Iudex nemini permittit falsum iurare.

the judge

Breakdown of Iudex nemini permittit falsum iurare.

• nemini: no one
• iurare: to swear
• permittere: to allow

Questions & Answers about Iudex nemini permittit falsum iurare.

What are the grammatical roles of the words in Iudex nemini permittit falsum iurare?

• iudex: nominative singular, the subject
• nemini: dative singular, to no one / no one
• permittit: 3rd person singular present, allows / permits
• falsum: neuter accusative singular, used with iurare
• iurare: present active infinitive, to swear

So the backbone is:

• iudex permittit = the judge allows
• nemini = to no one
• falsum iurare = to swear falsely / to swear a falsehood

Why is nemini dative instead of accusative?

Because permittere often works in Latin as:

• alicui permittere + infinitive

That literally means to permit to someone to do something.

So nemini is dative because it is the person to whom permission would be given. English usually says allow someone to..., with someone looking like a direct object, but Latin often uses the dative here instead.

So:

• nemini permittit = he permits to no one
• idiomatic English: he allows no one

Why is iurare in the infinitive?