Sexta via longa est.

to be

Breakdown of Sexta via longa est.

• via: the road
• longus: long
• sextus: sixth

Questions & Answers about Sexta via longa est.

Why does sexta end in -a?

Because sexta is an adjective meaning sixth, and it has to agree with via.

Here, via is:

• feminine
• singular
• nominative

So sexta must also be:

• feminine
• singular
• nominative

That is why you get sexta via, not sextus via or sextum via.

Why is it sexta and not sex?

Sex means six and is a cardinal number.

Sexta means sixth and is an ordinal number.

So:

• sex viae = six roads
• sexta via = the sixth road

English uses both kinds too:

• six roads
• the sixth road

What case is via, and how can I tell?

Via is in the nominative singular here.

You can tell from the sentence structure:

• is the subject