Questions & Answers about Cur tantum aquae bibis?
What does cur mean, and why is it at the beginning?
Cur means why. It is a question word, and Latin very often puts question words near the beginning of the sentence, just as English usually does.
So:
- Cur = why
- Cur tantum aquae bibis? = Why do you drink so much water?
Latin word order is more flexible than English, but cur at the front is very natural.
What does bibis mean exactly?
Bibis means you drink.
It comes from the verb bibere, meaning to drink.
Here is the breakdown:
- bib- = the verb stem
- -is = you (singular)
So bibis is:
- 2nd person singular
- present tense
- active
- indicative
In simple terms, it means you drink or, depending on context, sometimes you are drinking.
Why is there no word for you in the sentence?
Latin usually does not need a separate subject pronoun, because the verb ending already tells you who the subject is.
In bibis, the ending -is already means singular.