Breakdown of Puer dicit se sitim sentire et lac bibere velle.
puer
the boy
et
and
bibere
to drink
dicere
to say
Questions & Answers about Puer dicit se sitim sentire et lac bibere velle.
Why does Latin use se + infinitive(s) after dicit instead of a clause with that?
Because dicit commonly introduces an indirect statement in Latin. Indirect statements are usually built with:
- an accusative subject (here se), and
- one or more infinitives (here sentire and bibere with velle).
So instead of “He says that …”, Latin often uses “He says himself (acc.) to …”.
Why is it se and not eum?
Se is the reflexive accusative pronoun, used when the subject of the reporting verb (puer dicit) and the subject of the indirect statement are the same person.
- puer dicit se … = “The boy says that he (himself) …” If it were a different male person, you’d use eum:
- puer dicit eum … = “The boy says that he (someone else) …”
What exactly is the role of se in the sentence?
Se is the subject of the infinitives inside the indirect statement. In Latin indirect statement, the subject is put in the accusative:
- se sentire = “that he feels …”