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Ianitor dicit nemini intra portam manere necesse esse, si domum redire vult.

Ianitor dicit nemini intra portam manere necesse esse, si domum redire vult.
The doorkeeper says that no one needs to stay inside the gate if he wants to return home.
FromLesson 20inHardcore Latin
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Questions & Answers about Ianitor dicit nemini intra portam manere necesse esse, si domum redire vult.

Does ianitor mean the same thing as English janitor?
Not exactly. In classical Latin, ianitor means a doorkeeper, porter, or gatekeeper. English janitor comes from the same root, but its meaning shifted over time.
What is nemini, and why is it not nemo?

Nemini is the dative singular of nemo, meaning no one. It appears here because the expression necesse est often takes the person concerned in the dative:
nemini ... necesse est = it is necessary for no one ... or more naturally no one needs to ...

Why is manere an infinitive?
With necesse est, the action that is necessary is usually expressed by an infinitive. So manere means to remain / to stay, and the Latin structure is literally something like for no one, to remain inside the gate is necessary.
Why do we get necesse esse instead of necesse est?

Because the clause is being reported after dicit. Latin commonly uses indirect statement after verbs of saying, thinking, knowing, and so on. In direct form, you would have:

Nemini intra portam manere necesse est.

After dicit, est changes to the infinitive esse:

Ianitor dicit nemini intra portam manere necesse esse.

Why is there no accusative subject in the indirect statement?
Many learners expect an accusative-and-infinitive pattern such as eum venire. But this sentence is built around the impersonal expression necesse est. Since necesse est does not have a normal personal subject, Latin does not add an accusative subject here. Instead, nemini stays in the dative, and manere functions as the thing that is necessary.
Why is portam accusative after intra?
Because intra is a preposition that takes the accusative when it means inside or within. So intra portam is a normal prepositional phrase: inside the gate or within the gateway.
Why is it domum redire and not ad domum redire?
Because domum is a special accusative meaning homeward or to home. Latin often omits a preposition with words for home and with names of towns and small islands. So domum redire simply means to return home.
Why is redire also an infinitive?

Because vult regularly takes a complementary infinitive.
So:

vult redire = he wants to return

This is very common in Latin, just as in English we say wants to go, wants to stay, and so on.

Who is the subject of vult?
The verb vult is just third person singular, so by itself it does not explicitly tell you who the person is. Context or the given translation has to make that clear. In an isolated sentence like this, it can feel a little ambiguous to an English speaker.
Why is vult indicative, not subjunctive, after si?

Because this is a simple condition. Latin normally uses the indicative after si for an ordinary if clause:

si domum redire vult = if he wants to return home

Latin does not automatically use the subjunctive after si.

What is the basic structure of the whole sentence?

A helpful way to break it up is:

  • Ianitor dicit = the main statement
  • nemini intra portam manere necesse esse = what the gatekeeper says
  • si domum redire vult = the condition

So the heart of the grammar is:

dicit + indirect statement
nemini ... manere necesse esse

Latin word order is flexible, so it does not line up with English word-for-word, but the endings show how the parts fit together.

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