Breakdown of Praeco cives monet ut tabellas in urnam deponant.
in
into
civis
the citizen
monere
to warn
ut
to
Questions & Answers about Praeco cives monet ut tabellas in urnam deponant.
Why is cives in the accusative plural?
Because cives is the object of monet.
- praeco = the herald
- monet = warns, advises, reminds
- cives = the citizens
So the herald is doing the warning, and the citizens are the people being warned/advised. In Latin, the person directly affected by the verb often goes in the accusative case.
Here, cives is the accusative plural form of civis.
Why is monet singular even though cives is plural?
Because the subject is praeco, not cives.
- praeco = singular subject, so the verb is singular
- monet = he/she warns/advises
- cives = object, not subject
A native English speaker may be tempted to connect the verb with the nearest plural noun, but in Latin the verb agrees with the subject, not with the object.
What exactly is ut doing here?
Here ut introduces a subordinate clause that expresses what the herald is urging or advising the citizens to do.
So:
- monet ut... deponant = warns/advises them to place...
This is a very common Latin pattern:
- verb of urging, advising, warning, ordering, etc.
- followed by