Cibus palatum tangit.

the food

Breakdown of Cibus palatum tangit.

• tangere: to touch
• palatum: the roof of the mouth

Questions & Answers about Cibus palatum tangit.

How do I know cibus is the subject of the sentence?

Because cibus is in the nominative singular, which is the case typically used for the subject.

In Cibus palatum tangit:

• cibus = subject
• palatum = direct object
• tangit = verb

So the structure is Food touches the palate.

What case is palatum, and why?

Here palatum is in the accusative singular, because it is the direct object of tangit.

The verb tangit means touches, and the thing being touched goes into the accusative case. So:

• cibus touches
• palatum is the thing touched

That is why palatum is accusative here.

Why is the object palatum and not palatam?

Because palatum is a second-declension neuter noun.

Different declensions have different accusative endings:

• first declension accusative singular often ends in -am
• second declension masculine often ends in -um
• second declension neuter also has -um in the accusative singular

So palatum is correct, not .