Iudex veritatem a reo poscit.

the truth

Breakdown of Iudex veritatem a reo poscit.

• a: from
• iudex: the judge
• reus: the accused

Questions & Answers about Iudex veritatem a reo poscit.

How do I know who is doing the action in this sentence?

The subject is iudex.

You can tell because iudex is in the nominative singular, the case normally used for the subject of a finite verb. The verb poscit is also third person singular, so it matches a singular subject: the judge demands.

So the basic structure is:

• iudex = subject
• poscit = verb

Why is veritatem ending in -em?

Because veritatem is in the accusative singular, which marks the direct object here.

The direct object is the thing being demanded. In this sentence, the judge is demanding the truth, so veritatem has to be in the accusative.

Its dictionary form is veritas, and the accusative singular of this third-declension noun is veritatem.

So:

• veritas = truth
• veritatem = truth as the direct object

What does a reo mean grammatically?

A reo means from the defendant or from the accused.

Here:

• a = from
• reo = ablative singular of reus

Latin often uses to show the person something is asked, demanded, or taken. So tells you the source: the judge demands the truth .