Breakdown of Magistra dicit studium sine disciplina minus utile esse.
esse
to be
utilis
useful
magistra
the female teacher
dicere
to say
Questions & Answers about Magistra dicit studium sine disciplina minus utile esse.
What is the main verb of the whole sentence?
The main finite verb is dicit = says.
Everything after it — studium sine disciplina minus utile esse — is the content of what the teacher says. In Latin, that content is often expressed as an indirect statement.
So the sentence divides like this:
- Magistra = the subject of the whole sentence
- dicit = the main verb
- studium sine disciplina minus utile esse = what she says
Why is esse used instead of est?
Because Latin is using an indirect statement after dicit.
After verbs like:
- dicit = says
- putat = thinks
- scit = knows
- audit = hears
Latin often does not use a finite verb like est. Instead, it uses an infinitive, here esse.
So:
- utile est = it is useful
- dicit ... utile esse = she says ... to be useful, or more naturally, she says that ... is useful
That is why esse appears.
Where is the word that?
Latin usually does not need a separate word for in this kind of sentence.