Si vas fragile est, puerum illud tangere non sinimus.

If the vessel is fragile, we do not allow the boy to touch it.

Breakdown of Si vas fragile est, puerum illud tangere non sinimus.

• esse: to be
• puer: the boy
• non: not
• si: if

Questions & Answers about Si vas fragile est, puerum illud tangere non sinimus.

Why does the sentence begin with si?

Si means if and introduces a condition.

So the sentence has two parts:

• Si vas fragile est = if the vase/vessel is fragile
• puerum illud tangere non sinimus = we do not allow the boy to touch that/it

This is a straightforward present-time condition: if X is true, we do Y.

Why is vas followed by fragile and est?

This is a very common Latin pattern:

• vas = the vase / vessel
• fragile = fragile
• est = is

So vas fragile est literally means the vase is fragile.

Here fragile is a predicate adjective: it describes vas after a form of to be.

Why is it fragile, not fragilis?

Because vas is neuter singular, and the adjective has to match it.

The adjective fragilis, fragile has different forms:

• masculine/feminine nominative singular: fragilis
• neuter nominative singular: fragile

Since is neuter, Latin uses .