Learn Hardcore Latin: Postea Marcus dicit se carmen novum de mari componere velle. - Afterward Marcus says that he wants to compose a new poem about the sea.

Word

Postea Marcus dicit se carmen novum de mari componere velle.

Meaning

Afterward Marcus says that he wants to compose a new poem about the sea.

Part of speech

sentence

Pronunciation

Course

Lesson

Breakdown of Postea Marcus dicit se carmen novum de mari componere velle.

Why is se used here, and who does it refer to?

Se is the reflexive pronoun in the accusative singular, and here it refers back to Marcus.

So:

Latin uses se in this kind of construction when the subject of the reported statement is the same as the subject of the main verb.

So Marcus dicit se ... velle means Marcus says that he wants..., where he = Marcus.

If it referred to someone else, Latin would normally use a different pronoun, not se.

Why are componere and velle both infinitives?

This is a very common Latin pattern called the accusative-and-infinitive construction for indirect statement.

After a verb like dicit (says), Latin often does not use a word like that plus a finite verb. Instead, it uses:

So:

Here, velle depends on dicit, and componere depends on velle.

You can think of the structure like this: