Nemini mendacium dicere licet.

to tell

Breakdown of Nemini mendacium dicere licet.

• mendacium: the lie
• licere: to be allowed
• nemini: no one

Questions & Answers about Nemini mendacium dicere licet.

Why is nemini used instead of nemo?

Because licet normally takes the person affected in the dative case, not the nominative.

• nemo = no one as a subject
• nemini = to no one / for no one

So Latin literally says something like:

• To no one is it permitted to tell a lie.

That is why nemini is the correct form here.

What case is nemini, and what is its role in the sentence?

Nemini is dative singular.

Its role is to show the person for whom something is allowed or not allowed. With licet, Latin often uses:

• dative of person
• infinitive of the action

So in Nemini mendacium dicere licet, nemini means for no one / to no one.

Why is dicere an infinitive?

Because after licet, Latin commonly uses an infinitive to express what action is permitted.

So:

• licet = it is permitted / it is allowed
• dicere = to say / to tell

Together: