Scanning for the Main Clause in a Periodic Sentence
A student faces a long periodic sentence in a poetry sight passage (hexameter). The sentence runs 14 lines and contains: two cum clauses, a relative clause with qui, an ablative absolute (his rebus gestis), and a series of accusatives that could belong to either the relative clause or the main clause. The student's first draft translation has no main verb and trails off. She has 6 minutes left in the section and two more passages to attempt. She is tempted to keep grinding on the same sentence.
1. What structural strategy should she use to locate the main clause, and how should she triage her remaining time?
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Strategy - find the main verb first, then work outward.
- Identify every finite verb (indicative/subjunctive, not infinitive or participle). Subjunctive verbs belong to the subordinate cum and relative clauses; the indicative finite verb is the main verb.
- Suspend the subordinate clauses (cum... , qui...) - bracket them - and read only the skeleton: subject + main verb + object.
- The accusatives: those inside the bracketed relative clause belong to it; the leftover accusative in the skeleton is the main-clause object. The ablative absolute his rebus gestis is a self-contained unit and can be translated as a phrase ('with these things done' / 'after these things were done') without affecting clause structure.
Triage: with 6 minutes and two passages left, she should not perfect this sentence. Mark the bracketed clauses, write a rough skeleton translation, flag the ambiguous accusative, and move on. Partial credit on three passages beats a polished one and two blanks.
2. She notices the sentence has two *cum* clauses. How does she decide whether each is 'when/after' (temporal) or 'since/although' (causal/concessive)?
Read the worked answer
Use mood plus context:
- Cum + indicative = temporal ('when').
- Cum + subjunctive = temporal, causal, or concessive - the mood alone doesn't decide it; the context does.
Diagnostic test: insert 'since' and 'although' into the English and see which makes the sentence logical. If the clause gives a reason for the main clause, read causal; if it sets up a contrast the main clause overrides, read concessive; if it just marks time, read temporal.
Because both clauses are in the same sentence, she should check whether the two readings create a coherent sequence (e.g., 'when X happened... since Y...'). If one reading makes the main clause nonsensical, switch it. The exam typically rewards a translation that is internally consistent over a rigid label.