Translation
whether
Examples
veniat maneat.
I do not know whether he is coming or staying.
.
He asked whether the king was dead.
sint, incertum .
Whether they are true or false is uncertain.
Dic credas necne.
Tell me whether you believe this or not.
, .
Whether they want peace or war, nobody knows.
Utrum is the neuter of uter, "which of two", frozen into a question word. It opens the first limb of a double question and an marks the second: utrum manere an abire mavis. When the second limb is simply "or not", the tail is annon in a direct question and necne in an indirect one.
Two habits to build. Because it introduces an indirect question, the verb after it goes into the subjunctive and follows the sequence of tenses - quaerit utrum sit, quaesivit utrum esset. And utrum is optional: the enclitic -ne on the first word, or nothing at all, does the same job, so a sentence with an in it may well have no utrum to warn you. Do not confuse it with uterque, "each of the two", which is a pronoun and declines fully.
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utrum: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Latin word "utrum" (whether): 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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Start your free weekThis word is part of lesson 11.