Breakdown of Turba ante theatrum exspectat; portis apertis, omnes laeti intrant.
laetus
happy
intrare
to enter
omnes
all
ante
in front of
Questions & Answers about Turba ante theatrum exspectat; portis apertis, omnes laeti intrant.
Why is exspectat singular when a crowd is made of many people?
Because the grammatical subject is turba, a singular noun meaning crowd. Latin often treats collective nouns as singular in agreement, even though they refer to many individuals. So turba … exspectat = the crowd is waiting (singular verb).
What case is theatrum, and why?
Theatrum is accusative singular because it is the object of the preposition ante (in front of / before), and ante regularly takes the accusative.
Does ante theatrum mean before the theater in time or in front of the theater in place?
In this sentence it’s place: in front of the theater (because people can physically wait there). Ante can be temporal (before in time) or spatial (in front of), and context decides.
What is going on grammatically in portis apertis?
That’s an ablative absolute:
- portis = ablative plural of porta (gate)