Leaving Out and Piling On

Level 6

No and between the items, or an and before every item.

How It Works

Figure	Latin	Effect
asyndeton	veni, vidi, vici	quick, hard, like a report
asyndeton	laudamus te, benedicimus te, adoramus te, glorificamus te	prayers pile up
polysyndeton	et terra et mari	both together, with weight
polysyndeton	erat Verbum, et Verbum erat apud Deum, et Deus erat Verbum	a slow, solemn build

The Vulgate uses polysyndeton often, because Hebrew sentences are joined by and. A modern English translation may drop some of the ands, but the Latin keeps them.

When you read Latin aloud, let the bare list run fast and give each et its own small weight.

Examples (4)

Veni, vidi, vici.
I came, I saw, I conquered.
Caesar's famous report. Three verbs stand side by side with no et.
Romani et terra et mari pugnabant.
The Romans fought on land and on sea.
Et ... et puts a weight on each side of the pair.
Laudamus te, benedicimus te, adoramus te, glorificamus te.
We praise you, we bless you, we adore you, we glorify you.
From the Gloria. Four verbs in a row with no et.
In principio erat Verbum, et Verbum erat apud Deum, et Deus erat Verbum.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:1. Each short clause gets its own et.

How It Connects

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

Leaving Out and Piling OnLevel 6

Learn This First

These styles leave out or add the word for and.

-que (And, Added To a Word)And, Added to a Word
Know -que, because polysyndeton piles on and.
Level 2

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.

Vulgate Style: et factum est, et ecceThe Style of the VulgateLevel 6

Practice Leaving Out and Piling On in Bubblegum

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