Post longam noctem spes nova oritur.

After a long night, a new hope arises.

Breakdown of Post longam noctem spes nova oritur.

• longus: long
• novus: new
• nox: the night
• post: after

Questions & Answers about Post longam noctem spes nova oritur.

Why is noctem in the accusative case?

Because post is a preposition that takes the accusative when it means after. So nox becomes noctem after post.

In other words:

• post
  • accusative
• nox = nominative singular, the basic dictionary form
• noctem = accusative singular

So post longam noctem means after a long night.

Why is it longam noctem and not longa nox?

Because longam has to agree with noctem.

Latin adjectives must match the noun they describe in:

• gender
• number
• case

Here:

• noctem is feminine, singular, accusative
• so the adjective must also be feminine, singular, accusative
• therefore we get longam

So:

• longa nox = a long night as a subject
• longam noctem = a long night as the object of post

What case is spes, and what is its job in the sentence?