Breakdown of Magister dicit sententiam integram esse, quia nulla verba desunt.
esse
to be
magister
the teacher
verbum
the word
dicere
to say
Questions & Answers about Magister dicit sententiam integram esse, quia nulla verba desunt.
Why is sententiam in the accusative, not the nominative sententia?
Because this sentence uses an indirect statement after dicit.
In Latin, after verbs like dicit (he says), the thing being said is often expressed with:
- an accusative subject
- plus an infinitive
So in sententiam integram esse:
- sententiam = the subject of the infinitive, in the accusative
- esse = to be
A native English speaker often expects that the sentence is complete, but Latin usually does this as sentence complete to be in an accusative-and-infinitive construction.
Why is integram also accusative?
Because integram agrees with sententiam.
It is a predicate adjective with esse, and in an indirect statement it matches the accusative subject:
- sententiam = accusative feminine singular
- integram = accusative feminine singular
So Latin is not saying two separate things; it is saying:
- sententiam ... esse = the sentence to be ...
- integram = complete, describing sententiam
If the noun were nominative, the adjective would also be nominative:
- sententia integra est =