Curator altitudinem et longitudinem metitur.

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Breakdown of Curator altitudinem et longitudinem metitur.

• curator: the overseer; superintendent
• altitudo: the height; depth
• longitudo: the length

Questions & Answers about Curator altitudinem et longitudinem metitur.

Why does metitur end in -tur if the meaning is active?

Because metitur comes from a deponent verb: metior, metiri, mensus sum.

Deponent verbs use passive-looking forms but have active meanings. So:

• metitur looks like a passive form
• but it actually means he measures, she measures, or it measures

So in this sentence, metitur is not passive.

What person, number, and tense is metitur?

Metitur is:

• third person singular
• present tense
• indicative mood

So it means he/she measures or is measuring, depending on context.

The -tur ending tells you it is third person singular in the present system of a deponent verb.

How do we know curator is the subject?

Curator is in the nominative singular, which is the case normally used for the subject of a sentence.

So curator is the one doing the action of metitur.

A learner may also notice that the verb is third person singular, which matches a singular subject like curator.