Breakdown of Miles domum et familiam suam desiderat.
familia
the family
et
and
miles
the soldier
domus
the home
Questions & Answers about Miles domum et familiam suam desiderat.
How do I know miles is the subject?
Miles is in the nominative singular, which is the case usually used for the subject of a sentence.
A learner might expect a subject ending like -us, but miles belongs to the 3rd declension, so its nominative singular form is simply miles.
So here:
- miles = the soldier → subject
- desiderat = longs for / misses
Together: The soldier longs for ...
Why is it domum and not domus?
Because domum is the accusative singular form of domus.
In this sentence, domum is the direct object of desiderat, just like familiam is. The soldier is longing for home and his family.
So:
- domus = nominative, home/house
- domum = accusative, used here as the object
You may have also seen domum used after verbs of motion to mean homeward or to home, but that is not what is happening here. Here it is simply the thing being longed for.
Does domum mean house or home here?