Non possumus
- Thread starter NC
- Start date
We cannot. Out of curiosity, why do you ask?
And if you are a Latin student, let me do a little explanation for you.
Non is obvious-"not." Possumus is derived from the verb possum, posse, potui, meaning to be able. In most of its tenses, it follows the verb sum, esse, fui, futurus, which if you are a Latin student, you probably already know to some extent. Before forms of esse that begin with a consonant, posse becomes "pos", and is then followed by that form of esse (such as here, or with "possum", "possunt", etc. Before those that begin with a vowel, it becomes "pot" and then the form of esse (such as "potes", "potest", etc.) IIRC this is only false when regarding its perfect system (i.e. the perfect, pluperfect, and future perfect) where it follows potui (which is rather clearly pot+fui, with the f dropped.)
And if you are a Latin student, let me do a little explanation for you.
Non is obvious-"not." Possumus is derived from the verb possum, posse, potui, meaning to be able. In most of its tenses, it follows the verb sum, esse, fui, futurus, which if you are a Latin student, you probably already know to some extent. Before forms of esse that begin with a consonant, posse becomes "pos", and is then followed by that form of esse (such as here, or with "possum", "possunt", etc. Before those that begin with a vowel, it becomes "pot" and then the form of esse (such as "potes", "potest", etc.) IIRC this is only false when regarding its perfect system (i.e. the perfect, pluperfect, and future perfect) where it follows potui (which is rather clearly pot+fui, with the f dropped.)