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Clepsydra horas inter aequinoctium computat.

Clepsydra horas inter aequinoctium computat.
The water clock counts the hours during the equinox.
From Lesson 84:Observing the night sky·Hardcore Latin

Questions & Answers about Clepsydra horas inter aequinoctium computat.

How do I know clepsydra is the subject?
Clepsydra is in the nominative singular, which is the normal case for the subject of a finite verb. The verb computat is also third person singular, so the two fit together: the water clock counts.
What kind of noun is clepsydra?
Clepsydra is a feminine first-declension noun, borrowed from Greek. Its basic forms are clepsydra, clepsydrae. Even though it is a Greek word, in Latin it behaves like an ordinary first-declension noun.
Why is horas in the accusative?

Because horas is the direct object of computat. It answers the question counts what? → hours.

The noun is hora:

  • nominative plural: horae
  • accusative plural: horas

So horas means hours as the thing being counted.

Why is aequinoctium also accusative?

It is accusative because it follows the preposition inter, and inter takes the accusative case.

So the sentence has:

  • horas = accusative as the direct object
  • aequinoctium = accusative as the object of the preposition inter

They are both accusative, but for different grammatical reasons.

What does inter mean here?

Learners often first meet inter with the meaning between or among, but it can also be used in expressions of time with the sense during or in the course of.

That is why it can appear here with a time word like aequinoctium. So this is not necessarily a literal spatial between.

What declension is aequinoctium?

Aequinoctium is a neuter second-declension noun.

A useful thing to remember: in neuter nouns, the nominative and accusative have the same form. So aequinoctium could be either nominative singular or accusative singular in form. Here we know it is accusative because inter requires that case.

What form is computat?

Computat is:

  • present tense
  • active voice
  • indicative mood
  • third person singular

It comes from computo, computare, meaning to count, to reckon, or to calculate.

So computat means he/she/it counts. In this sentence, the it is clepsydra.

Why is there no word for the or a?

Latin has no articles. It does not have separate words for the or a/an.

So clepsydra can mean:

  • a water clock
  • the water clock

and horas can mean:

  • hours
  • the hours

English has to choose an article from the context, but Latin does not mark that directly.

Why is the verb at the end of the sentence?

Because Latin word order is much more flexible than English word order. The endings show each word’s role, so Latin does not rely as heavily on position.

Putting the verb last is very common in Latin prose. This sentence has a very normal structure:

Clepsydra — subject
horas — direct object
inter aequinoctium — prepositional phrase
computat — verb

So the word order is natural Latin, even though English would usually place the verb earlier.

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