Breakdown of Inter cenam familia de die longo loquitur.
familia
the family
longus
long
de
about
dies
the day
Questions & Answers about Inter cenam familia de die longo loquitur.
Why is cenam in the accusative after inter?
Because inter is a preposition that takes the accusative case.
So:
- inter = during, among, between
- cenam is the accusative singular of cena = dinner
In this sentence, inter cenam means during dinner.
This is something worth memorizing: Latin prepositions regularly require a specific case, and inter always takes the accusative.
Why does Latin say inter cenam for during dinner?
Latin often uses prepositional phrases where English might use a different structure.
Here:
- inter literally has the basic sense between/among
- but with expressions of time, it can mean during
So inter cenam is an idiomatic Latin way to say during dinner.
A learner should not try to translate each word too mechanically. The phrase as a whole means during dinner, even if inter does not always mean that in other contexts.
Why is familia singular if it refers to a whole family?