Si discipuli inter se aperte disputant, saepe rem difficiliorem facilius intellegunt.

the student

Breakdown of Si discipuli inter se aperte disputant, saepe rem difficiliorem facilius intellegunt.

• saepe: often
• si: if
• facilius: more easily

Questions & Answers about Si discipuli inter se aperte disputant, saepe rem difficiliorem facilius intellegunt.

Why does the sentence begin with si?

Si means if. It introduces a condition: if the students discuss openly among themselves...

In this sentence, the condition is a straightforward, real possibility, so Latin uses the indicative mood: disputant and intellegunt, both present indicative.

What case is discipuli, and how do we know it is the subject?

Discipuli is nominative plural, so it means the students as the subject of the verb.

We know it is nominative plural because:

• the dictionary form is discipulus, -i = student
• the ending -i can be nominative plural for a second-declension masculine noun
• it matches the verb disputant and later intellegunt, which are both third person plural: they discuss, they understand

So discipuli is the group doing the actions.

What does inter se mean exactly?

Inter se means among themselves or with one another.

Here is how it works:

• inter normally means among or between
• se is a , meaning