9.7 Time expressions

Time expressions in Latin

Latin time expressions show up constantly in texts, inscriptions, and historical documents. Getting comfortable with them is essential for reading and writing Latin accurately, since Romans had their own system for tracking hours, dates, and durations that differs significantly from ours.

Cardinal numbers for time

Cardinal numbers express specific quantities of time. The basics: unus (one), duo (two), tres (three), and so on up through viginti (20), triginta (30), etc.

When paired with time units, cardinal numbers agree in case and gender with the noun they modify: tres horae (three hours), duo anni (two years). You'll use these frequently for durations and counting.

Ordinal numbers for time

Ordinal numbers indicate position in a sequence: primus (first), secundus (second), tertius (third), quartus (fourth), and so on.

Unlike cardinals, ordinals always agree in gender, number, and case with the noun they modify. They're especially common in date expressions: anno secundo (in the second year), tertio die (on the third day).

Days of the week

The Roman days of the week are named after celestial bodies and deities:

• Dies Solis (Sunday, "day of the sun")
• Dies Lunae (Monday, "day of the moon")
• Dies Martis (Tuesday, "day of Mars")
• Dies Mercurii (Wednesday, "day of Mercury")
• Dies Iovis (Thursday, "day of Jupiter")
• Dies Veneris (Friday, "day of Venus")
• Dies Saturni (Saturday, "day of Saturn")

These names survived into the Romance languages. French mardi (Tuesday) comes directly from Martis dies.

Months of the year

The Roman months reflect their calendar system:

• Ianuarius, Februarius, Martius, Aprilis, Maius, Iunius
• Iulius (renamed for Julius Caesar; originally Quintilis)
• Augustus (renamed for Augustus; originally Sextilis)
• September, October, November, December

The last four months reveal something important: their names come from the numbers 7, 8, 9, and 10 (septem, octo, novem, decem). That's because the early Roman calendar began in March, making September the seventh month, not the ninth.

Expressing time of day

Hours in ancient Rome

Romans didn't use fixed 60-minute hours. Instead, they divided daylight into 12 equal parts (horae) from sunrise to sunset. This means a Roman "hour" was longer in summer and shorter in winter.

• Prima hora (first hour) began at sunrise
• Sexta hora (sixth hour) fell around midday (this is where "siesta" comes from)
• Duodecima hora (twelfth hour) ended at sunset

Nighttime was divided into four vigiliae (watches), a system used primarily by the military for guard duty.

Modern time in Latin

Neo-Latin adapts classical vocabulary for the modern clock. You use cardinal numbers with hora:

• Hora tertia = 3 o'clock
• Hora sexta et quadraginta partes = 6:40

The abbreviations AM (ante meridiem, "before midday") and PM (post meridiem, "after midday") are Latin phrases still used worldwide.

Dates in Latin

Roman calendar system

The Roman calendar didn't number days sequentially. Instead, it used three fixed reference points each month:

• Kalendae (Kalends) = the 1st
• Nonae (Nones) = the 5th (or 7th in March, May, July, October)
• Idus (Ides) = the 13th (or 15th in March, May, July, October)

Dates were counted backwards from the next reference point. So March 30th would be expressed as ante diem tertium Kalendas Apriles ("the third day before the Kalends of April"). This counting is inclusive, meaning you count both the starting day and the reference day.

Years were identified either by naming the two consuls in office or by counting from the traditional founding of Rome: ab urbe condita (AUC), conventionally 753 BC.

Modern date format

Modern Latin uses ordinal numbers for the day, the month name in the ablative, and cardinal numbers for the year:

Die vicesimo quinto mensis Decembris, anno bis millesimo vicesimo tertio = December 25, 2023

Duration and frequency

Expressing how long

Latin uses grammatical case to distinguish types of duration. This is one of those areas where case usage really matters:

• Accusative of duration: how long something lasted. Tres horas dormivi = "I slept for three hours."
• Ablative of time within which: the window in which something happened. Tribus diebus urbem cepit = "He captured the city within three days."
• Per + accusative: throughout an entire period. Per totam noctem vigilavit = "He stayed awake throughout the whole night."

Notice the difference: the accusative tells you the total length, while the ablative sets a boundary.

Expressing how often

• Numeral adverbs: semel (once), bis (twice), ter (three times), quater (four times)
• Ablative of time: quoque die = "each day," "daily"
• Ordinal + quisque: tertio quoque anno = "every third year"

Time-related prepositions

Before vs. after

• Ante + accusative = "before" (ante bellum = before the war)
• Post + accusative = "after" (post cenam = after dinner)
• Pridie + accusative (or genitive) = "the day before" (pridie Kalendas Maias = the day before the Kalends of May, i.e., April 30)
• Postridie + accusative (or genitive) = "the day after" (postridie Idus Martias = the day after the Ides of March, i.e., March 16)

During vs. throughout

These prepositions express overlapping time, but with different shades of meaning:

• Inter + accusative = "during" a specific event (inter cenam = during dinner)
• Per + accusative = "throughout" an extended period (per aestatem = throughout the summer)
• In + ablative = "in" or "during" a general time period (in bello = during the war)
• Sub + accusative = "just before" or "toward" (sub noctem = toward nightfall)

Temporal clauses

Temporal clauses are subordinate clauses that tell you when the main action happens. The conjunction and mood you choose carry specific meaning.

Cum clauses

Cum is versatile and its meaning depends on the mood of the verb:

• Cum + subjunctive (circumstantial): Cum venisset, omnes gaudebant = "When he had arrived, everyone was rejoicing." This is the most common use in past narration.
• Cum + indicative (purely temporal): Cum venit, gaudeo = "When he comes, I rejoice." Used mainly in present or future time.
• Cum inversum: the main clause has cum and describes a sudden interruption. Ambulabam, cum repente clamorem audivi = "I was walking, when suddenly I heard a shout."

Cum + subjunctive can also shade into causal meaning: cum sit doctus = "since he is learned."

Dum clauses

• Dum + present indicative = "while" (even when the main verb is past tense). Dum loquimur, fugerit invida aetas = "While we speak, envious time will have fled." The present indicative with dum meaning "while" is a fixed idiom.
• Dum / donec / quoad + subjunctive = "until." Exspecta dum veniat = "Wait until he comes."
• Dum modo + subjunctive = "provided that." Dum modo ne abeat = "Provided that he doesn't leave."

Tenses for time reference

Present vs. past

Latin's past tenses each carry distinct information:

• Present (scribo = I write / I am writing): current actions or general truths
• Imperfect (scribebam = I was writing / I used to write): ongoing, repeated, or habitual actions in the past
• Perfect (scripsi = I wrote / I have written): completed past actions
• Pluperfect (scripseram = I had written): actions completed before another past event

The imperfect vs. perfect distinction trips up many students. Think of the imperfect as a "video" (continuous action) and the perfect as a "snapshot" (completed action).

Future vs. future perfect

• Future (scribam = I will write): actions that will happen
• Future perfect (scripsero = I will have written): actions completed before another future event

The future perfect appears frequently in subordinate clauses paired with a future main clause: Cum scripsero, legam = "When I have written, I will read." English often uses a simple present tense where Latin uses the future perfect, so watch for this in translation.

The future tense can also express commands: Facies! = "You will do it!"

Idiomatic time expressions

Common Latin phrases

Many of these phrases are still used in English:

• Tempus fugit = "Time flies"
• Carpe diem = "Seize the day" (from Horace, Odes 1.11)
• Ad kalendas Graecas = "At the Greek Kalends," meaning never. The Greeks didn't use Kalends, so this is a Roman joke.
• Nunc aut numquam = "Now or never"
• Quot annos natus es? = "How old are you?" (literally, "How many years born are you?")

Time-related proverbs

• Festina lente = "Make haste slowly" (a favorite saying of Augustus)
• Tempus edax rerum = "Time, the devourer of all things" (Ovid, Metamorphoses 15.234)
• Tempora mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis = "Times change, and we change with them"
• Bis dat qui cito dat = "He gives twice who gives quickly"
• Mora omnis odiosa est, sed facit sapientiam = "All delay is hateful, but it produces wisdom"

Time adverbs

Adverbs of frequency

Adverbs of sequence

These are essential for narration and connecting events in order:

• Primum (first), deinde (then/next), postremo (finally)
• Antea (before), postea (afterwards), interim (meanwhile)
• Mox (soon), statim (immediately), repente (suddenly)
• Denique (at last), tandem (at length), demum (not until, only then)

Tandem and denique both translate as "finally," but tandem implies impatience or long waiting, while denique simply marks the last item in a sequence.

Time in indirect discourse

Sequence of tenses

When you convert direct speech into indirect discourse, the tense of the main verb controls which subjunctive tenses appear in subordinate clauses:

1. If the main verb is in a primary tense (present, future, future perfect), subordinate verbs use the primary sequence (present or perfect subjunctive).
2. If the main verb is in a secondary tense (imperfect, perfect, pluperfect), subordinate verbs shift to the secondary sequence (imperfect or pluperfect subjunctive).

For the infinitive in indirect statement:

• Present tense in direct speech → present infinitive
• Perfect tense in direct speech → perfect infinitive
• Future tense in direct speech → future infinitive

Shifting time references

When speech becomes indirect, time words shift to reflect the new perspective, much like English "now" becomes "then" in reported speech:

Personal pronouns also shift: ego (I) in the original speaker's words typically becomes se (reflexive) in indirect discourse when referring back to the subject of the main verb.