Passive Periphrastic Latin Construction

The passive periphrastic construction in Latin expresses the idea of obligation -- of must or ought. A very familiar passive periphrastic is a phrase attributed to Cato, who was bent on destroying the Phoenicians. Cato is said to have ended his speeches with the phrase Carthago delenda est or Carthage must be destroyed.There are two parts to this passive periphrastic, one adjectival and one a form of the verb to be. The adjectival form is the gerundive - note the nd before the ending. The ending is, in this case, feminine, nominative singular, to agree with the noun Carthago, which, like many place names, is feminine.The agent, or in Catos case, the person who would be doing the destroying, is expressed by a dative of agent. Carthago____________Romae__________________ delenda estCarthage (nom. sg. fem.) [by] Rome (dative case) destroyed (gerundive nom. sg. fem.) to be (3rd sg. present) Eventually, Cato got his way. Heres another example: Marc Antony probably thought: Cicero____________Octaviano__________________ delendus estCicero (nom. sg. masc.) [by] Octavianus (dative case) destroyed (gerundive nom. sg. masc.) to be (3rd sg. present) See Why Cicero Had to Die. Index of Quick Tips on Latin Verbs Types of Latin VerbsLatin SupineLatin Verb EndingsLatin InfinitivesLatin Verbs - Internal Thematic VowelLatin Verbs - Person and NumberLatin Verbs - Prepositions in VerbsLatin Verbs - Sequence of Tenses in Indirect DiscourseLatin Words - Where Do You Add on Endings?Passive Periphrastic