Pater dicit bonam voluntatem meliorem esse quam vim.

to be

Breakdown of Pater dicit bonam voluntatem meliorem esse quam vim.

• pater: the father
• bonus: good
• melior: better

Questions & Answers about Pater dicit bonam voluntatem meliorem esse quam vim.

What is the overall grammar pattern of dicit bonam voluntatem meliorem esse quam vim?

This is a very common Latin pattern called an indirect statement.

After a verb of saying, thinking, knowing, hearing, and so on, Latin often uses:

• accusative subject
• infinitive verb

So here:

• dicit = the main verb
• bonam voluntatem ... esse = the content of what is being said

In other words, instead of English Father says that ... is ..., Latin says, more literally, Father says good will to be better than force.

That sounds strange in English, but it is normal Latin.

Why is bonam voluntatem accusative instead of nominative bona voluntas?

Because it is the subject of the infinitive esse inside an indirect statement.

In English, the subject of a clause is usually nominative: good will is better.

But in Latin indirect statement, the subject changes to the accusative:

• nominative: bona voluntas
• accusative: bonam voluntatem

So bonam voluntatem is not the direct object of dicit by itself. Rather, it is the accusative subject of the infinitive esse.

Is bonam voluntatem the object of dicit?