Magistra dicit Luciam hanc sententiam perfecte interpretari.

the female teacher

Breakdown of Magistra dicit Luciam hanc sententiam perfecte interpretari.

• dicere: to say
• hic: this
• sententia: the sentence

Questions & Answers about Magistra dicit Luciam hanc sententiam perfecte interpretari.

Why is Luciam in the accusative case instead of the nominative?

Because Latin is using an indirect statement after dicit. In this construction, the person doing the action inside the reported statement goes into the accusative, and the verb of that reported statement goes into the infinitive.

So in:

Magistra dicit Luciam hanc sententiam perfecte interpretari

• Magistra = the subject of dicit
• Luciam = the subject of interpretari, but in the accusative because of indirect statement

In English, we often use that:

• The teacher says that Lucia interprets this sentence perfectly.

Latin does not use that here. It uses accusative + infinitive instead.

Why is interpretari an infinitive?

Because it is the verb inside the indirect statement introduced by dicit.

After verbs of saying, thinking, knowing, hearing, and so on, Latin very often uses:

• accusative subject
• infinitive verb

So:

• Luciam = accusative subject
• interpretari = infinitive verb

This is one of the most important Latin constructions to learn.

Why does interpretari end in -ri? Is it passive?