style.

Could vespere be replaced with something like vesperi or in vespere?

Yes, with nuances:

  • vespere and vesperi can both mean in the evening (usage varies by author/period).
  • in vespere is possible but less idiomatic for simple “time when”; Latin often prefers the bare ablative (or an adverb) for “when?” expressions.