Yahoo Answers is shutting down on 4 May 2021 (Eastern Time) and the Yahoo Answers website is now in read-only mode. There will be no changes to other Yahoo properties or services, or your Yahoo account. You can find more information about the Yahoo Answers shutdown and how to download your data on this help page.

Nấm Noop
Lv 4
Nấm Noop asked in Society & CultureLanguages · 8 years ago

Could you explain this conjugation rule in translating this Latin sentence?

" Necesse erat servum sine armis pugnare"

I translated it as : It was necessary for the servant to fight without weapons.

I am confused at one point: why is "servum" in the accusative case? It is translated as "for the servant", so should it be in dative case? Or should the sentences be translate differently? All of the subjects in a sentence that has "Necesse erat" is in accusative case.

Thank you very much!

Update:

Hey, Thank you for answering, but I found a part in my textbook that answers my question, and according to which I might have had the correct translation.

Besides, saying "It's necessary to fight the slave without weapons" doesn't make a lot of logical sense. Would the master have played it that fair? Additionally, it was true that at that time, some slaves were made into gladiators who fought with wild beasts unarmed for the entertainment purposes of the masters.

2 Answers

Relevance
  • lastuntakenscreenname
    Lv 6
    8 years ago

    Actually, I think that is wrong. It should be "necesse erat servo sine armis pugnare" if it means "necessary for the servant". As it is, what it means is "it was necessary to fight the slave without weapons."

    Edit: If you don't know what they're talking about, there's no way to know if it makes logical sense. Maybe it's from a Bellum Servile for all you know. Parse it for yourself - there's no way "servum" can be anything other than the direct object of pugnare. For pugnare to take the thing being fought as accusative object is odd, but not unheard of. In good Latin, you'd say something like "necesse erat Pompeio contra servum sine armis pugnare."

  • Inselstricken
    Lv 7
    8 years ago

    impersonal verb [with dummy subject 'ít'] + infinitive :

    necesse erat pugnare - it was necessary to fight

    object of the sentence, in the accusative case [to fight whom?] servum - the slave

    sine armis - without weapons

    servum is in the accusative because it is the object - the subject is 'it' , part of 'erat'- it was

Still have questions? Get answers by asking now.