# ...sed quōmodo hunc planētam advenīre possum?



## Andræs

Hello, I translated the following sentence into Latin:

EN
"...but how can I get to the planet?"

LA
"...sed quōmodo (hunc) planētam advenīre possum?"


and wanted to know if it´s correct. The sentence doesn´t have any context, it´s on a poster.

Thanks in advance!


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## radagasty

I would be inclined to use a preposition (usually _ad_) instead of a bare accusative. Note also that _stella errans _is more usual in classical Latin than _planeta_, which is a Greek loan (πλανήτης = _errans_).


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## Anglo1

_sed, quomodo ad hanc planetam advenire possum?_

I don't know what line the Romans took on 'ad' regarding planets, but I think you'd use 'ad planetam'. If you want to use _this_, (hic, haec, hoc, etc) make sure that it agrees with the noun. In this case 'hanc planetam'. I'm not sure how "Latin" the sentence is, but I think that it's now at least grammatically correct.


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## Ben Jamin

Anglo1 said:


> _sed, quomodo ad hanc planetam advenire possum?_
> 
> I don't know what line the Romans took on 'ad' regarding planets, but I think you'd use 'ad planetam'. If you want to use _this_, (hic, haec, hoc, etc) make sure that it agrees with the noun. In this case 'hanc planetam'. I'm not sure how "Latin" the sentence is, but I think that it's now at least grammatically correct.


 
... *ad* planetam *ad*venire ...
Do we need to repeat the preposition? Is it normal in Latin?


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## Anglo1

Ben Jamin said:


> ... *ad* planetam *ad*venire ...
> Do we need to repeat the preposition? Is it normal in Latin?


 
Yes it does. The 'ad' at the begginning of 'advenire' doesn't really work as a preposition, it just makes it a composite verb: venio/advenio; I come/I arrive. Well, actually it does sort of work as a preposition, but... it does need the second 'ad'.


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## Ben Jamin

Anglo1 said:


> Yes it does. The 'ad' at the begginning of 'advenire' doesn't really work as a preposition, it just makes it a composite verb: venio/advenio; I come/I arrive. Well, actually it does sort of work as a preposition, but... it does need the second 'ad'.


 Good to know. In some langauges (for instance Norwegian) the tendency is to avoid such repetition.


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## Cagey

Yes, we avoid it in English, too.  Classical Latin authors seem to like it.  They don't always use the same preposition, but they often do.


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## radagasty

Anglo1 said:


> _sed, quomodo ad hanc planetam advenire possum?_
> 
> I don't know what line the Romans took on 'ad' regarding planets, but I think you'd use 'ad planetam'. If you want to use _this_, (hic, haec, hoc, etc) make sure that it agrees with the noun. In this case 'hanc planetam'. I'm not sure how "Latin" the sentence is, but I think that it's now at least grammatically correct.


 
Ouch! I have been away for a while, and didn't notice this post. I'm slightly surprised no-one has since picked this up, but _hunc planetam_ is fine, if you really want to go for this Late Latin word. _Planeta_ is masculine.

As for _ad_, that was my recommendation in the first place, so I can scarcely disagree, and it seems to be supported by the weight of subsequent posters.

On the matter of the repetition of prepositions, it seems German favours it too. I asked in the German forum about the sentence _*Zu* diesem Betrag kommt noch die Umsatzsteuer da*zu*. _'The sales tax must be added to this amount.', to be told that the repetition of _zu_ is required.


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## Andræs

OK, so after reading all your answers I propose this version:

"sed, quomodo ad hunc planetam advenire possum?"

I just want it to be grammatically correct, even if it isn't stylistically beautiful (I'm still far from being a Latin poet)

Gratias vobis ago!


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## Cagey

Yes, that looks fine to me.


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## Anglo1

radagasty said:


> Ouch! I have been away for a while, and didn't notice this post. I'm slightly surprised no-one has since picked this up, but _hunc planetam_ is fine, if you really want to go for this Late Latin word. _Planeta_ is masculine.QUOTE]
> 
> Sorry, my mistake. I'd just assumed that _planeta_ was a normal 1st declension feminine noun like _stella _or _vacca_, but obviously not.


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## Anglo1

radagasty said:


> I would be inclined to use a preposition (usually _ad_) instead of a bare accusative. Note also that _stella errans _is more usual in classical Latin than _planeta_, which is a Greek loan (πλανήτης = _errans_).


 

As a general, out-of-interest query, would _errans_ be from _erro_ (I wander), by any chance?

'Wandering star' would be far more poetic than just 'planet'


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## Cagey

Anglo1 said:


> As a general, out-of-interest query, would _errans_ be from _erro_ (I wander), by any chance?
> 
> 'Wandering star' would be far more poetic than just 'planet'


Yes, _errans, errantis_ is the present participle of _erro, errare_.  

If you use this, it would be _ad hanc stellam errantem._


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## Ben Jamin

Cagey said:


> Yes, we avoid it in English, too. Classical Latin authors seem to like it. They don't always use the same preposition, but they often do.


 
Could you give an example of an English expression with a verb with a pronominal prefix? I can't remember any, only substantives that look like verbs (income, outcome, input).


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## radagasty

Cagey said:


> Yes, _errans, errantis_ is the present participle of _erro, errare_.
> 
> If you use this, it would be _ad hanc stellam errantem._


 
Just as a point of interest, planets were called 'wandering stars' by the ancients because most stars are fixed on the celestial sphere, i.e., they do not change positions relative to one another. The planets, on the other hand, are not fixed, but wander in and out of the constellations that make up the signs of the zodiac.



Ben Jamin said:


> Could you give an example of an English expression with a verb with a pronominal prefix? I can't remember any, only substantives that look like verbs (income, outcome, input).


 
I assume you mean prepositional prefixes and not pronominal, in which case there are many: e.g., _overcome, uphold, withdraw, undertake, downplay, inlay, _etc.


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