"The two girls sleep."
Translation:Duae puellae dormiunt.
11 CommentsThis discussion is locked.
1694
Clarification question from a beginner: Duo is for a masculine noun and Duae is for a feminine noun? Am I surmising that correctly?
Technically yes, but those aren't the only ways they can be said. For masculine, it's any noun/adj that ends in us, i, o, um, orum, is, os and for feminine, it's any noun/adj ending in a, ae, am, arum, is, as. There's also neuder, which is um, i, o, a, orum, is.
?? No deal. So far as I understand, the sound is a long "i' as in, eye in English.
In classical latin, no. In late medieval latin it showed up but didn't carry the same sound it did in classical/earlier latin. By then I belive it stood for the same sound as æ in Medieval english did. (Close to the a in bad. Whereas the ae in classical latin stands for the sound like in high).
It was most prevelant in old english texts. And later in (early) modern it was also used to transliterate Greek and Latin loanwords like archæology.
In short; no that is like than a century too early and when it did come into use it stood for a different sound.
I observe the oddity of the English sentence including the article which a) disappears in Latin and b) is unnecessary! Two girls sleep! Voila!
Depends on what you want to say.
If that is all of your message then yes the article isn't necessary. But if you have a group of kids and want go say that the two girls of that group are sleeping, you dó need the article.
Both grammatically correct, different meanings
Shouldn't it be 'Puellae duae dormiunt'? Two is describing girls, not the other way around.
- 91
From: http://dcc.dickinson.edu/grammar/latin/order-words
Numeral adjectives tend to preceeded the nouns the modify.
It coming before or after is not really a big deal, I am sure there are examples of both orders.