Breakdown of Mater dicit sedecim nummos ad panem emendum satis esse.
esse
to be
mater
the mother
panis
the bread
dicere
to say
Questions & Answers about Mater dicit sedecim nummos ad panem emendum satis esse.
Why is sedecim nummos in the accusative instead of the nominative?
Because this sentence uses indirect statement after dicit.
In Latin, after verbs of saying, thinking, knowing, and similar verbs, English often uses that + a finite verb:
- Mother says that sixteen coins are enough.
But Latin usually uses:
- accusative + infinitive
So sedecim nummos is the subject of the infinitive esse, and subjects of infinitives in this construction go into the accusative.
That is why Latin has:
- Mater dicit sedecim nummos ... satis esse.
not:
- Mater dicit sedecim nummi ...
Why is the verb esse an infinitive?
Because it depends on dicit in an indirect statement.
A direct statement would be something like:
- Sedecim nummi satis sunt.
- Sixteen coins are enough.
But after Mater dicit = Mother says, Latin changes the finite verb into an infinitive:
- sedecim nummos satis esse
- literally, sixteen coins to be enough
So esse is not random; it is the normal Latin way of reporting a statement after dicit.
Why is satis used instead of an adjective meaning ?