Pervenere

Coelum Ruat

New Member

Hi all.
I am learning Latin independently, using Latin Course for Schools by L.A.Wilding. I am in my 60's so the style suits me.
In Book 3, the following is given as an example temporal clause: Romani prius Placentiam pervenere, quam satis sciret Hannibal ab Ticino profectos.
The translation, 'The Romans reached Placentia, before ...' apparently treats 'pervenere' as an historic infinitive.- correct me if I am wrong. However, I would have used 'pervenire', this being the usual active infinitive. I presume there's something I don't know. Can anyone enlighten me, or is this a molehill?
Paul
 
D

Deleted member 13757

Guest

Sometimes, verbs of action (maybe all of them) are used in their present infinitive forms to mean past tense when narrating history. I don't know how it came to be. Maybe an implied fertur/dicitur is omitted.
 
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Pacifica

grammaticissima

  • Aedilis

Location:
Belgium
Pervenere is not an infinitive. It's a perfect-tense indicative verb. -ere is an alternative ending for -erunt.
 

Coelum Ruat

New Member

Thank you Pacifica. Strangely this has not been covered in the course so far. Hence my incorrect interpretation.
Come to think of it, nor have historic infinitives. Presumably only context will distinguish say, pingere (historic inf.) from pingere ( -erunt in disguise).
By the way, is there a name for this type of ending, so I can look it up somewhere?
Regards CR
 

Pacifica

grammaticissima

  • Aedilis

Location:
Belgium
Strangely this has not been covered in the course so far.
Beginners' courses tend to omit it, I think. Though it is odd if the same course uses it in an example sentence.
By the way, is there a name for this type of ending, so I can look it up somewhere?
I just call them alternative endings or variant endings. I'm not sure there's any more complicated name.
 
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Coelum Ruat

New Member

I have just found it, without a special name, plain as day, in my trusty Grammar (Gildersleeve and Lodge).
I really should have spotted this sooner!
Thanks again.
CR
 
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