Mater dicit vestimenta umida sub sole citius siccari.

the mother

Breakdown of Mater dicit vestimenta umida sub sole citius siccari.

• dicere: to say
• sol: the sun
• sub: under

Questions & Answers about Mater dicit vestimenta umida sub sole citius siccari.

Why is there no Latin word for that after dicit?

Because Latin usually does not use a separate that-clause after verbs of saying, thinking, knowing, and perceiving.

Instead, it uses an accusative + infinitive construction:

• Mater dicit = Mother says
• vestimenta umida sub sole citius siccari = the wet clothes dry / are dried faster in the sun

So where English says Mother says that ..., Latin normally says Mother says [something] to be ....

This construction is often called indirect statement.

Why is vestimenta accusative, even though the clothes are the thing doing the drying?

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

So in this sentence:

• Mater is the subject of dicit
• vestimenta is the subject of siccari

But because siccari is part of an indirect statement after dicit, its subject appears in the accusative:

• vestimenta = accusative plural neuter

So vestimenta is the logical subject of siccari, even though it is not nominative.

What form is siccari, and why is it used here?