Heavy Construction
The Allen and Greenough is still under construction;
so some links may not work quite the way you would expect.
332.
A question of simple fact, requiring the answer
yes or no, is formed by adding the enclitic -ne to the emphatic word: -
- tune id veritus es
(Q. Fr. i. 3. 1), did YOU fear that?
- hicine vir usquam nisi in patria
morietur (Mil. 104), shall THIS man die anywhere but in his
native land?
- is tibi mortemne videtur aut dolorem
timere (Tusc. v. 88), does he seem to you to fear death or
pain?
a. The interrogative particle -ne is sometimes omitted: -
- patere tua consilia non sentls
(Cat. i. 1), do you not see that your schemes are manifest? (you do not see, eh?)
NOTE: In such cases, as no sign of interrogation appears, it
is often doubtful whether the sentence is a question or an ironical
statement.
b. When the enclitic -ne is added to a negative word, as in
an affirmative answer is
expected. The particle num suggests a
negative answer: -
- nonne animadvertis
(N. D. iii. 8.ø,), do you not observe?
- num dubium est (Rosc. Am. 107),
there is no doubt, is there?
NOTE: In Indirect Questions num
commonly loses its peculiar force and means simply whether.
c. The particle -ne often when added to the verb, less commonly
when added to some other word, has the force of nonne: -
- meministine me in senatu dicere
(C,at. i. 7), don't you remember my saying in the Senate?
- rectene interpretor sententiam tuam
(Tusc. iii. 37), do I not rightly interpret your meaning?
NOTE 1: This was evidently the original meaning of -ne; but in most cases the negative force was lost
and -ne was used merely to express a
question. So the English interrogative no? shades off into
eh?
NOTE 2: The enclitic -ne is
sometimes added to other interrogative words: as
- utrumne, whether? anne, or; quantane (Hor. S. ii. 3. 317), how big?
quone malo (id. ii.3. 295), by what
curse?