Breakdown of Nemo dubitat quin argentarius pactum signare debeat, antequam pecuniam det.
dare
to give
pecunia
the money
nemo
no one
debere
ought to
Questions & Answers about Nemo dubitat quin argentarius pactum signare debeat, antequam pecuniam det.
Why is quin used after nemo dubitat?
After a negative expression of doubt such as nemo dubitat (no one doubts) or non dubito (I do not doubt), Latin commonly uses quin to introduce the content clause.
So:
- Nemo dubitat quin ... = No one doubts that ...
A very literal sense of quin here is something like that not / but that, but in normal English you should usually just understand it as that after a negative main clause.
This is a standard Latin pattern:
- non dubito quin veniat = I do not doubt that he is coming / will come
Why is debeat in the subjunctive?
Debeat is subjunctive because it is inside a quin clause after a negative expression of doubt.
That is one of the regular constructions in Latin:
- negative main idea of doubting
- followed by quin
- followed by a verb in the subjunctive
So in this sentence:
- Nemo dubitat quin argentarius pactum signare debeat
the clause beginning with quin is grammatically dependent on nemo dubitat, and that is why debeat is subjunctive rather than indicative.
If the sentence means No one doubts that..., why doesn’t Latin just use or ?