OLC III.51 & 52: Gerundives

I. Latin to English

1. Quintus enjoys a life bound to be envied by aristocrats.

2. Power over us is in the hands of a man bound to be feared.

3. The envoys came to the Parthians for the purpose of seeking peace.

4. Maecenas summoned Tibullus for the purpose of expelling him from his circle of friends.

5. Maecenas said to Quintus, "Augustus' decisions must be accepted by you."

or

Maecenas said to Quintus, "You must accept Augustus' decisions."

6. Many citizens feared that civil war might have to be endured by the republic again.

or

Many citizens feared that the republic might have to endure civil war again.

N.B. here the gerundive of obligation is subsumed within a clause of fearing, so the verb is subjunctive (esset), and translation must account for the subjunctive ("might") and the obligation ("have to").

 

II. English to Latin

1. capiendae sunt

(Ending is -ae because the subject, "cities," is fem. plur. nom.)

2. ad auctoritatem confirmandam

("authority" is considered object of ad, hence acc.; gerundive then made to agree with it, hence -am)

3. delendos

(Modifies direct object of sentence, "places," which is masc. plur. acc.)

4. ad copias Bruti vincendas

(You translate as if the sentence read "for the purpose of Brutus' forces-to-be-conquered")

5. vincendi

(The gerundive here modifies "of a man," which would be genitive.)

6. respublica civibus fidelibus iterum munienda erit

(Since the English reads "will be," you need the future tense (erit); "by faithful citizens" is the dative of agent.)

7. Caesar nobis ulciscendus est.

(As it stands, the sentence shows obligation, but the verb is active, so it must be converted into a passive, i.e. "Caesar must be avenged by us." N.B. deponents form gerundives like regular verbs, but you have to infer the present stem from the conjugation of the verb [which in this instance is 3rd].)