Do Not: noli, nolite

Level 3

Do not, said to one person or to many.

How It Works

To one personTo severalEnglish
Noli timere.Nolite timere.Do not be afraid.
Noli currere.Nolite currere.Do not run.
Noli ridere.Nolite ridere.Do not laugh.

Latin does not make a negative command with non and a command form. It uses the commands of nolo, which mean be unwilling, and then the infinitive.

Cave works as a warning without an infinitive. It is the command of caveo, to beware, and the thing you must beware of is the object: Cave canem, Beware of the dog.

In both classical and Church Latin, noli sounds like NO-lee and nolite sounds like no-LEE-teh.

Examples (5)

  1. Noli currere, Marce!

    Do not run, Marcus!

    Noli goes to one person, and Marce is the form for calling Marcus.

  2. Nolite ridere, pueri.

    Do not laugh, boys.

    Nolite goes to several people.

  3. Cave canem.

    Beware of the dog.

    A warning on a Roman doorway. Cave is a command, and canem is its object.

  4. Noli me tangere.

    Do not touch me.

    Jesus says this to Mary Magdalene in John 20:17. Me is the object of tangere.

  5. Nolite timere.

    Do not be afraid.

    The angel says this to the shepherds in Luke 2:10.

Common Mistakes

  • Using non with a command.

    Non time!
    Noli timere!

    Latin does not make a negative command with non. Use noli or nolite plus an infinitive.

  • Putting a command after noli.

    Noli time!
    Noli timere!

    After noli the verb is the infinitive timere, not the command time.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Do Not: noli, noliteLevel 3

Learn This First

Noli and nolite are commands built from nolo.

Words in This Pattern

nolocaveocave canem