Quadrigae bigas praetereunt.

The four-horse chariot overtakes the two-horse chariot.

Breakdown of Quadrigae bigas praetereunt.

• quadrigae: the four-horse chariot; team of four horses
• bigae: the two-horse chariot; pair of horses
• praeterire: to overtake; go past

Questions & Answers about Quadrigae bigas praetereunt.

Which word is the subject, and which word is the object?

Quadrigae is the subject, and bigas is the direct object.

You can tell this from the case endings:

• quadrigae = nominative plural
• bigas = accusative plural

So the sentence structure is subject + object + verb: Quadrigae bigas praetereunt.

How do we know quadrigae is nominative plural here, not genitive singular or dative singular?

The ending -ae can be ambiguous in the first declension, so by itself quadrigae could in theory be:

• nominative plural
• genitive singular
• dative singular

But in this sentence, context makes the choice clear.

Praetereunt is a finite verb meaning they pass / they go past, so it needs a subject. Quadrigae fits that role as nominative plural. A genitive singular or dative singular would not make sense here.

So here quadrigae must be read as nominative plural.

Why does bigas end in -as?