Discipuli, meditando ante lectionem et tractando post lectionem, sensum obscurum facilius capiunt.

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Breakdown of Discipuli, meditando ante lectionem et tractando post lectionem, sensum obscurum facilius capiunt.

• discipulus: the student
• ante: before
• post: after

Questions & Answers about Discipuli, meditando ante lectionem et tractando post lectionem, sensum obscurum facilius capiunt.

What is the main backbone of this sentence?

The basic core is:

• Discipuli = the students (subject)
• capiunt = grasp / understand (main verb)
• sensum obscurum = the obscure meaning (direct object)

So the sentence is fundamentally:

Discipuli sensum obscurum facilius capiunt
= The students grasp the obscure meaning more easily

Everything in the middle — meditando ante lectionem et tractando post lectionem — explains how they do that.

What case is discipuli, and how do I know it is the subject?

Discipuli is nominative plural, so it means the students as the subject of the sentence.

You can tell because:

• the verb capiunt is 3rd person plural = they grasp
• discipuli matches that plural idea
• the form discipuli could sometimes be something else in other contexts, but here it clearly works as the subject

So:

• discipulus = student
• discipuli = students

Why are meditando and tractando in the -ndo form?