Ch 12 · Lesson 8Latin · Chapter 12 · Lesson 8 · Grammar primer
Res ipsa loquitur: whole sentences, and the misuses
Legal maxims that are complete Latin sentences, a and a dative participle among them. Then the misuses: , , in camera.
The short version
is a whole Latin sentence
.
Why?Hide
is the subject, agrees with it, and is a verb: passive in form, active in meaning, speaks. The thing itself speaks: the accident is the kind that does not ordinarily happen without negligence, so the facts argue the case.
Whole sentences
| Doctrine | Latin | Literally |
|---|---|---|
| negligence | | the thing itself speaks |
| unpaid work | meruit | as much as he/she has earned |
| precedent | decisis | to stand by things decided |
| title to goods | | nobody gives what he/she does not have |
| consent | | no wrong is done to one who is willing |
is a : passive in form, active in meaning, speaks. The doctrine says the accident is the kind that does not ordinarily happen without negligence, so the facts argue the case themselves.
meruit claims the value of work done when no price was agreed. In , is the dative of a present participle: to one who is willing.
Misuses worth correcting
| Wrong | Right | Why |
|---|---|---|
| : obvious | on first inspection | it can still be rebutted |
(people) | | |
| : the corpse | proof a crime happened | delicti, body of the offence |
| per say | | |
| ad = makeshift | for this one purpose | the Latin says only "for this" |
| in camera = filmed | in a private room | camera is a room |
Going further: Verbs that name documents and the rest of the guide, when you want them. This lesson does not need them.
Practice
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6-question session
One question at a time, mixed across the exercises in this lesson. Miss one and it comes back round before the end.
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