Magistra dicit hanc sententiam a Lucia penna pulchre scriptam esse.

to be

Breakdown of Magistra dicit hanc sententiam a Lucia penna pulchre scriptam esse.

• magistra: the female teacher
• dicere: to say
• hic: this

Questions & Answers about Magistra dicit hanc sententiam a Lucia penna pulchre scriptam esse.

Why is hanc sententiam in the accusative case?

Because after dicit, Latin often uses an indirect statement construction.

In English, we say:

• The teacher says that this sentence was written...

But in Latin, instead of using that plus a finite verb, Latin normally uses:

• an accusative noun as the subject of the reported statement
• plus an infinitive

So hanc sententiam is not the direct object in the ordinary sense of dicit. It is the subject of the infinitive scriptam esse inside the indirect statement.

In other words:

• Magistra dicit = the teacher says
• hanc sententiam ... scriptam esse = this sentence to have been written ...

That is why hanc sententiam is accusative.

What is the grammar of scriptam esse?

Scriptam esse is the perfect passive infinitive of scribo.

Its parts are:

• scriptam = the perfect passive participle
• esse = to be

Together they mean:

• to have been written

Since this is in an indirect statement after dicit, Latin uses the infinitive instead of a finite verb such as scripta est.

So:

• scripta est = it was written
• scriptam esse = to have been written

The second form is the one needed in indirect statement.

Why is it scriptam and not scriptum or with some other ending?