Year 4C · Grade 8: Indirect Command and Question
Report an order with ut or ne, and report a question with the subjunctive.
What to notice
- indirect command
- indirect question
- ut, ne, and question words
Explanation
An indirect command reports what someone orders, asks, or persuades another person to do. It uses ut or ne plus the subjunctive. Imperat eis ut maneant means he orders them to stay. Eis is dative because impero takes the dative. Oro te ne abeas means I beg you not to go away. Te is accusative because oro takes the person in the accusative.
An indirect question reports a question as part of a statement. The question word stays, and the verb becomes subjunctive. Cur venis? becomes Rogat cur venias, he asks why you are coming. Num and -ne in a direct question often become num in the reported question: Rogavit num venisset, he asked whether she had come.
Examples
- Imperat eis ut maneant. — He orders them to stay. Impero takes the dative.
- Oro te ne abeas. — I beg you not to go away. Ne makes the command negative.
- Rogat quid facias. — He asks what you are doing. Facias is subjunctive.
- Rogat cur venias. — He asks why you are coming. The direct question was Cur venis?
- Rogavit num venisset. — He asked whether she had come. Venisset is pluperfect subjunctive.
Latin in this lesson
- Imperat eis ut maneant. — an indirect command
- Oro te ne abeas. — I beg you not to go away.
- Rogat quid facias. — an indirect question
- Rogavit num venisset. — He asked whether she had come.
- Rogat cur venias. — the reported form of Cur venis?
- quid facias — the subjunctive