Word
Civis dicit: “Nummos non multos habeo; potesne mihi pretium minuere?”
Meaning
A citizen says: “I do not have many coins; can you lower the price for me?”
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of Civis dicit: “Nummos non multos habeo; potesne mihi pretium minuere?”
non
not
multus
many
posse
to be able
dicere
to say
Questions & Answers about Civis dicit: “Nummos non multos habeo; potesne mihi pretium minuere?”
What does civis mean grammatically, and what case is it in?
Civis is a 3rd‑declension noun meaning citizen. Here it is nominative singular, serving as the subject of dicit.
Why is it civis dicit and not civis dicet or civis dixit?
Dicit is present tense, 3rd person singular (he/she says). Latin often uses the present to present dialogue vividly.
- Dixit would be he/she said (perfect tense).
- Dicet would be he/she will say (future tense).
Why are there quotation marks and a colon? Is that Latin?
The punctuation (colon + quotation marks) is mainly modern editorial punctuation used in textbooks. Classical Latin manuscripts didn’t use quotation marks like this, but it’s a convenient way to show direct speech.
Why is nummos in the accusative plural?
Nummos (coins/money) is the direct object of habeo (I have), so it takes the accusative. It’s plural because it refers to (and by extension ).