dicitur, videtur (Is Said To, Seems To)
He Is Said to, She Seems to
He is said to, she seems to: nominative plus infinitive.
How It Works
| Active | Passive |
|---|---|
| Dicunt Marcum venire. They say that Marcus is coming. | Marcus dicitur venire. Marcus is said to be coming. |
| Putant Iuliam laetam esse. They think that Iulia is happy. | Iulia laeta esse putatur. Iulia is thought to be happy. |
The verbs are dicitur (is said), traditur (is handed down), putatur (is thought) and videtur (seems). Videtur is the most common, and with a dative it means it seems to me: mihi videtur.
The infinitive shows the time. The present infinitive is for the same time as the main verb, and the perfect infinitive is for an earlier time: dicitur fuisse (is said to have been).
Examples (5)
- Marcus dicitur venire.
Marcus is said to be coming.
Marcus is the subject, in the nominative, and venire is a present infinitive.
- Iulia laeta esse videtur.
Iulia seems happy.
Laeta is nominative, to agree with Iulia. Videtur is the passive of video used for seems.
- Pueri dicuntur bene legere.
The boys are said to read well.
Dicuntur is plural to agree with pueri.
- Caesar fortissimus fuisse dicitur.
Caesar is said to have been very brave.
Fuisse is the perfect infinitive, for a time before the saying.
- Sanctus Franciscus lupum domuisse dicitur.
Saint Francis is said to have tamed a wolf.
Domuisse is the perfect infinitive of domo. Franciscus is nominative.
Common Mistakes
Putting the describing word in the accusative.
Iulia videtur esse laetam.Iulia videtur esse laeta.The subject Iulia is in the nominative, so the describing word is too. The accusative laetam belongs to the accusative and infinitive.
How It Connects
Learn This First
A passive verb of saying takes a nominative subject and an infinitive.
Related Patterns
Words in This Pattern
Practice dicitur, videtur (Is Said To, Seems To) in Bubblegum
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