"Marcus is not a woman."

Translation: Marcus non est femina.

[FredrikBorch]

Is "Marcus est non femina." a possible alternative?

[Trofaste]

It was described to me as "awkward, but not wrong". So theoretically, yes, but you're better keeping "non" before the verb it's negating (even if something else comes in between).

[Gus374760]

"Marcus est non femina" doesn't look right. It would be like "Marcus woman is not" in English – it looks weird... But "Marcus femina non est" works, because the verb at the end of the sentence works in Latin.

[lucasrecalde]

Yes it is. In Latin, we don't have a sentence hierarchy, but it is common put the verb in the final of the sentence

[alchud]

"Marcus femina non est" worked for me -- is this a correct (and non-awkward) translation?

[Sue982688]

With the "being" verbs: sum, es, est... Both nouns are nominative (neither is taking action on on toward the other). This is like most (all?) Romance and Germanic languages.

[_MemoryCore_]

What's the difference between est and es

[Gfldo]

Hello,

"es" is "to be" for the 2d person singular
"est" is "to be" for the 3d person singular

[dspen95]

Because copula verbs can always be a little weird, is it still preferable (I understand it's not obligatory) for esse to come at the end of the sentence? And if so, is it also preferable to place it at the end when it's negated, or is it more common perhaps to place it in the middle, to emphasize the "non?" If it's at the end, would it be "Marcus femina non est?"