chrysoprase

Hi everyone. I need a bit of help, since I don't know Latin at all... How would you say, "I found" in Latin? Would you use "invenio"?

And how would you say "I have been given"

Thanks!


-J

Carlos

Please, can you explain a bit your English phrase "I have been given" sense? There are two possible translations in Latin, in active or passive form.

And yes, the verb "invenio" is right. I found = (ego) invenivi.

chrysoprase

Hi, Carlos. Thanks for your reply...

"I have been given" is in the context of someone giving me a gift... "I have been given [a gift]". Can you tell me both the active and the passive forms?

And what's the difference between "invenio" and "invenivi"?

Carlos

Latin "invenio" could be two different things:

-A way to enunciate the verb, similar to English formule "to find". The complete formule in Latin is "invenio, inveni, inventum".

-More exactly, "invenio" is the first singular person, in present, equivalent to English "I find". In English it is not possible to eliminate the pronoun "I", but this is possible in Latin, since the desinences are different for every person, 1st, 2nd and 3th, singular and plural. In Spanish, derivated from Latin, is similar:

English...............Latin............Spanish
I find.................invenIO.........encuentrO
You find.............invenIS.........encuentrAS
He/She finds.......invenIT.........encuentrA
We find..............invenIMUS.....encontrAMOS
You find.............invenITIS......encontrAIS
They find...........invenIUNT......encuentrAN

For this reason, both in Latin and in Spanish it is possible to enunciate or suppress to will the pronoun without confusion on person. It is indifferent to say "ego invenio" or simply "invenio", the subject always is "I" (ego), in the same way that in Spanish you can say "yo encuentro" or "encuentro".

"Invenivi" is not present, but past = I found:

I found...............invenivi
You found...........invenivisti
He/She found......invenivit
We found............invenivimus
You found...........invenivistis
They found..........inveniverunt

For the other phrase:

"A gift (that was) given to me" = Donum (gift) mihi (to me) datum (given)
"A gift (that) was given to me" (I have been given a gift) = Donum mihi datum fuit. It is not possible a litteral translation, since Latin and English grammar are very different. "Donatus sum" or "donabar" or "donatus eram" (passive voices) imply a possible confusion between "I receive a gift" and "I am (my own person is) the gift".

chrysoprase

Wow, thanks so much for such a thorough response. I really appreciate it. That's so interesting. How do you know so much Latin?

I'm curious, what's the difference between "Donatus sum" and "donatus eram"?

Carlos

Crysoprase,

sorry but I don't know "so much" Latin. It is only what I remember of my school days, and some consults to the dictionary. Some things are relatively easy to remember because you can yet find some remains from Latin in the Latin languages, as French, Spanish, Italian... But I would not dare to translate long or complex texts.

The differences in the passive forms are relative to the time of the action, more or less immediate. "Donor" = I am given (I receive a gift, someone gives me something), "Donabar" = I was given, "Donatus sum" = I have been given, "Donatus eram" = I had been given. The "-us" desinence is valid only with a male subject. For a feminine is "-a", and for a neutral one, "-um": I (a man) have been given = "Donatus sum"; I (a woman) have been given = "Donata sum".

Regards.

chrysoprase

I wish I studied Latin in college. Again, bro, thanks for everything. You've been so helpful... God bless ya.