Word
Socer laetus et socrus benigna sponsam in atrio salutant.
Meaning
The happy father-in-law and the kind mother-in-law greet the bride in the atrium.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of Socer laetus et socrus benigna sponsam in atrio salutant.
laetus
happy
in
in
et
and
salutare
to greet
Questions & Answers about Socer laetus et socrus benigna sponsam in atrio salutant.
Why is salutant plural?
Because the subject is two people: socer laetus and socrus benigna.
- socer = father-in-law
- socrus = mother-in-law
Since they are doing the action together, the verb must be 3rd person plural:
- salutat = he/she greets
- salutant = they greet
How do I know who is doing the greeting and who is being greeted?
Latin shows this mainly through case endings, not just word order.
- socer and socrus are in the nominative case, so they are the subject
- sponsam is in the accusative case, so she is the direct object
So:
- socer laetus et socrus benigna = the happy father-in-law and the kind mother-in-law
- sponsam = the bride / fiancée
That is why the sentence means that the in-laws greet the bride, not the other way around.
Why is sponsam spelled with -am?