Proverbs/Grammar ~ Grammar/Proverbs: Latin Lesson #159: The Latin Passive

With this lesson, we start on one of my very favorite topics in Latin: passive verb forms. It's easy to create the passive form of the 3rd-person present active verbs you have learned: you just add -ur.

amat ~ loves || amatur ~ is loved
movet ~ moves || movetur ~ is moved
frangit ~ breaks || frangitur ~ is broken

Pretty easy, right? So that's the difference between a Latin active verb and a Latin passive verb.

But here's where things get exciting! The Latin passive verb can also be equivalent to an English intransitive verb. Before I show you how that works in Latin, make sure you understand how the English intransitive verbs work; the English verbs are kind of weird when you think about it, but as a native speaker of English you might never have thought about it:

transitive: The wind moves the windmill.
intransitive: The windmill moves.
passive: The windmill is moved by the wind.

transitive: Romeo's death breaks Juliet's heart.
intransitive: Juliet's heart breaks.
passive: Juliet's heart is broken by Romeo's death.

Here's how that would work in Latin: the English transitive verb is a Latin active verb, and the English passive verb is a Latin passive verb... but the English intransitive verb is also a Latin passive!

movet: The wind moves the windmill.
movetur: The windmill moves.
movetur: The windmill is moved by the wind.

frangit: Romeo's death breaks Juliet's heart.
frangitur: Juliet's heart breaks.
frangitur: Juliet's heart is broken by Romeo's death.

I'll have lots more to say about Latin passive verbs in the coming weeks, but I wanted you to start thinking about this from your very first Latin passive verb lesson: you will usually translate a Latin passive verb with an English passive verb, but sometimes you might translate it with an English active (intransitive) verb.

To get ready for today's sayings, here is the slideshow (with cats) of the words you have seen before:

So, here are today's proverbs:

1. Honoratur arbor ob umbram.
(A) tree is-honored because-of (its) shade.
hono-RA-tur arbor ob umbram.

The subject of this sentence is arbor, "tree," as in "Arbor Day" in English.

The word honoratur is the passive form of the verb honorat, "honors." You haven't seen this verb before, but you have seen the Latin noun honor.

The word ob is a preposition meaning "about, because of," and it takes the accusative case: umbram is the accusative form of umbra.

In this sentence, the Latin passive verb honoratur is equivalent to an English passive verb, "is honored."

2. Senex bos non lugetur.
(The) old ox is-not mourned.
senex bos non lu-GE-tur.

The subject of this sentence is bos, a masculine noun which takes a masculine adjective, senex.

The word lugetur is the passive form of the verb luget, "mourns, grieves." You can see this same root in the English word "lugubrious."

In this sentence, the Latin passive verb lugetur is equivalent to an English passive verb, "is mourned."

The ox is a proverbial hard worker, but when the ox gets old, he is no longer able to work, and so his passing is not mourned.

3. Nihil discitur repente.
Nothing is-learned suddenly.
nihil DIS-citur re-PEN-te.

The subject of this sentence is nihil.

The word discitur is the passive form of the verb discit.

The word repente is an adverb, "suddenly, immediately, at once."
In this sentence, the Latin passive verb discitur is equivalent to an English passive verb, "is learned."

This is a good saying to remember as a language-learner: all learning takes time... especially learning a new language!

4. Vas malum non frangitur.
(A) bad pot doesn't shatter.
vas malum non FRAN-gitur.

The subject of this sentence is vas, "pot, container," which you can see in the English word "vascular."

Because vas is a neuter noun, it takes a neuter adjective: malum.

The word frangitur is the passive form of the verb frangit.

In this sentence, the Latin passive verb frangitur is equivalent to an English active (intransitive) verb, "shatters."

The idea here is that the good pot is the one that shatters; the bad pot, perversely, doesn't shatter. Compare the English saying, "Only the good die young."

5. Funis triplex non rumpitur.
(A) triple rope doesn't break.
funis triplex non RUM-pitur.

The subject of this sentence is funis, "rope, cord," a masculine noun. You can see this root in the English word "funicular."

The masculine adjective triplex, "three-fold," agrees with funis. You can see this root in the English word "triplicate."

The word rumpitur is the passive form of the verb rumpit.

In this sentence, the Latin passive verb rumpitur is equivalent to an English active (intransitive) verb, "breaks."

As you can imagine, the symbolism of "three" made this a popular saying in Christian Latin culture, with its doctrine of the Trinity.

Here's a recap: