Ch. 31 & 32

HW 31-2
HW: 31A 1,3,9; 31B 1; 32A 1,2,8, 32B 2

Obligation and Gerundives

Gerundives are the same thing as the future passive participle, which means that they are verbal adjectives. They agree with nouns/pronouns that they modify in gender number and case.

To form the gerundive for 1st, 2nd, or 3rd conjugation,
1) Take the -re off the 2nd principal part to get the present stem.
2) Add -ndus.
3) The -us ending will decline like bonus -a -um.

To form the gerundive for 3rd io and 4th conjugation,
1) Take the -ere or -ire off the 2nd principal part.
2) Add -iendus.
3) The -us ending will decline like bonus -a -um.

The most literal translation is "to-be-verbed" in the sense of "going-to-be". Compare these English examples.

He is a man to be watched.
i.e He is a guy who should/must be watched.
That was a dinner not to be missed.
i.e. That dinner was one which should/ought not to have been missed.

Passive Periprhastic

A common use of the gerundive is with a form of the being verb. This almost always shows necessity or obligation. If an agent is wanted for the passive verb, you should use a dative of interest, often here called dative of agent.

Examples:
Spectandus est/erat/erit. He must be watched. ...had to be watched. ...will have to be watched.

Epistula scribenda mihi (dat. of agent) erat. The letter had to be written by me.

Dixit eos nobis (dat. of agent) vincendos esse. He said that they had to be conquered by us.

If two datives of people would be found in the passive periphrastic clause, the agent may be expressed with a/ab + ablative as it usually is with other passive verbs.

Good English: Caesar has to be believed by the soldiers.
A militibus Caesari* credendum est.
*Note Caesar is dative even though it is the subject in English because credo is an intransitive dative verb in the impersonal passive (ch. 26). Militibus would usually be dative of agent with no preposition, but here Latin allows a/ab + ablative to avoid ambiguity.
The Literal translation of the above is: It has to be believed in Caesar by the soldiers.

When a gerundive is not used in a passive periphrastic it may often be translated "to-be-verbed".

I gave him a book to-be-read. i.e., ...which he was supposed to read.
Librum legendum ei dedi.


PRICE AND VALUE

Genitive of indefinite value (probably locative in origin) is used with inexact terms listed in section 322.

In addition to facio and aestimo, any other Latin verb that means think or consider may take such a genitive. Habeo (in the meaning "hold in mind"/"consider") is a common alternative.

Habeo nihili eum.
Literal, Bad English Translation: I consider him of nothing.
Good English: I consider him worth nothing.

Aestimaverunt magni me.
Literal, Bad English Translation: They considered/valued me of great.
Good English: They valued me highly. / They considered me to be worth a lot.

Ablative of price (subcategory of means) is used to express exact prices and occasionally also indefinite prices. Note we often say "for (an amount of money)" in English, but Latin uses ablative, not dative.

I will buy the book for 5 denarii (silver coins).
Emam librum V denariis.

He sold his sword for 4 aurei (gold coins).
Gladium IV aureis vendidit.

The house costs a lot.
Domus magno constat/stat.

They were sold as slaves for 100,000 sesterces each.
Illi venebant (or "venierunt") C milibus (sestertiis*) servi.

*A sesterce (In English pronounced sehs-tersh, Latin sestertius, -i m.) was a large bronze or small silver coin which was the usual unit used in pricing, so when no monetary designation is given it is assumed to be in sesterces. Furthermore, in real written Latin large values might be given by writing a line over the Roman numeral to indicate the number times one-thousand. Thus CCV with a line above means 205,000. A line above and on both sides would mean the number times 100,000. Thus XIV with a line above and on each side means 1,400,000.

SESTERTIUS (2 and 1/2 asses originally, then 4)


DENARIUS (originally 10 asses, then 16)


AUREUS



It cost two bucks(sesterces).
Constitit duobus.

Note the special adverbs in section 325 which refer to price but are in the genitive case instead of the normal ablative.

Examples:
He bought it for so much.
Id tanti emit.

How much did you sell the horse for?
Quanti equum vendidisti?

In section 326, it misleadingly implies that consto (and sto) takes the dative for price. This verb does take a dative of interest for people sometimes but when it refers to costs it will generally take an ablative of price.

Liber mihi(dat. of interest) tribus denariis(abl. of price) constat. The book costs me 3 denarii.