Two of the first question words you need in Latin are quis (who?) and quid (what?).
Can recognize Questions with quis and quid in a short Latin prompt
Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?
Who are you?
What do you see?
Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?
Two of the first question words you need in Latin are quis (who?) and quid (what?). They stand at the front of a question just as their English partners do, and they let you ask about people and things - the backbone of any simple conversation or reading exercise.
| Latin | Asks about | English |
|---|---|---|
| quis? | a person | who? |
| quid? | a thing | what? |
Examples: Quis es? - Who are you? Quis venit? - Who is coming? Quid vidēs? - What do you see? Quid agis? - What are you doing? (also the everyday "How are you?")
For English speakers: notice that Latin does not use a helper verb like "do". English turns "you see" into a question with "do" - "What do you see?" - but Latin simply puts quid in front of the verb: Quid vidēs?. Also keep the pair straight by their vowel: quis (with i-s) asks about people, while quid (with i-d) asks about things. Because Latin verbs already carry their subject, Quis venit? is a full question with no pronoun added.
Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises
Practice ExercisesWho are you?
Quis asks who, and es is obligatory. Latin never drops the verb the way a headline does.
What do you see?
Quid is 'what', the object of vides. Quis and quid differ in the nominative and accusative (quis/quem, quid/quid) and share the rest.
Practice in course
Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises