Word
Lucia prudens esse putatur, quia semper ante alios parata venit.
Meaning
Lucia is thought to be prudent, because she always comes prepared before the others.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of Lucia prudens esse putatur, quia semper ante alios parata venit.
esse
to be
ante
before
quia
because
venire
to come
Questions & Answers about Lucia prudens esse putatur, quia semper ante alios parata venit.
Why is putatur passive here?
Because Latin often uses a passive verb of saying or thinking to mean is said/thought to...
So:
- Lucia prudens esse putatur = Lucia is thought to be prudent
A very common active equivalent would be:
- Luciam prudentem esse putant = They think Lucia is prudent
In the active version, Luciam and prudentem are accusative. In the passive version, Lucia becomes the subject, so the adjective also changes to nominative: prudens.
How does Lucia prudens esse putatur fit together grammatically?
It is basically:
- Lucia = subject
- putatur = is thought
- esse prudens = to be prudent
More literally, Latin is saying:
- Lucia is thought to be prudent
This is a standard Latin pattern: a passive verb like putatur followed by an infinitive phrase.
Why is esse included? Why not just Lucia prudens putatur?
Latin often keeps esse (to be) in this kind of construction, especially in straightforward prose.
So: