Latin adjective
bonus
bonus, -a, -um
bonus is a Latin adjective. In the 3 analysed lines it was read in, it means “good” (2 times) and “best” (once).
In the texts
Each line as the reader shows it: every word in its case colour with its meaning underneath, and arcs from bonus to the words it goes with.
Et vidit Deus lucem quod esset bona: et divisit lucem a tenebris.
And God saw that the light was good: and he divided the light from the darkness.
bona: completes esset.
“Pater meus,” inquit, “Hamilcar puerulo me, utpote non amplius novem annos nato, in Hispaniam imperator proficiscens Karthagine Iovi optimo maximo hostias immolavit.
"My father," he said, "Hamilcar, when I was a mere boy, being no more than nine years old, upon setting out for Spain as commander, sacrificed victims at Carthage to Jupiter Optimus Maximus."
optimo: describes Iovi.
…Palati, nihil urbis vigiliae, nihil timor populi, nihil concursus bonorum omnium, nihil hic munitissimus habendi senatus locus, nihil horum…
Has the nightly garrison on the Palatine not moved you at all, nor the watches of the city, nor the people's fear, nor the gathering of all good men, nor this strongly fortified place for holding the senate, nor the faces and expressions of these men?
bonorum: describes omnium.
Forms
Every form of the word in these texts, with what it is.
| Form | Grammar | Read |
|---|---|---|
| bona | Nominative · Singular · Feminine | 1 |
| bonorum | Genitive · Plural · Masculine | 1 |
| optimo | Dative · Singular · Masculine · Superlative | 1 |
Words it goes with
Joined to bonus by an arc in these lines, most often first.
Grammar
- About the nominativeThe Latin nominative names the subject of a verb, and whatever renames the subject after sum. How to spot it, with real lines from Genesis and Eutropius.
- About the genitiveThe Latin genitive ties one noun to another, where English says “of” or adds ’s. Its uses and endings, with real lines from the story of Perseus and Genesis.
- About the dativeThe Latin dative marks the person something is given to, said to or done for. Its uses and endings, with real lines from Horace, Seneca and Catullus.
- About agreementHow Latin adjectives, pronouns and participles agree with their nouns in case, number and gender, and why that lets them stand apart. With real lines.
- About word orderWhy a Latin adjective can sit far from its noun: the endings carry the grammar, so writers order words for emphasis. Lines from Virgil, Cicero and Horace.