Equi e carceribus ruunt.

the horse

Breakdown of Equi e carceribus ruunt.

• e: out of / from
• carceres: the starting gates at a racetrack
• ruere: to rush; charge

Questions & Answers about Equi e carceribus ruunt.

What does equi mean here, and what form is it?

Equi is the nominative plural of equus, meaning horse.

It is nominative plural because it is the subject of the sentence: the horses are the ones doing the action.

• equus = horse
• equi = horses

Why is it equi, not equos?

Because equi is the subject, while equos would be the direct object.

Latin uses case endings to show a word’s job in the sentence:

• equi = nominative plural = the horses as subject
• equos = accusative plural = the horses as object

Since the horses are the ones who rush, Latin uses equi.

What does e mean?

E means out of or from.

It is a preposition that takes the ablative case. So when you see e before a noun, you should expect that noun to be in the ablative.

Here:

• e = out of / from
• carceribus = from the starting gates