MS: Lesson - Indirect Statements - Understanding Tense
Indirect Statements - Understanding Tense
The indirect statement is a subordinate clause, meaning that in Latin, it follows the tense rules of subordination:
- Present tense in a subordinate clause = happening at the same time as main verb
- Past tense in a subordinate clause = happening before the main verb
- Future tense in a subordinate clause = happening after the main verb
This relationship has been presented before: in clauses using dum (while), with participles and in an ablative absolute clause, we have seen this type of tense relationship between a subordinate verb and its main verb.
Let's take one example and manipulate the tenses, using an active voice form in the indirect statement, to see how this works:
| HEAD VERB TENSE | INFINITIVE TENSE | Latin Sentence | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| PRESENT | Present | Dico Pseduolum esse sapientem magistrum. | I say that Pseudolus is a wise teacher. |
| Perfect | Dico Pseduolum fuisse sapientem magistrum. | I say that Pseudolus was a wise teacher. | |
| Future | Dico Pseduolum fore sapientem magistrum. | I say that Pseudolus will be a wise teacher. | |
| PAST | Present | Dixi Pseduolum esse sapientem magistrum. | I said that Pseudolus was a wise teacher. |
| Perfect | Dixi Pseduolum fuisse sapientem magistrum. | I said that Pseudolus had been a wise teacher. | |
| Future | Dixi Pseduolum fore sapientem magistrum. | I said that Pseudolus would be a wise teacher. | |
| FUTURE | Present | Dicam Pseduolum esse sapientem magistrum. | I will say that Pseudolus is a wise teacher. |
| Perfect | Dicam Pseduolum fuisse sapientem magistrum. | I will say that Pseudolus was a wise teacher. | |
| Future | Dicam Pseduolum fore sapientem magistrum. | I will say that Pseudolus will be a wise teacher. |
Let's take another example and manipulate the tenses, using a passive voice form in the indirect statement, to see how this works:
| HEAD VERB TENSE | INFINITIVE TENSE | Latin Sentence | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| PRESENT | Present | Pseudolus audit Iuliam inquiri. | Pseudolus hears that Julia is being investigated. |
| Perfect | Pseudolus audit Iuliam inquisitam esse. | Pseudolus hears that Julia has been investigated. | |
| Future | Pseudolus audit Iuliam inquisitum iri. | Pseudolus hears that Julia will be investigated. | |
| PAST | Present | Pseudolus audivit Iuliam inquiri. | Pseudolus heard that Julia was being investigated. |
| Perfect | Pseudolus audivit Iuliam inquisitam esse. | Pseudolus heard that Julia had been investigated. | |
| Future | Pseudolus audivit Iuliam inquisitum iri. | Pseudolus heard that Julia would be investigated. | |
| FUTURE | Present | Pseudolus audiet Iuliam inquiri. | Pseudolus will hear that Julia is being investigated. |
| Perfect | Pseudolus audiet Iuliam inquisitam esse. | Pseudolus will hear that Julia has been investigated. | |
| Future | Pseudolus audiet Iuliam inquisitum iri. | Pseudolus will hear that Julia will be investigated. |
Nota Bene
Notice the difference between the perfect passive infinitive and the future passive infinitive:
- The perfect passive infinitive agrees with the subject Iuliam and so has the feminine accusative singular ending -am added to the perfect participle.
- The future passive infinitive, however, uses the supine form inquisitum, which does not change form, no matter what gender or number the subject is.
Considering Indirect Statements in English
At times, it is good to view a problem from another angle, so let’s briefly discuss the concept in reverse: how do you take an English indirect statement and create a Latin one?
The underlying logic of an indirect statement is that it is a report of direct speech, so every indirect statement is rooted in a direct statement. This direct statement sets the tense in the indirect statement in English (as well as Latin). Let’s look at a pair of examples of direct statements and attempt to form the indirect statement in English, then Latin:
| English Direct Statement | English Indirect Statement | Latin Indirect Statement | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Julia said, “I wanted to carry your books." |
Julia said that she had wanted to carry your books. Subject of indirect statement: Notice the change from the direct statement (I) to the indirect statement (she). |
Iulia dixit se tuos libros ferre voluisse. | Tense: when translating into Latin from English, you must consider the tense of the original direct statement when determining the tense of the infinitive. In this instance "wanted" is past tense, so should be in the perfect tense in Latin. |
| We think, “You will not enter the room." | We think that you will not enter the room. | Arbitramur te cameram non initurum esse. | Tense: when the main verb is present, the indirect statement will always reflect the natural tense of the infinitive. Here, the direct statement included a future concept, which is written in Latin with a future infinitive. |
Nota Bene
- initurum is assuming te is masculine
- te could be feminine. If so, the sentence would be: Arbitramur te (fem) cameram non inituram (fem) esse.