Cicero's Long Sentences
Find the subject and the main verb first, then fit the clauses around them.
How It Works
| Step | What to do |
|---|---|
| 1 | Find the main verb, often last. |
| 2 | Find its subject and its object, which may stand far apart. |
| 3 | Mark the little words that open clauses: si, quod, cum, ut, qui. |
| 4 | Place each clause under the word it hangs from. |
Cicero's speech for the poet Archias opens with one such sentence. It begins Si quid est in me ingeni, iudices, quod sentio quam sit exiguum, and its main verb, debet, comes only at the very end.
Do not translate word by word. Read the whole sentence once for its shape, then read it again with the verb in mind.
Examples (3)
- Si quid est in me ingeni, iudices, quod sentio quam sit exiguum,
If I have any talent, judges, though I know how small it is,
The opening clause of Cicero, Pro Archia 1. Quod sentio quam sit exiguum is a clause inside a clause, and the main verb is still far ahead.
- Marcus, cum itinere longo fessus esset, quod per tres dies sine requie ambulaverat, tandem domum pervenit.
Marcus, tired from the long journey because he had walked for three days without rest, finally reached home.
A short sentence of the same shape: the subject, two clauses, and the verb at the end.
- Visum est et mihi, assecuto omnia a principio diligenter, ex ordine tibi scribere, optime Theophile, ut cognoscas eorum verborum, de quibus eruditus es, veritatem.
It seemed good to me also, having followed everything carefully from the beginning, to write to you in order, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the truth of the words in which you were taught.
Luke 1:3-4, the end of the long opening sentence of Luke. The main statement visum est ... scribere is wrapped in a participle phrase, a name and a purpose clause.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Cicero's long sentences hold the verb back and nest many clauses, so the verb at the end, cum with the subjunctive and participle phrases come first.
- The Verb Comes Last
Know that the verb comes last, because the first step is to find the main verb at the end: Marcus ... domum pervenit.
Level 1 - Participle Phrases: when, because, although
Know participles for clauses, because many clauses are participles.
Level 5 - When, Since, Although: cum
Know cum with the subjunctive, because the clauses inside include one: cum itinere longo fessus esset.
Level 5
Related Patterns
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