Latin C2: Mirabile dictu: the supine & literary forms · Grammar

The supine looks like the perfect participle. In -um, after verbs of motion, it expresses purpose: venatum ire (to go hunting), cubitum ire (to go to bed). In -u, after adjectives, it means “to do”: mirabile dictu (wonderful to tell), facile factu (easy to do). Literary prose and poetry also use -ere for -erunt in the perfect (amavere = amaverunt) and the historic infinitive for vivid narration: Clamare omnes (everyone was shouting).

• mirabile dictu — wonderful to tell
• horribile dictu — horrible to say
• facile factu — easy to do
• venatum ire — to go hunting
• cubitum ire — to go to bed
• amavere — they loved (poetic)
• dixere — they said (poetic)
• salutatum — to greet (supine)

• Mirabile dictu, vicimus. — Wonderful to tell, we won.
• Cubitum eamus. — Let’s go to bed.
• Venatum in silvam ierunt. — They went hunting in the forest.
• Res facilis dictu, difficilis factu. — Easy to say, hard to do.