"How is Livia?"
Translation:Quid agit Livia?
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Wouldn't "Quomodo est Livia?" work as well?Or "Quomodo Livia est?" Because I am very confused on how "Quid", meaning "What", changes to "How" when "agit" is after "Quid".
Quomodo Livia se habet Is literally "How does Livia consider herself" "Quomodo Livia est" would be like... "How is a Livia?" Also, Quid + agere is an idiom, much like "what's up" in English.
Ok, good point. But how does "Agit" change "Quid" from "What" to "How"? I think that's where I'm most confused.
I mean, in a literally sense it doesn't. Quid means what unless you're using it with agere. But if I say 'what's up' you know I mean 'what's going on' not literally ' what's above us now' it's an idiom. Latin has those as well, they don't have to make sense, they just are what they are.
I am Italian and I did not study Latin. To me "Quid agit Livia?" sounds as a passive form, something like "What moves Livia?" where Livia is the object, not the subject of the sentence.
I guess that "Quid agit Livia?" literally means "What does Livia do?/What is Livia doing (lately)?". Less literally it means "What is happening to her/in her life (recently)? And even more less literally (but in more usual English) it is "How is Livia doing?/How is Livia?"
"What moves Livia?" would not be passive, since Livia is a direct object.
Here, Livia is still the subject, regardless of her placement in the sentence, since she's still in the nominative case.
"Ubi est Gamora?" "Bene. Ego in hoc meliorem. Quis est Gamora?" "Ego in hoc meliorem! Quomodo est Gamora?!"
I thought the word order was totally free in Latin, so wouldn't Livia quid agit be okay?
It's not totally free. That's something you hear a lot about Latin. It is mostly free. I think in this course, question words are almost entirely at the front. It would be common to see Quid agit Livia? or Quid Livia agit? Some Latin authors put question words after, but it's not as common.
Wouldn't "quid agit Livia." translate to "what is Livia doing?" I thought "agit" was the 3rd person singular for "agere" which means "doing something or to act".
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It does (in a very literal translation). But it can also be used 'idiomatically' for "How is Livia?".
agere is also a verb that can mean a lot of different things depending on the context.
Is this howyou greet somebody? Or ask about how somebody is doing to somebody else? Like if I was walking up to Livia would I say Quid Agit Livia. Or if I saw Livia's husband Marcus would I ask him how is his wife by asking Quid agit Livia?
You still need the se as the direct object. I.E. Quomodo Liviam habes would be "How do you consider Livia is doing?" "Quomodo se habet Livia" is "How does Livia consider herself to be?"
"Quomodo Liviam habes?" is "How do you have/hold/consider Livia?", isn't it?
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'Ago / agere' is an astonishingly versatile verb with a lot of different meanings and embedded in a lot of Latin idioms. If I remember rightly, Martial wrote an epigram parodying many of the usages of the verb. So it looks like its versatility was legendary even in Classical times.
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I used "Livia quid agit" ... even in Spanish this is correct, and Latin is WAAAY looser than is Spanish. Sorry ... :D