Questions & Answers about Parva avis in nido sedet.
Why is it parva avis and not parvus avis?
Because parva has to agree with avis in gender, number, and case.
- avis = bird
- Here, avis is nominative singular
- avis is usually feminine
So the adjective parvus, parva, parvum (small) must also be feminine nominative singular, which is parva.
That is why Latin says parva avis = small bird.
What case is avis, and how can I tell?
Avis is in the nominative singular.
You can tell this mainly from its job in the sentence: it is the subject of sedet (sits / is sitting). The bird is the one doing the action.
So:
- avis = subject
- subjects are normally in the nominative
- therefore avis is nominative singular here
Also, the verb sedet is third person singular, so it matches a singular subject: the bird sits.
Does Latin have a word for a or the? Why is there no article here?
Classical Latin does have articles like English , , and .