Simple indirect statement recognition

A1 — Latin Grammar

An indirect statement reports what someone says, thinks, or knows: "I think that Mārcus is here", "she knows that the boys are sleeping".

Can recognize Simple indirect statement recognition in a short Latin prompt

An indirect statement reports what someone says, thinks, or knows: "I think that Mārcus is here", "she knows that the boys are sleeping".

Examples

— He says that the girl is coming.
— I think that you are mistaken.

Latin GrammarA1

Simple indirect statement recognition

An indirect statement reports what someone says, thinks, or knows: "I think that Mārcus is here", "she knows that the boys are sleeping".

Learning Goal

Can recognize Simple indirect statement recognition in a short Latin prompt

Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?

He says that the girl is coming.

I think that you are mistaken.

Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?

An indirect statement reports what someone says, thinks, or knows: "I think that Mārcus is here", "she knows that the boys are sleeping". Latin builds this very differently from English, and recognizing the pattern early prevents a lot of misreading. At A1 you only need to spot it, not produce it.

The recipe has two parts. After a verb of saying or thinking (such as dico "I say", putō "I think", scio "I know"), Latin puts:

the subject of the reported clause in the accusative (the object case), and
its verb in the infinitive (the "to ..." form).

Examples:

Putō Marcum adesse. = literally "I think Mārcus to be present" = I think that Mārcus is present.
Dīcit puellam dormire. = literally "he says the girl to sleep" = He says that the girl is sleeping.
Scio Romam magnam esse. = literally "I know Rome to be great" = I know that Rome is great.

For English speakers: your instinct is to look for the word "that" and then a normal subject-verb clause. Latin gives you neither. There is no word for "that" here, and the reported subject wears an accusative ending (Marcum, puellam, Romam) that makes it look like a direct object. The trick is: when a verb of thinking or saying is followed by an accusative noun plus an infinitive, translate the pair as "that [noun] [verbs]". So puellam dormire becomes "that the girl is sleeping", not "the girl to sleep".

Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises

Practice Exercises

He says that the girl is coming.

There is no word for 'that'. The subject goes into the accusative and the verb into the infinitive - the accusative and infinitive construction.

I think that you are mistaken.

Te is accusative, errare infinitive. A word-for-word rendering gives nonsense; the whole clause has to be rebuilt.

Practice in course

Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises

A1 Course

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Put it into practice

Try a free exercise from the course

Frequently asked questions

When is Simple indirect statement recognition used?: An indirect statement reports what someone says, thinks, or knows: "I think that Mārcus is here ", "she knows that the boys are sleeping ". Latin builds this very differently from English, and recognizing the pattern early prevents a lot of misreading. At A1 you only need to spot it, not produce it.
How is Simple indirect statement recognition formed?: The recipe has two parts. After a verb of saying or thinking (such as dico "I say", putō "I think", scio "I know"), Latin puts: For English speakers: your instinct is to look for the word "that" and then a normal subject-verb clause. Latin gives you neither. There is no word for "that" here, and the reported subject wears an accusative ending ( Marcum, puellam, Romam ) that makes it look like a direct object. The trick is: when a verb of thinking or saying is followed by an accusative noun plus an infinitive, translate the pair as "that [noun] [verbs]". So puellam dormire becomes "that the girl is sleeping", not "the girl to sleep".

The recipe has two parts. After a verb of saying or thinking (such as dico "I say", putō "I think", scio "I know"), Latin puts:

the subject of the reported clause in the accusative (the object case), and
its verb in the infinitive (the "to ..." form).

Examples:

Putō Marcum adesse. = literally "I think Mārcus to be present" = I think that Mārcus is present.
Dīcit puellam dormire. = literally "he says the girl to sleep" = He says that the girl is sleeping.
Scio Romam magnam esse. = literally "I know Rome to be great" = I know that Rome is great.

Frequently asked questions

When is Simple indirect statement recognition used?

An indirect statement reports what someone says, thinks, or knows: "I think that Mārcus is here ", "she knows that the boys are sleeping ". Latin builds this very differently from English, and recognizing the pattern early prevents a lot of misreading. At A1 you only need to spot it, not produce it.

How is Simple indirect statement recognition formed?

The recipe has two parts. After a verb of saying or thinking (such as dico "I say", putō "I think", scio "I know"), Latin puts: For English speakers: your instinct is to look for the word "that" and then a normal subject-verb clause. Latin gives you neither. There is no word for "that" here, and the reported subject wears an accusative ending ( Marcum, puellam, Romam ) that makes it look like a direct object. The trick is: when a verb of thinking or saying is followed by an accusative noun plus an infinitive, translate the pair as "that [noun] [verbs]". So puellam dormire becomes "that the girl is sleeping", not "the girl to sleep".