Avia per scalas tardius descendit quam puer.

the boy

Breakdown of Avia per scalas tardius descendit quam puer.

• quam: than
• avia: the grandmother
• scalae: the stairs

Questions & Answers about Avia per scalas tardius descendit quam puer.

What case is avia, and how do I know it is the subject?

Avia is nominative singular. It means grandmother and is the subject of the verb.

In a basic Latin sentence, the noun in the nominative case is usually the one doing the action. Here, avia is the one who descendit.

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Why is it per scalas? What case is scalas?

Per takes the accusative case, so scalas is accusative plural.

So:

• per = through, along, by way of
• scalas = stairs in the accusative plural

Together, per scalas means something like down the stairs, by way of the stairs, or more literally through/along the stairs.

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Why is scalas plural? Why not singular?

Latin often uses the plural scalae for stairs, just as English often says stairs rather than a stair.

So:

• scala = a ladder or a single stair/step in some contexts
• scalae = stairs, stairway

That is why per scalas is a very natural way to say down the stairs.

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Why is it tardius and not tardior?