Si duo heredes inter se dissentiunt, hereditas saepe moram patitur.

If two heirs disagree with one another, the inheritance often suffers delay.

Breakdown of Si duo heredes inter se dissentiunt, hereditas saepe moram patitur.

• saepe: often
• si: if
• inter: among
• duo: two

Questions & Answers about Si duo heredes inter se dissentiunt, hereditas saepe moram patitur.

Why does the sentence begin with si?

Si means if and introduces a conditional clause.

So the sentence is divided into two parts:

• Si duo heredes inter se dissentiunt = If two heirs disagree with one another
• hereditas saepe moram patitur = the inheritance often suffers delay

This is a straightforward if ... then ... idea, even though Latin does not need to state then explicitly.

What case is duo heredes, and why?

Duo heredes is nominative plural, because it is the subject of dissentiunt.

• duo = two
• heredes = heirs

Together they mean two heirs.

A learner may expect something unusual because duo is a numeral, but here it simply agrees with heredes in case, number, and gender.

Why is it duo and not some other form of two?

Latin numerals can change form depending on gender and case.

Here:

• heredes is masculine (or at least treated here as masculine plural)
• the phrase is nominative plural
• so the correct form is duo

For comparison: