Canalis longus est.

to be

Breakdown of Canalis longus est.

• longus: long
• canalis: the masonry water conduit

Questions & Answers about Canalis longus est.

Why does canalis end in -is?

Canalis is a third-declension noun. In this sentence it is nominative singular, because it is the subject of the verb est.

Its dictionary form is canalis, canalis (masculine), and the nominative singular happens to end in -is.

What case is canalis here?

It is nominative singular.

You can tell because canalis is the thing being described: the canal is long. In Latin, the subject of the sentence is normally in the nominative case.

Why is longus not longis to match canalis?

Because adjectives in Latin do not have to look exactly the same as the nouns they describe. They have to match in:

• gender
• number
• case

Here, canalis is masculine nominative singular, so the adjective must also be masculine nominative singular. For the adjective longus, longa, longum, the masculine nominative singular form is longus.

So:

• canalis = masculine nominative singular
• longus = masculine nominative singular

They agree, even though their endings are different.