Learn Hardcore Latin: Pater dicit diem natalem filiae omnibus annis gratiorem fieri. - Father says that his daughter’s birthday becomes more delightful every year.

Pater dicit diem natalem filiae omnibus annis gratiorem fieri.

Father says that his daughter’s birthday becomes more delightful every year.

Breakdown of Pater dicit diem natalem filiae omnibus annis gratiorem fieri.

Questions & Answers about Pater dicit diem natalem filiae omnibus annis gratiorem fieri.

What is the main grammatical pattern in this sentence after dicit?

After dicit, Latin uses an indirect statement.

So the sentence is structured like this:

Pater dicit = Father says
diem natalem filiae omnibus annis gratiorem fieri = that the daughter's birthday is becoming more pleasing every year

In Latin, an indirect statement normally uses:

an accusative noun for the subject of the reported statement
an infinitive for the verb

So here:

diem natalem is the subject of the reported statement
fieri is the infinitive verb

Why is diem natalem accusative?

Because in an indirect statement, the subject is put in the accusative.

If this were a direct statement, you would expect something like:

dies natalis ... fit or dies natalis ... est

But after dicit, Latin changes the subject into the accusative:

dies natalis → diem natalem

So diem natalem is not the direct object of dicit in the ordinary English sense; it is the subject of the infinitive fieri inside the indirect statement.

Is diem natalem a special expression for ?