Averroes

On Human Thought

Latin Grammar: Indefinite Pronouns

Deinde dixit Et quedam sunt principia habentium corpora et magnitudinem, intendendo quod causarum quedam sunt cause simplicium, ut materia et forma, et quedam cause compositorum ut elementa ex quibus componuntur res consimilium partium; et intendebat monstrare per hoc quod Naturalis considerat in duobus modis corporum naturalium scilicet simplicium et compositorum, et dat causas eorum et causas accidentium eorum.

In reading through the passage above, you of course noticed the many indefinite pronouns. These are forms of the quidam, quaedam, quiddam paradigm and are translated "a certain one." The adjective form of this indefinite uses quoddam, instead of quiddam in the neuter. Also, since this passage is from a medieval manuscript, the diphthong "ae" has become just "e" in the text. Complete the paradigm below, using the classical forms.

Singular

Casemasculinefeminineneuter
Nomquidamquaedam quiddam
Gen
Dat
Acc
Abl

Plural

Casemasculinefeminineneuter
Nom
Gen
Dat
Acc
Abl

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