Breakdown of Servus epistulam ab imperatore accipit.
imperator
the emperor
servus
the servant
epistula
the letter
accipere
to receive
Questions & Answers about Servus epistulam ab imperatore accipit.
Why is servus the subject of the sentence?
Because servus is in the nominative singular, the case normally used for the subject.
In this sentence, servus means the slave and is the one doing the action of receiving. A Latin learner often identifies the subject by its ending, not just by its position in the sentence.
- servus = nominative singular
- so it means the slave as subject
Why is epistulam not epistula?
Because epistulam is in the accusative singular, which is the case used for the direct object.
The direct object is the thing being received. The slave receives a letter, so letter must be in the accusative.
- epistula = nominative singular, letter as subject
- epistulam = accusative singular, letter as direct object
So Latin uses the ending -am here to show that the letter is the object of accipit.
Why does the sentence use ab imperatore?
Because ab means from here, and it introduces the person from whom something is received.
So:
- ab = from