Kilo Lingo

#927 of 5,000 Core 1000

Translation

to be between, be present at; it concerns, it matters

Examples

interfuit.

The king was present at the council.

facta.

There is a great difference between words and deeds.

.

It matters nothing to me.

.

The bishop did not want to be present at the battle.

.

He had been present at the battle.

Intersum, interesse, interfui is inter plus sum, and it inherits every irregularity of sum unchanged. It leads two lives. Personally it means "be present at, take part in" and takes a plain dative: concilio interesse, to attend a council. It also keeps the literal sense of lying between two things, from which comes "inter A et B interest", there is a difference between A and B.

Impersonally it is the awkward one. "Interest" means it matters, and the person who cares goes not in the genitive you might expect but in the feminine ablative singular of the possessive: mea, tua, nostra, vestra interest. How much it matters goes in the genitive of value, magni or parvi, or in a neuter accusative like multum and nihil. English interest comes from this impersonal sense, by way of the third person form itself.

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Latin · Free printables

intersum: worksheet, infographic and listicle

Free printable study downloads for the Latin word "intersum" (to be between, be present at; it concerns, it matters): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.

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This word is part of lesson 19.