Word
Postquam scutellae lavatae sunt, serva eas in armario ponit.
Meaning
After the dishes have been washed, the maid puts them in the cupboard.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of Postquam scutellae lavatae sunt, serva eas in armario ponit.
esse
to be
in
in
postquam
after
ponere
to put
Questions & Answers about Postquam scutellae lavatae sunt, serva eas in armario ponit.
What does postquam mean, and what kind of clause does it introduce?
Postquam means after. It introduces a temporal clause, a clause that tells us when something happens.
So in this sentence:
Postquam scutellae lavatae sunt
= After the dishes/bowls have been washed
This sets the time for the main action:
serva eas in armario ponit
= the maid puts them in the cupboard
Why is scutellae plural, and what case is it?
Scutellae is nominative plural.
It is nominative because it is the subject of lavatae sunt in the subordinate clause:
- scutellae lavatae sunt = the bowls/dishes were washed or have been washed
It is plural because there is more than one bowl/dish.
A learner might first think scutellae could be genitive singular or dative singular, since first-declension endings can overlap, but here the verb sunt is plural, so scutellae must be nominative plural.
Why is it lavatae sunt and not laverunt or lavant?