Breakdown of Magister discipulos iubet exercitium breve in charta scribere.
scribere
to write
discipulus
the student
magister
the teacher
in
on
Questions & Answers about Magister discipulos iubet exercitium breve in charta scribere.
Why is magister in the nominative?
Because magister is the subject of the sentence: the teacher is the one doing the ordering. In Latin, the subject is normally in the nominative case.
- magister = the teacher
- nominative singular, masculine
So magister iubet means the teacher orders.
Why is discipulos in the accusative?
Because with iubeo (to order), the person being ordered is usually put in the accusative. So:
- magister = the one giving the order
- discipulos = the students, the people being ordered
- scribere = the action they are told to do
This is a very common Latin pattern:
someone + iubeo + person in accusative + infinitive
So magister discipulos iubet scribere = the teacher orders the students to write.
Why is scribere an infinitive instead of a finite verb?
Because after iubet, Latin normally uses an infinitive to express the action ordered.
In English we say:
- The teacher orders the students to write
Latin does not need a separate word like to in the same way. The infinitive scribere already covers that idea.
So: