Quae verba in margine scribenda sunt?

Quae is the neuter plural nominative form of the interrogative adjective/pronoun qui, quae, quod, meaning which? or what?

Here it goes with verba because:

• verba is neuter plural
• the adjective/pronoun has to agree with it in gender, number, and case

So quae verba means which words? or what words?

Verba is the nominative plural of verbum, meaning word.

It is plural because the sentence is asking about words, not just one word.

It is nominative because it is the grammatical subject of the sentence. Even though English might translate the whole sentence in a way that feels different, in Latin verba is the thing being described as to be written.

Margine is ablative singular from margo, marginis, meaning margin or edge.

It is ablative because it follows the preposition in. With in, Latin uses:

• accusative for motion into something
• ablative for location in something

So:

• in marginem = into the margin
• in margine = in the margin

Here the meaning is location, so in margine means in the margin.

Scribenda sunt is a passive periphrastic construction.

It is made of:

• scribenda: the gerundive of scribo, meaning to be written
• sunt: they are

Together, this construction usually expresses necessity or obligation.

So scribenda sunt means something like:

• must be written
• are to be written
• need to be written

It is not just a simple passive like are written. It specifically adds the idea that the action should or must happen.

Because it agrees with verba.

Since verba is:

• neuter
• plural
• nominative

the gerundive must match it, so we get scribenda.

This agreement is exactly like adjective agreement in Latin.

Sunt is plural because its subject, verba, is plural.

Latin finite verbs agree with their subject in number and person. Since verba means words, the plural form sunt is required, not singular est.

In this sentence, quae is functioning like an interrogative adjective, because it modifies the noun verba.

So it is asking which words?

If it stood by itself without a noun, it would more clearly be a pronoun, as in Quae scribenda sunt? meaning Which things must be written?

Latin word order is more flexible than English because the endings show the grammatical relationships.

This sentence could be rearranged in several ways without changing the basic meaning, for example:

• Quae verba in margine scribenda sunt?
• In margine quae verba scribenda sunt?
• Quae verba scribenda sunt in margine?

The original order is natural and clear, but Latin does not depend on word order as heavily as English does.

Yes. In English, both are possible depending on context.

Latin quae verba literally means which words, but in many contexts English would naturally say what words.

So the Latin grammar is more specifically which words, but a normal English translation may use either.

Usually here, yes, in margine most naturally means in the margin, especially of a page or book.

The noun margo can also mean edge or border more generally, but in this sentence the context strongly suggests the writing margin of a text.

Yes, but Latin does not state it directly here.

In a passive periphrastic, the person responsible can be expressed with the dative of agent, for example:

• discipulo scribenda sunt = the words must be written by the student / the student has to write the words

In your sentence, no agent is given, so the sense is simply What words must be written in the margin?

Then Latin would normally use an ordinary passive form of scribo, not the gerundive plus sum.

For example:

• scribuntur = are written

So compare:

• verba scribuntur = the words are written
• verba scribenda sunt = the words must be written

That is an important distinction in Latin.