Saturday, October 12, 2024

26.12.24: Level 2; the passive voice [10]; present tense passive; vidētur

[1] The first four lines of Carmen 51 by Catullus shows a common translation of the passive form of videō, -ere (2): see

vidētur: he is seen > he seems, and what the person seems to do is in the infinitive:

Catullus

Ille mī pār [i] esse deō vidētur, │ he (that man) seems to me (mī = mihi) [i] to be equal to a god

ille, sī fās est, [ii] superāre dīvōs, │ he, if it is lawful / allowed, [ii] to surpass the gods,

quī sedēns adversus identidem tē │ who, sitting opposite you

spectat et audit│ watches (you) and listens (to you)

[2] Plautus uses the plural form - less romantically:

nōn hominēs habitāre mēcum mī hīc videntur, sed suēs (Plautus) │ Not human beings seem to be living with me, but pigs.



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