Taberna contra bibliothecam stat, et discipula ibi chartam novam emere vult.

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Breakdown of Taberna contra bibliothecam stat, et discipula ibi chartam novam emere vult.

• taberna: the shop
• ibi: there
• discipula: the female student

Questions & Answers about Taberna contra bibliothecam stat, et discipula ibi chartam novam emere vult.

Why is bibliothecam in the accusative?

Because contra takes the accusative case. So contra bibliothecam means opposite the library or across from the library.

• bibliotheca = library
• bibliothecam = accusative singular of bibliotheca

This is one of those cases where a preposition controls the case of the noun after it.

What does contra mean here?

Here contra means opposite or across from in a spatial sense.

A learner may first meet contra as against, and that is also a common meaning. But with places, it can mean:

• opposite
• facing
• across from

So Taberna contra bibliothecam stat means the shop is located opposite the library.

Why does Latin use stat instead of est?

Stat comes from stare, meaning to stand. Latin often uses stare for buildings or objects that are standing in a place.

So:

• taberna est = the shop is
• taberna stat = the shop stands / is situated

In English we usually just say , but Latin often prefers the more vivid for physical location.