Questions with ubi and cur
Once you can ask "who?" and "what?", the next useful question words are ubi (where?) and cur (why?).
Can recognize Questions with ubi and cur in a short Latin prompt
Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?
Marcus reads.
Julia sees the tablet.
Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?
Once you can ask "who?" and "what?", the next useful question words are ubi (where?) and cur (why?). They open questions about place and reason, and they are short, fixed words that never change their form, which makes them easy to spot at the start of a sentence.
| Latin | Asks about | English |
|---|---|---|
| ubi? | place | where? |
| cur? | reason | why? |
Examples: Ubi est mater? - Where is mother? Ubi habitas? - Where do you live? Cur ploras? - Why are you crying? Cur Romam is? - Why are you going to Rome?
An answer to cur usually begins with quod (because): Cur ploras? Quod tristis sum. - Why are you crying? Because I am sad.
For English speakers: as with other Latin questions, there is no "do" and no subject pronoun to insert - ubi habitas? is literally "where you-live?" and means "Where do you live?". One warning: ubi also serves as "when/where" (as in "the place where...") inside longer statements, but at A1 you will nearly always meet it as the plain question "where?". Keep cur ("why?") apart from the answer word quod ("because"), since the two often sit in the same short exchange.
Marcus reads.
Example for Questions with ubi and cur.
Julia sees the tablet.
A short A1 sentence with visible endings.
Practice in course
Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises