Questions & Answers about Vera virtus ex bonis moribus nascitur.
Why is vera feminine singular?
Because it agrees with virtus.
In Latin, adjectives must match the nouns they describe in gender, number, and case. Here:
- virtus = feminine, singular, nominative
- vera = feminine, singular, nominative
So vera virtus means true virtue.
Isn't virtus masculine because it ends in -us?
No. The ending -us does not always mean a noun is masculine.
Virtus is a third-declension feminine noun. Its dictionary form is:
- virtus, virtutis = virtue
So even though it ends in -us, it is feminine, which is why the adjective is vera, not verus.
What case is virtus, and how do we know?
Virtus is in the nominative singular because it is the subject of the sentence.
The verb is nascitur = is born / arises / springs forth, and the thing doing that is virtus. So virtus is the subject:
- Vera virtus ... nascitur = True virtue ... is born