Breakdown of Postea discipuli de fabula inter se disputant, et magistra rogat cur ita disputent.
et
and
discipulus
the student
magistra
the female teacher
de
about
Questions & Answers about Postea discipuli de fabula inter se disputant, et magistra rogat cur ita disputent.
Why is discipuli the subject, and what case is it?
Discipuli is nominative plural, so it means the students and serves as the subject of disputant.
Its dictionary form is discipulus, discipuli, meaning student or pupil. In the plural nominative, a second-declension masculine noun ends in -i, so discipuli = the students.
What does postea do in the sentence?
Postea means afterward, later, or after that. It is an adverb, so it does not change form.
It tells you when the action happens:
- Postea discipuli ... disputant = Afterward the students discuss ...
Latin word order is flexible, so postea is placed first here for a natural time-setting effect.
Why is it de fabula and not just fabula?
The preposition de means about or concerning, and it takes the ablative case. That is why fabula appears in the ablative singular.
So:
- fabula can be nominative or ablative singular depending on context
- after de, it must be understood as ablative
Thus de fabula = about the story