# No one knew his name.



## pizzakid

What's the translation for this, also what would it be in present tense? Thanks.


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## Fred_C

"Nemo nomen ejus noverat".
And in the present : "Nemo nomen ejus novit".


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## quexavymz

shouldn't "nomen" be in the accusative instead of the nominative, so "Nemo nominem..."?


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## Kevin Beach

Fred_C, can you please tell us the infinitive or first person singular present of the verb you are using to translate "know"?


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## Fred_C

Kevin Beach said:


> Fred_C, can you please tell us the infinitive or first person singular present of the verb you are using to translate "know"?


 Hi,
The verb I used is "novi" (1st person) and "nosse" (infinitive)
This is a strange verb that has only perfectum endings that still retain infectum meanings.
So "novi", although looking like a past tense is indeed a present tense, and "noveram", although looking like a pluperfect, is indeed an imperfect.


As for the accusative of "nomen", it is "nomen", because this noun is neutre. There is no such ending like "nominem".


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## Kevin Beach

Fred_C said:


> Hi,
> The verb I used is "novi" (1st person) and "nosse" (infinitive)
> This is a strange verb that has only perfectum endings that still retain infectum meanings.
> So "novi", although looking like a past tense is indeed a present tense, and "noveram", although looking like a pluperfect, is indeed an imperfect.
> 
> 
> As for the accusative of "nomen", it is "nomen", because this noun is neutre. There is no such ending like "nominem".


Isn't it derived from _nosco, noscere, novi, notum_? It's an old form of _gnosco_ and means "to become acquainted with".

Novisse means "to know" or "to be acquainted with", literally "to have become acquainted with".

The contracted forms are _nosti, norim, noram, nosse_.


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## Fred_C

Oh, yes, you are right.
Novi is not a verb on its own, but yet, it is used as is to mean "I know". The literal meaning "I have become acquainted with" is somewhat forgotten in "standard" latin, as far as I know.

For me, the difference between "novi" and "scio" is that you use "novi" when you mean to know a piece of information, or a story, and you use "scio" when you mean to know a fact.

Actually, the same difference exists in French between "connaître" and "savoir", and every Latin-to-French dictionary will say that "novi" means "je connais", and "scio" means "je sais". (Assuming they are right...)

The sentence "I know his name" is a case where you would use "je connais" in French, that is why I chose "novi" whith no hesitation.
Now I understand why you were puzzled, because I have just realised that both verbs translate into English as "to know".


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## Kevin Beach

Fred_C said:


> Oh, yes, you are right.
> Novi is not a verb on its own, but yet, it is used as is to mean "I know". The literal meaning "I have become acquainted with" is somewhat forgotten in "standard" latin, as far as I know.
> 
> For me, the difference between "novi" and "scio" is that you use "novi" when you mean to know a piece of information, or a story, and you use "scio" when you mean to know a fact.
> 
> Actually, the same difference exists in French between "connaître" and "savoir", and every Latin-to-French dictionary will say that "novi" means "je connais", and "scio" means "je sais". (Assuming they are right...)
> 
> The sentence "I know his name" is a case where you would use "je connais" in French, that is why I chose "novi" whith no hesitation.
> Now I understand why you were puzzled, because I have just realised that both verbs translate into English as "to know".


Thanks, Fred. I wasn't puzzled by the different meanings, but by the source of your verb. Several languages distinguish between knowledge of a fact and acquaintanceship. It isn't only the Romance languages: German uses wissen for the former and kennen for the latter.


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## Fred_C

Kevin Beach said:


> Thanks, Fred. I wasn't puzzled by the different meanings, but by the source of your verb. Several languages distinguish between knowledge of a fact and acquaintanceship. It isn't only the Romance languages: German uses wissen for the former and kennen for the latter.


 

Indeed.
In a way that is slightly different from the French way, which has always brought me difficulties....


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