Quadrigae prope carceres stant.

to stand

Breakdown of Quadrigae prope carceres stant.

• prope: near
• quadrigae: the four-horse chariot; team of four horses
• carceres: the starting gates at a racetrack

Questions & Answers about Quadrigae prope carceres stant.

What case is quadrigae, and how do I know?

Quadrigae is nominative plural here, because it is the subject of stant.

A quick way to see that:

• stant = they stand
• so we expect a plural subject
• quadrigae fits that role

For a first-declension noun, -ae can have several meanings in different contexts, but here the verb makes it clear that quadrigae is nominative plural.

Is quadrigae singular or plural?

In this sentence, it is plural, because the verb is stant, which is third person plural.

So the basic grammar is:

• quadrigae = the chariots / four-horse chariots
• stant = stand / are standing

A learner may also notice that words for vehicles or teams can sometimes behave a little unusually in Latin, but for this sentence the simple classroom reading is: quadrigae is plural.

What exactly is stant?