Word order with suum and is / ea / id

Vir Pili

New Member

Location:
Kentucky
From my textbook I am quoting the Latin answers for sentences to be translated from English: Altera femina suas gallinas vocat. Alia femina eius gallinas vocat. In these two examples the possessive precedes the noun. But in many other examples, it follows the noun: Gallus arma sua laudat, Gallus arma eius ladat, (and now omitting the unimportant words) agros eorum, dominum suum, patrium suam, oppida eius. Is the book using a rule I don't understand, or is it simply showing that word order here doesn't matter?

And while I'm here: "Those wretched slaves long for their master (their own)." is translated Ii servi miseri dominum suum desiderant. OK, fine. But "Those wretched slaves long for their master (not their own)" is translated Ii servi miseri dominus eorum desiderant." Surely that also should be dominum?
 

Pacifica

grammaticissima

  • Aedilis

Location:
Belgium
From my textbook I am quoting the Latin answers for sentences to be translated from English: Altera femina suas gallinas vocat. Alia femina eius gallinas vocat. In these two examples the possessive precedes the noun. But in many other examples, it follows the noun: Gallus arma sua laudat, Gallus arma eius ladat, (and now omitting the unimportant words) agros eorum, dominum suum, patrium suam, oppida eius. Is the book using a rule I don't understand, or is it simply showing that word order here doesn't matter?
Either order is correct.
And while I'm here: "Those wretched slaves long for their master (their own)." is translated Ii servi miseri dominum suum desiderant. OK, fine. But "Those wretched slaves long for their master (not their own)" is translated Ii servi miseri dominus eorum desiderant." Surely that also should be dominum?
Yes.
 
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