Word
In initio fabulae una pars facilis est, sed postea alia pars difficilior fit.
Meaning
At the beginning of the story one part is easy, but later another part becomes more difficult.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of In initio fabulae una pars facilis est, sed postea alia pars difficilior fit.
esse
to be
sed
but
fabula
the story
in
at
Questions & Answers about In initio fabulae una pars facilis est, sed postea alia pars difficilior fit.
Why is it in initio and not just initio?
Because in with the ablative often means in, on, at in a location or time sense.
Here initio is the ablative singular of initium (beginning), so in initio means at the beginning or in the beginning.
A learner may notice that Latin sometimes uses the ablative by itself for time expressions, but in initio is a perfectly normal way to say at the beginning.
What case is initio, and how can I tell?
Initio is ablative singular.
It comes from the 2nd-declension neuter noun initium, initii. Its ablative singular ending is -o, so:
- nominative: initium
- genitive: initii
- ablative: initio
It is ablative here because it follows in in a location/time expression: in initio.
Why is fabulae in the genitive?