Breakdown of Spectator cum amicis ridet.
amicus
the friend
cum
with
ridere
to laugh
spectator
the onlooker at a public event
Questions & Answers about Spectator cum amicis ridet.
What case is spectator, and how do we know it is the subject?
Spectator is nominative singular. In Latin, the subject of a finite verb is normally in the nominative case.
Here, ridet is a 3rd person singular verb, so spectator matches it naturally as the subject.
The dictionary form is spectator, spectatoris, a masculine 3rd-declension noun.
Why is it cum amicis and not cum amicos?
Because cum meaning with takes the ablative case.
So:
- amici = nominative plural
- amicos = accusative plural
- amicis = ablative plural, and also dative plural
After cum, Latin uses the ablative, so cum amicis is correct.
What form is ridet?
Ridet is 3rd person singular present active indicative of rideo, ridere, risi, risus.
That means it means he laughs, she laughs, it laughs, or more loosely is laughing, depending on context.
The ending -t is the normal 3rd person singular ending in the present tense.
Does mean or ?