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Nuntius auditus est, et turba tacet.

Nuntius auditus est, et turba tacet.
The messenger has been heard, and the crowd is silent.
FromLesson 11inHardcore Latin
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Questions & Answers about Nuntius auditus est, et turba tacet.

Why does nuntius appear in the nominative case here?
Because the clause is in the passive voice: Nuntius auditus est = The message was heard. In a passive sentence, the thing acted upon (the message) becomes the grammatical subject, so it goes in the nominative.
What exactly is the form auditus est?

It’s the perfect passive in the 3rd person singular:

  • auditus = perfect passive participle of audio, audire (heard)
  • est = present of sum used as the auxiliary (is/has) Together: was heard / has been heard.
Why is auditus masculine singular?

The perfect passive participle must agree with the subject it describes in gender, number, and case.

  • nuntius is masculine singular nominative, so the participle is auditus (m. sg. nom.).
    If the subject were feminine singular (e.g., epistula), you’d get audita est.
Could Latin have said nuntium audivit instead? What would that change?

Yes, but that would be active voice: nuntium audivit = he/she heard the message.
Then:

  • nuntium would be accusative (direct object)
  • you’d need an explicit (or implied) subject for audivit
    The given sentence keeps the doer unspecified and focuses on the event/result: the message was heard.
Where is the person who heard the message (the agent)?

It’s simply not expressed, which is very common in Latin when the agent is unknown, irrelevant, or obvious from context.
If you wanted to add it, you could use:

  • a/ab + ablative for a personal agent: nuntius ab exploratore auditus est (the message was heard by the scout)
Why is the first clause perfect (auditus est) but the second clause present (tacet)?

Latin often mixes tenses when the logic is: one action happens, and then a resulting state holds.
So the sense can be: The message has been heard, and (now) the crowd is silent.
The perfect marks the completed event; the present marks what is true afterward.

Why is it turba tacet (singular verb) and not turba tacent?

Turba is a collective noun (a crowd) and is grammatically singular, so it normally takes a singular verb: tacet.
Latin can sometimes use a plural verb to emphasize individuals acting separately, but the default is singular.

Does tacet mean simply is silent, or can it mean falls silent?

Both are possible depending on context:

  • As a straightforward present: is silent / keeps quiet
  • In narration, it can function like becomes silent (especially if the context highlights a change)
    Here, following auditus est, it naturally reads as the result: the crowd is (now) silent.
What role does et play here—does it just mean and?

Yes, et is the basic coordinating conjunction and. It links two independent clauses: 1) Nuntius auditus est 2) turba tacet
It can sometimes imply a slight sequence (and then), but it doesn’t inherently mean then.

Is the word order significant? Could it be Turba tacet, et nuntius auditus est?

The meaning would stay essentially the same, but the focus shifts. Latin word order is flexible:

  • Starting with Nuntius foregrounds the message as the key event.
  • Starting with Turba foregrounds the crowd’s reaction.
    The original order reads naturally as: event first, reaction second.