Avia nepoti veritatem dicit.

to tell

Breakdown of Avia nepoti veritatem dicit.

• avia: the grandmother
• veritas: the truth
• nepos: the grandson

Questions & Answers about Avia nepoti veritatem dicit.

Why does avia mean the subject, grandmother, in this sentence?

Because avia is in the nominative singular, the case normally used for the subject of the sentence.

The dictionary form is avia, a first-declension noun meaning grandmother. In this sentence, the grandmother is the one doing the action of speaking, so Latin puts her in the nominative:

• avia = grandmother, as subject

English usually shows the subject mainly by word order, but Latin often shows it by the noun ending.

Why is nepoti translated as to the grandson instead of just grandson?

Because nepoti is in the dative singular, which is often used for the indirect object: the person to whom something is given, said, shown, told, and so on.

Here the verb is dicit, says/tells, and the grandson is the recipient of what is said:

• nepoti = to the grandson

The noun comes from nepos, nepotis, meaning grandson. Its dative singular form is nepoti.

So:

• avia = the speaker
• veritatem = the thing spoken
• nepoti = the person spoken to

Why is veritatem the direct object?