Kilo Lingo

Ch 10 · Lesson 22

Must: Carthago delenda est

Gerundive plus means must, sets the tense, and whoever has to do it goes in the dative: , I have to read the book.

The short version

Gerundive plus means must

Carthago delenda .

Carthage must be destroyed.
Why?

The gerundive agrees with the subject like an adjective, and a form of turns it into an obligation. also carries the tense: , must be taken; , had to be taken; , will have to be taken.

Whoever must do it goes in the dative

.

I have to read the book.
Why?

With the gerundive of obligation the doer is a plain dative, not : , , . Translate actively: not the book must be read by me, but I have to read it. A verb with no object goes neuter and impersonal: pugnandum , we must fight.

Gerundive plus sum

masculinefeminineneuterpluralWhat do the colours mean?

The gerundive is an adjective, so it takes the gender, number and case of its subject, like :

SubjectLatinEnglish
masculine .The book must be read.
feminine .The city must be taken.
neuter .War must be waged.
plural .The soldiers must be sent.

Carthago delenda , Carthage must be destroyed, is the same pattern: delenda is feminine to agree with Carthago.

The tense is in sum

sum: sets the tenseWhat do the colours mean?

The gerundive never changes for time. Change , and the obligation moves:

  • urbs capienda erat (had to be taken)

  • urbs capienda est (must be taken)

  • urbs capienda erit (will have to be taken)

Timeline from past to future, with now marked.

LatinEnglish
.The city had to be taken.
.The city must be taken.
.The city will have to be taken.

Who has to: the dative

dativeWhat do the colours mean?

An ordinary passive names its doer with or . The gerundive of obligation uses a plain dative instead:

WhoLatinEnglish
I .I have to read the book.
the soldiers .The soldiers had to take the city.
we .We must make peace.

Translate it actively. The book must be read by me is right and sounds like a legal notice.

When another dative is already in the sentence, Latin falls back on so that nobody mixes them up. Consulo (look after) takes a dative, so:

  • consulendum . - You must look after the citizens.

No object: the impersonal form

neuterWhat do the colours mean?

A verb with no object has nothing to agree with, so the gerundive goes impersonal: neuter singular, with and a dative for whoever has to act.

WhoLatinEnglish
I .I must write.
we pugnandum .We must fight.
the soldiers .The soldiers had to go.

Horace gives the impersonal form its most quoted outing, with left out:

desperandum Teucro auspice Teucro.

With Teucer as our leader and under Teucer's auspices, there is no call for despair. (Horace, Odes 1.7.27)

Going further: Carthago delenda est: what Cato said and the rest of the guide, when you want them. This lesson does not need them.

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Lesson 22 of 36 in this chapter

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