Breakdown of Discipuli in bibliotheca facilius discunt, quia ibi tacent.
in
in
discipulus
the student
ibi
there
quia
because
Questions & Answers about Discipuli in bibliotheca facilius discunt, quia ibi tacent.
Why does discipuli end in -i?
Because discipuli is nominative plural. It is the subject of discunt, so it means the students.
The singular would be discipulus = student.
The plural is discipuli = students.
So:
- discipulus discit = the student learns
- discipuli discunt = the students learn
Why is it in bibliotheca and not in bibliothecam?
Because in can take two different cases depending on the meaning:
- in + ablative = in / on a place, showing location
- in + accusative = into / onto a place, showing motion toward
Here the sentence means the students learn in the library, not into the library, so Latin uses the ablative:
- in bibliotheca = in the library
If it were motion toward the library, it would be:
- in bibliothecam = into the library
What case is bibliotheca here?
It is ablative singular.