Circulus in tabula ducitur.

on

Breakdown of Circulus in tabula ducitur.

• tabula: the board
• ducere: to draw
• circulus: the circle

Questions & Answers about Circulus in tabula ducitur.

Why is circulus the subject, and why isn’t it circulum?

Because ducitur is passive: is drawn.

In a passive sentence, the thing receiving the action becomes the subject. So:

• circulus = a circle / the circle in the nominative singular
• ducitur = is drawn

If the sentence were active, you would expect circulum as the direct object:

• Puer circulum in tabula ducit = The boy draws a circle on the tablet/board

But in the passive version:

• Circulus in tabula ducitur = A circle is drawn on the tablet/board

So circulus is nominative because it is now the grammatical subject of the passive verb.

What form is ducitur?

Ducitur is:

• 3rd person singular
• present tense
• passive voice
• from the verb ducere

So it literally means is led in the most basic sense of ducere, but in this context it means is drawn or is traced.

The ending -tur is a very common sign of the passive in Latin.

For comparison:

• ducit = he/she/it draws or