Breakdown of Singuli discipuli suam opinionem scribunt, deinde inter se conferunt quid magistra de potestate dicat.
scribere
to write
discipulus
the student
magistra
the female teacher
de
about
Questions & Answers about Singuli discipuli suam opinionem scribunt, deinde inter se conferunt quid magistra de potestate dicat.
Why does singuli go with discipuli even though singuli means each?
Because singuli is a distributive numeral/adjective: it means one each or each individually. In Latin, words like this are normally plural in form, even though the idea in English is often singular.
So:
- singuli discipuli = the students, one by one / each student
Latin is thinking of the group as made up of separate individuals.
What case is discipuli, and how can I tell it is the subject?
Here discipuli is nominative plural, and it is the subject of both scribunt and conferunt.
You can tell because:
- scribunt = they write
- conferunt = they discuss/compare
Both verbs are 3rd person plural, so they need a plural subject.
discipuli fits that perfectly: students / pupils.
Also, singuli agrees with discipuli in case, number, and gender:
- nominative
- plural
- masculine
Why is it suam opinionem and not something like eorum opinionem?