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- "Mustelae coquere non solent."
46 Comments
This construction is probably easier for Spanish speakers to understand. Spanish and Catalan are the only Romance languages (as far as I know) that have kept the verb "solere" meaning "doing something on a regular basis". The Latin sentence would be "Las comadrejas no suelen cocinar" in Spanish.
EDIT: Also Italian has the verb "solere". You live and learn.
English uses the use verb in the imperfect to express a similar thing. It used to be a general thing, but is no longer. And Norwegian, too has got a bruke verb that is used for that. Interestingly, it also means use.
Yes, but English does it just in the past tense, not in the present, like the Spanish "soler". By the way, I have to correct myself: Italian has the verb "solere" as well, not only Spanish and Catalan.
There is also the verb "soer" in Portuguese. It is a defective verb (with an incomplete conjugation). E. g.: Como sói acontecer.
I think it's rather a past participle, than a past (so, becoming like an adjective, describing a state: to be...ed).
1015
German uses the past participle of wohnen (to live/reside probably some connection to the noun wont) - gewohnt like English does with use. I don't think the logic is super foreign or special. At least I think I don't miss some magic of this solent/suelen.
Wiesel kochen gewöhnlich nicht. Weasel do not usually cook.
Wiesel sind nicht gewohnt zu kochen. Weasel are not used to cook.
I guess the meaning is more accurate transferred in the second version but I can't describe to myself why it feels somewhat different.
If someone can find me a weasel that cooks I'd be glad to have it as a pet.
Right, usually when I finally trap Dirty weasels I throw them away, not cook them.
I’m intrigued that a sentence about weasels cooking makes sense in Catalan.
Mustelae seems to have been pronounced with two syllables in ae which is... at best, odd?
Can someone exlpain why we use the verb "to cook" instead of just "cook?" is it because "usually" comes first? This wasn't explained to me.
Why is 'solent' placed at the end of the sentence? Where can I expect to find the answer?
Usually is an adverb in English. There is a verb to use. eg I have used all the butter.
- 2086
Why is 'solent' placed at the end of the sentence?
The conjugated verb typically goes to the end of the sentence in Latin.
Usually is an adverb in English.
I'm not quite sure what you mean here. "Solent" is a verb in Latin; in particular it is an auxiliary verb like "can" or "should" in English and so usually goes with a second verb ("can go"; "should eat"). We don't have a verb in English that has the same meaning, so we have to approximate it with other words; roughly "soleo" means "to be used to [doing something]" or "usually [do something]."
There is a verb to use. eg I have used all the butter.
"Soleo" means to "be used to [doing something]," not to use something.
Could "solent" be translated as "tend", as in "Weasels do not tend to cook."?
- 314
But when they do cook, they rapidly destroy the building with fire (or is that just the drunk parrots?)
