Poculum ex argento factum est.

to be

Breakdown of Poculum ex argento factum est.

• ex: of
• poculum: the cup
• argentum: the silver

Questions & Answers about Poculum ex argento factum est.

What case is poculum, and what job is it doing in the sentence?

Poculum is nominative singular neuter.

It is the subject of the sentence: the thing that was made.
The dictionary form is also poculum, meaning cup or goblet.

Because it is neuter singular, any adjective or participle agreeing with it must also be neuter singular, which is why we get factum.

Why is it ex argento and not just argentum?

Because ex is a preposition meaning out of / from, and it takes the ablative case.

So:

• argentum = silver, in the nominative/accusative form
• argento = silver, in the ablative singular

In this sentence, ex argento means out of silver or more naturally from silver / made of silver.

Why is argento in the ablative case?

It is ablative because the preposition ex requires the ablative.

This is a very common Latin pattern:

• ex urbe = out of the city
• ex aqua = out of water
• ex argento = out of silver

So the case is not chosen randomly; it is required by the preposition.