Neutra solea puellae bona est; itaque illa ad sutorem postridie redibit.

to be

Breakdown of Neutra solea puellae bona est; itaque illa ad sutorem postridie redibit.

• puella: the girl
• ad: to
• bonus: good

Questions & Answers about Neutra solea puellae bona est; itaque illa ad sutorem postridie redibit.

Why is neutra solea singular, even though the meaning is neither sandal?

Because neutra means neither of two, and Latin treats that as singular. The idea is not either sandal taken one at a time, so the noun is singular (solea) and the verb is singular (est).

So:

• neutra solea = neither sandal
• est = is

Latin is not saying the sandals are not good as a pair; it is saying each sandal, considered separately, is not good.

Why is bona feminine singular?

Because bona agrees with solea, not with puellae.

In Latin, an adjective must match its noun in:

• gender
• number
• case

Here:

• solea is feminine
• singular
• nominative

So the adjective must also be feminine nominative singular:

• bona = good

That is why Latin has bona est, not bonum est or bonae sunt.

What case is puellae here, and how do we know?