Amicus sincerus veritatem aperte dicit.

the friend

Breakdown of Amicus sincerus veritatem aperte dicit.

• veritas: the truth
• aperte: openly
• dicere: to speak

Questions & Answers about Amicus sincerus veritatem aperte dicit.

Why is amicus sincerus in that order? Could it also be sincerus amicus?

Yes. Both amicus sincerus and sincerus amicus can mean a sincere friend.

Latin word order is more flexible than English word order because grammatical endings do much of the work. In this sentence, amicus and sincerus go together because they match in:

• case: nominative
• number: singular
• gender: masculine

So the order can change without changing the basic meaning. Sometimes the position of a word adds a slight emphasis or stylistic effect, but both orders are normal.

How do I know amicus sincerus is the subject?

You know from the nominative case.

• amicus is nominative singular masculine
• sincerus agrees with it, so it is also nominative singular masculine

In Latin, the subject of a finite verb is usually in the nominative. Since dicit means says or speaks, amicus sincerus is the one doing the action.

Why is veritatem in a different form from veritas?