Breakdown of Si non es certus, magistram ipsam interroga; ipsa enim optimum consilium saepe dat.
Questions & Answers about Si non es certus, magistram ipsam interroga; ipsa enim optimum consilium saepe dat.
Because magistram is the direct object of interroga.
- magistra = the teacher as a subject
- magistram = the teacher as an object
Latin shows a noun’s job in the sentence by its case ending. Here, interroga means ask, and the person being asked is put in the accusative case, so magistra becomes magistram.
ipsam means herself and adds emphasis.
So magistram ipsam interroga means something like:
- ask the teacher herself
- ask the teacher in person
- ask the teacher directly
It is not a separate pronoun standing alone here; it agrees with magistram:
- feminine
- singular
- accusative
That is why it is ipsam, not ipse or ipsa.
In the second clause, ipsa again adds emphasis, but now it is nominative because it refers to the subject: