Breakdown of Discipula rogat quomodo ad scholam pervenire possit, et magistra ei viam ostendit.
et
and
ad
to
discipula
the female student
magistra
the teacher
Questions & Answers about Discipula rogat quomodo ad scholam pervenire possit, et magistra ei viam ostendit.
Why do discipula and magistra both end in -a?
Because both are first-declension feminine nouns in the nominative singular, the form used for the subject of the verb.
- discipula = the female student / schoolgirl
- magistra = the female teacher
In this sentence, each one is the subject of its own verb:
- Discipula rogat = the student asks
- magistra ... ostendit = the teacher shows
So the matching -a ending does not mean they are doing the same job in the sentence at the same time; it just means they are both singular feminine subjects.
What form is rogat?
Rogat is third person singular, present active indicative of rogare.
So it means he/she asks or is asking, depending on context. Here the subject is discipula, so it means the student asks.
A native English speaker often expects a separate word for she, but Latin usually does not need one, because the verb ending already tells you the person and number.
What exactly is quomodo doing here?
Quomodo means how.
It introduces an indirect question:
- quomodo ad scholam pervenire possit = how she can get to school