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- "Corinna sola poculum exhauri…
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Well, it's being used more as "only," rather than denoting that she is by herself.
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I tried "Alone, Corinna drains the cup" and it was rejected. Then I read this comment and tried "Only Corinna drains the cup" - also rejected. So I will admit to being confused...
The way you phrase that also reads to me like she is the only one in the room drinking, as opposed to she is the only one doing the drinking. Does that make sense?
“Sola” is an adjective here, not an adverb, so it needs to modify “Corinna” in the translation.
Yes, in English 'alone' cannot be before a noun. Maybe that is why the system wants 'alone' after the noun it modifies.
You can't write "Alone Corinna drains the cup," but you can offset "alone" with a comma: "Alone, Corinna drains the cup". It means the same thing as "Corinna drains the cup alone" but it's a bit more literary.
How would you distinguish between the sense of "Corinna, who is by herself, drains the cup" and "No one but Corinna drains the cup"?
The word can be used for either. I believe that context would clear up which definition was being used, so if the writer or speaker wanted to be completely clear they would make sure that they provided that.
I had answered "Corinna drains the cup alone" and it marked me wrong. Was my answer truly wrong or should I report it next time?
I put that today (12/27/20) and it was marked wrong. Not sure if i should report or not.
I used Corinna drains the cup by herself and it wasn't accepted. In my city this means the same as the prescribed answer
There are shades of meaning here. The prescribed answer is closer to "Several people are present, and Corinna is the only one of them who gets to drain the cup" than it is to "Corinna is the only one present as she drains the cup."
Well, the distinction is old. I got this from Rhetoric via Blair: only connotes or show "no other of the same kind" but alone refers to accompaniment. She is an only child. Felix alone faced the dreaded monster. I hope this minutiae helps.
So what meaning does "sola" actually have here? Who or what is alone or only, and who or what is that being contrasted with?
-- a bunch of cups and drinkers, Corinna is the only one who gulps it all down
-- nobody in the room besides Corinna
-- (unlikely because -a versus -um) just one cup
-- something else?
Since it's "sola" to agree with "Corinna" in both gender, number, and case, and not "solus" or any other form, it can only mean that Corinna is the one doing this alone.
So which of the first two possibilities is it, then? I.e., is it "Corinna alone [does X]", or "Alone, Corinna [does X]"?
