Breakdown of Hodie comitia in foro habentur, et multi cives de uno candidato inter se disputant.
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Questions & Answers about Hodie comitia in foro habentur, et multi cives de uno candidato inter se disputant.
Why is comitia plural, even if English might translate it as the election or the assembly?
Comitia is a Latin noun that is normally plural in form. It refers to a public assembly, especially a political or voting assembly of Roman citizens.
So even when English uses a singular expression like the election or the assembly, Latin often uses comitia as a neuter plural noun.
- nominative plural: comitia
- verb with it: habentur = are held
This is similar to how some English nouns are grammatically plural even when they refer to one event or institution.
Why is the verb habentur and not habent?
Habentur is passive, from habeo, habere.
Here, comitia habentur means the elections/assembly are being held.
This is an idiomatic Latin way to talk about public events:
- ludi habentur = games are being held
- comitia habentur = elections/assemblies are being held
So although habeo often means have or hold, the passive is very natural here when the event itself is the subject.
What tense is habentur, and how should I understand it?
is .