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Noli foris exire, quia nox obscura est.

Noli foris exire, quia nox obscura est.
Do not go outside, because the night is dark.
FromLesson 12inHardcore Latin
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Questions & Answers about Noli foris exire, quia nox obscura est.

Why does Latin use noli + infinitive to mean don’t?

Latin commonly forms a negative command with noli (singular) or nolite (plural) + an infinitive.

  • noli is literally be unwilling / don’t want (to) (2nd person singular imperative of nolo, nolle).
  • So Noli exire is literally Don’t want to go out, used idiomatically as Don’t go out. This is one of the standard Latin ways to make a negative imperative, especially in Classical Latin.
What’s the difference between noli and nolite?

They differ only in who is being addressed:

  • noli = don’t (you, singular)
  • nolite = don’t (you all / you, plural) So if speaking to more than one person, you would say: Nolite foris exire, quia nox obscura est.
What part of speech is foris here, and what does it mean?
Here foris is an adverb meaning outside / out of doors. It describes where the action exire (to go out) would happen: go outside.
Is foris ever something other than an adverb?

Yes. foris can also be:

  • a noun meaning door (less common; more often forēs = doors, plural)
  • in some contexts, it can look like a form related to forīs (genitive/ablative of foris, foris in some usages)
    But in a sentence like this, placed with a verb of motion (exire), it is naturally read as the adverb outside.
Why do we have both foris and exire—doesn’t exire already mean going out?
exire means to go out (often from a place), but foris adds clarity: go out (to the outside) / go outdoors. Latin often reinforces location/direction with an adverb even when the verb already suggests it.
What form is exire?

exire is the present active infinitive of exeō, exīre, exiī/exīvī, exitum = to go out.
With noli, Latin uses the infinitive: noli + infinitive.

Could Latin have used ne with a verb instead of noli?

Yes. Another common negative command uses nē with the present subjunctive, especially in some authors and styles:

  • Nē forīs exeās = Don’t go outside (addressing one person) That said, noli + infinitive is extremely common and straightforward.
Why is quia used here, and what does it introduce?

quia means because and introduces a causal clause (a reason):

  • Main clause: Noli foris exire = the command
  • quia-clause: quia nox obscura est = the reason for the command
    In such clauses, Latin normally uses the indicative when giving a straightforward reason (as here).
Could quod or quoniam be used instead of quia?

Often, yes:

  • quod can also mean because
  • quoniam often means since / seeing that They overlap a lot in meaning, though authors may prefer one over another depending on style and nuance. In many beginner contexts, quia is the go-to because.
Why is the subject nox included—does Latin usually need to say it is night?

Latin doesn’t need a dummy subject like English it. Instead, it uses a real noun:

  • nox est = it is night (literally night is) Here nox obscura est means the night is dark. The noun nox is the grammatical subject.
What case is nox, and what case is obscura?

Both are nominative singular feminine:

  • nox (subject) is nominative singular
  • obscura agrees with nox in case, number, and gender and functions as a predicate adjective with est
    So: nox = night, obscura = dark (describing the night).
Why is est at the end—does Latin word order matter?

Latin word order is flexible because endings show grammatical roles. Putting est at the end is very common and often sounds natural:

  • nox obscura est But you could also see:
  • nox est obscura
  • obscura nox est All can mean the same basic thing, with small differences in emphasis.
How would you pronounce the sentence in a typical classroom/Classical style?

A common Classical pronunciation (approximate) is:

  • Noli: NO-lee (long ō, long ī)
  • foris: FO-ris
  • exire: ek-SEE-reh (with x = ks)
  • quia: KWI-ah
  • nox: noks
  • obscura: ob-SKOO-rah
  • est: est
    Putting it together: NO-lee FO-ris ek-SEE-reh, KWI-ah noks ob-SKOO-rah est.