20.02.24: Asking and saying what things are; articles

Est is part of the verb esse (to be), which we shall look at in greater detail in a later post, and it can have different meanings:

[1] simply ‘is’ as in English

[2] ‘she / he / it is’ i.e. the words ‘he’, ‘she’ and ‘it’ are not explicitly stated

[3] ‘there is’: when est is at the beginning of the sentence, it usually means ‘there is’.

Context will tell you how est is best translated and sometimes different translations are equally acceptable.

Quid est? What is it?

Cāseus est. It's cheese.

Olīva est. It's an olive.

Mālum est. It's an apple.

articles

Articles is the term used in grammar for the words ‘the’ and ‘a’; in English we have the definite article: the book, the apple, and the indefinite article: a book, an apple. In Latin there is no definite or indefinite article. Therefore, fluvius can mean ‘river’, ‘a river’ or ‘the river’ depending on context. The lack of articles never caused the Romans any confusion, nor indeed does it confuse modern-day Russians, whose language also has no articles.

Look at the third image numbered 1-9 and, using est, practise saying what these things are.