Ego tamen fratri quoque confido, si verum responsum dat et nihil celat.

I

Breakdown of Ego tamen fratri quoque confido, si verum responsum dat et nihil celat.

• et: and
• frater: the brother
• si: if

Questions & Answers about Ego tamen fratri quoque confido, si verum responsum dat et nihil celat.

Why is ego included here? Doesn’t Latin usually leave out subject pronouns?

Yes. Latin normally does not need an explicit subject pronoun, because the verb ending already shows the person and number. In confido, the -o tells you the subject is I.

So ego is added for emphasis or contrast. It can suggest something like:

• I nevertheless trust my brother too
• As for me, however, I also trust my brother

A learner should not assume ego is required; it is marked, not neutral.

What does tamen mean here?

Tamen usually means nevertheless, still, or however.

It often signals contrast with something stated earlier or understood from context. So in this sentence it suggests that, despite some opposing consideration, the speaker still trusts the brother as well.

It does not mean exactly the same thing as simple and. It adds a concessive or contrasting idea.

Why is it fratri and not fratrem?

Because confido takes the dative, not the direct object accusative.

So:

• frater = brother
• fratri = to/for the brother, dative singular

With confidere, Latin expresses by using the dative: