Breakdown of Sermo oratoris civibus gratus est.
esse
to be
civis
the citizen
gratus
pleasing
orator
the orator
Questions & Answers about Sermo oratoris civibus gratus est.
What is the basic grammatical structure of Sermo oratoris civibus gratus est?
The core structure is:
- Sermo = the subject
- gratus est = the predicate, is pleasing / welcome
- civibus = the person(s) to whom it is pleasing
- oratoris = a genitive noun modifying sermo
So the sentence is built like this:
[The speech] [of the orator] [is pleasing] [to the citizens].
Why does oratoris mean of the orator?
Because oratoris is in the genitive singular. The genitive often shows possession or close relationship, and one of its most common English equivalents is of ... or sometimes ...’s.
So:
- orator = orator / speaker
- oratoris = of the orator or the orator’s
That means sermo oratoris is the speech of the orator or the orator’s speech.
Why is civibus translated as to the citizens?
Civibus is dative plural from civis, meaning citizen.
The dative case often marks: