Tonsor barbam avi curaturus est.

The barber is about to tend grandfather’s beard.

Breakdown of Tonsor barbam avi curaturus est.

• esse: to be
• avus: the grandfather
• tonsor: the barber
• barba: the beard

Questions & Answers about Tonsor barbam avi curaturus est.

Why is barbam in the accusative?

Because it is the direct object of curaturus est / curare: it is the thing the barber is going to attend to.

• barba = nominative singular, a beard
• barbam = accusative singular, a beard as the object

So Latin marks what is being acted on with the accusative, where English usually relies more on word order.

What case is avi, and how do I know?

In this sentence, avi is most naturally understood as genitive singular: of the grandfather.

So barbam avi means the grandfather’s beard.

A useful thing to know is that avi could also, in form, be dative singular. For a 2nd-declension noun like avus, the form avi can mean either:

• genitive singular = of the grandfather
• dative singular = to/for the grandfather

Here the genitive makes better sense, because beard of the grandfather is a very natural phrase. So learners should notice that the form is technically ambiguous, but the context usually makes the intended meaning clear.

How does curaturus est work?

curaturus est is a future active periphrastic.