Mater dicit ampullam fragiliorem esse quam aliud vas.

to be

Breakdown of Mater dicit ampullam fragiliorem esse quam aliud vas.

• mater: the mother
• quam: than
• dicere: to say

Questions & Answers about Mater dicit ampullam fragiliorem esse quam aliud vas.

Why is there no separate word for that after dicit?

Because Latin usually does not say that after a verb of saying, thinking, knowing, and so on in the way English often does.

Instead, Latin uses the indirect statement construction:

dicit + accusative subject + infinitive

So:

• Mater dicit = Mother says
• ampullam ... esse = the bottle to be ...

Put together, that gives the sense of Mother says that the bottle is...

This is one of the most important Latin patterns to learn.

Why is ampullam in the accusative?

In an indirect statement, the subject of the infinitive goes into the accusative.

So even though the bottle is the logical subject of esse and fragiliorem, Latin makes it accusative because it is inside the indirect statement:

• Mater dicit
• ampullam fragiliorem esse quam aliud vas

Here ampullam is the subject accusative of esse.

Its dictionary form is ampulla, so:

• nominative singular: ampulla
• accusative singular: ampullam

Why is esse an infinitive instead of a normal finite verb?

Because after Latin uses an indirect statement, and the verb of that indirect statement is normally an .