First Year Latin: Preparatory to Caesar

Page 144

LESSON XL VI. IMPERSONAL

VERBS.

IMPERSONAL

"7

QUESTIONS.

VERBS.

287. Impersonal Verbs correspond to the English it _ snows, it seems, etc. They have no personal subject, but .may take an Infinitive, a Clause, or a Neuter Pronoun j as, me pudet hOc fecisse, lit. it shames me to have done this; hoc decet, this is fitting. Examples are: _ paenitet

~

oportet accidit

paeuitere lieere oportere accidere

paenituit licuit oportuit accidit

it it it it

repents, it causes regret is permitted is fitting happens.

Specially to be noted is the impersonal use of such Passi ve forms as,curritur pugnatum est ventum est veniendum est

lit. lit. lit. lit.

it it it it

is run was fought has been come must be come

I.e. some one runs i.e. the battle raged i.e, some olle has come Le. somebody must come.

QUESTIONS.

288. Questions may be either Word-Questions or Sentence-Questions. 1. WORD-QUESTIONS. These are introduced by the various inter. rogative pronouns and adverbs; such as-quia, qui, quo, qUi, etc. Thus:quia venit, who comes? quam diii manebrt, how long will he stay 1 130


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