I Must Do It: mihi eundum est

I Must Do It

Level 5

Gerundive plus sum: duty, with the doer in the dative.

How It Works

LatinEnglishNote
Haec tibi facienda sunt.You must do these things.agrees with haec
Epistola mihi scribenda est.I must write the letter.agrees with epistola
Mihi eundum est.I must go.no subject
Pueris domi manendum est.The boys must stay at home.no subject

The English sentence is active (you must do these things), but the Latin one is passive (these things are to be done by you). Turn the English around before you write.

To say it was a duty in the past, use the imperfect or the perfect of sum: Mihi eundum erat (I had to go).

Examples (5)

  1. Haec tibi facienda sunt.

    You must do these things.

    Facienda agrees with haec, and tibi is the dative of the doer.

  2. Mihi eundum est.

    I must go.

    Eundum is the neuter singular gerundive of eo, with no subject.

  3. Pueris domi manendum est.

    The boys must stay at home.

    Maneo takes no object, so the gerundive is neuter singular, and pueris is the doer.

  4. Urbs nobis defendenda est.

    We must defend the city.

    Defendenda agrees with urbs, and nobis names those who must act.

  5. Nobis Deus laudandus est.

    We must praise God.

    Laudandus agrees with Deus, masculine singular, and nobis is the dative of the doer.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the neuter singular where a plural subject needs agreement.

    Haec tibi faciendum est.
    Haec tibi facienda sunt.

    The gerundive agrees with haec, which is neuter plural, so the form is facienda sunt. The singular faciendum est is for verbs with no subject, as in Mihi eundum est.

How It Connects

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

I Must Do It: mihi eundum estLevel 5I Must Do It

Learn This First

The passive periphrastic is the gerundive with a dative for the doer.

Words in This Pattern

sum