(Grammar)Indirect+Statement

= Indirect Statement = Both Latin and English make extensive use of a construction known as the indirect statement. What's that, you ask? Take a look at these two sentences:

1. Paul is stealing money from the store!

2. I see Paul is stealing money from the store! Notice the difference. In the first sentence, the speaker of the sentence just states a fact. This is a //direct statement//. In the second sentence, the speaker indicates how he or she is getting this information (seeing the deed happen). This is //indirect statement.// The "statement" or "fact" is later in and a part of the sentence rather than being the sentence.

In English and in Latin, a sentence that includes indirect statement will use as its main verb an action verb that deals with the head or the brain. These are called either //mental action verbs (M.A.V.'s)// or //verbs of the head//. Examples of these verbs in English (with Latin equivalents):


 * See (video)
 * Hear (audio)
 * Speak/Say (dico, loquor, for)
 * Tell (narro, nuntio)
 * Think (cogito, puto, arbitror)
 * Know (scio, [cog]nosco)
 * Understand (intellego)
 * Teach (doceo)
 * Learn (disco)
 * Sense/Feel (sentio)

Following the mental action verb, English often uses the word "that" and then proceeds into the indirect statement. However, the word "that" isn't a requirement (see example sentence 2 above). The English indirect statement is a dependent clause; it has its own subject and predicate, but the word "that" makes it stick to the clause containing the mental action verb.

Latin, on the other hand, doesn't treat indirect statements as clause; it treats it as a continuation of the sentence. How does this work, then? Let's rewrite example sentence 2 in Latin and show the process. 1.__I see__ 2.__Paul__ 3.__is stealing money from the store__ 1. The beginning starts the same as a regular sentence. This is the **mental action verb** and the main verb of the sentence.

2. At this point, we are now into the indirect statement. Normally, in a clause scenario, we would treat everything as normal- the subject would be nominative and the verb would be a conjugated verb. However, Latin doesn't think of an indirect statement as a clause but as a part of a basic sentence. So, the "subject" of our indirect statement, Paul, is treated as the //direct object// of the mental action verb //video//. Therefore, Paul becomes an **accusative** noun, and we refer to this as our **accusative subject**.

3. Now we come to the predicate of the indirect statement. Again, since the statement is not considered a clause, Latin does not use a conjugated verb here. Instead, Latin uses the **infinitive** form of the verb, and we refer to this as our **infinitive main verb**. Once we're past this point, normal grammar kicks back in; "money" is the direct object of "steal," and "from the store" is a plain old prepositional phrase.

So, here's the breakdown going from English to Latin.

1. I see = Video (Mental Action Verb and main verb of the sentence)

2. Paul = Paulum (accusative subject of indirect statement)

3. is stealing money from the store = rapere pecuniam a taberna (infinitive main verb followed by normal predicate)

The whole sentence together: //__Video__ __Paulum__ __rapere pecuniam a taberna__//.

Reading an Indirect Statement
The trick with reading a sentence that contains indirect statement is realizing that you have indirect statement. The first giveaway is the main verb- if this action has anything to do with the head, start thinking about indirect statement. Then look around that verb for an infinitive; if you see one, darn near guaranteed this is an indirect statement.

Remember that, since the infinitive is being used to round out the indirect statement, it doesn't have the normal meaning of "to _"; treat it as if it were a "real" verb of that tense. As above, //rapere// means "is stealing" rather than "to steal." Also, since the infinitive doesn't have standard verb endings, a sentence using a pronoun for a subject has to include the accusative of that pronoun. Quick recap:


 * "I" = //me//
 * "You" = //te// or //vos//, depending on number
 * "We" = //nos//
 * "He/She/It" or "They": if this refers to the subject of the mental action verb, use //se// or //sese//, the reflexive pronoun ('cause you're __reflecting__ back to a previous word, see?). If this does not refer to the subject of the MAV, then "he" = //eum//, "she" = //eam//, "it" = //id//, and "they" = //eos, eas,// or //ea//, depending on gender.


 * NB**: Even though it is in the infinitive form, the verb in indirect statement retains any and all special traits of its root verb. Therefore, if it needs a complementary infinitive, it still needs one here. If it takes a special case of direct object, like dative or ablative, it still does that here in indirect statement. An example:

We know Mark is able to do wonderful things = //Scimus Marcum posse facere mirabilia//. Since "is able", or //posse//, is a verb that requires an infinitive to complete its meaning, the indirect statement has two infinitives. As a reader, when you see any form of //possum//, you should have an eye out for an infinitive to finish out the verb's meaning.

Other Lessons to look at: Accusative, Tenses and Voices of Infinitive