Quid agis?

[classical4mom]

Hi- can someone give me the literal translation of "quid agis?" In Latina Christiana it says on p. 128 that it means "How are you?" but in Prima Latina, lesson 22, it says that quid means "what". Which is correct?

Nanci

[Pam]

Kind of a big difference there, isn't it. I'll be interested to see the answer.

[abbey]

"How are you?" is really an idiomatic translation. It's appropriate to the sense, but it isn't literal. Literally, "Quid agis" is more like "What are you doing?"... Except it's really more generally asking about your condition, so the literal translation could be misleading.

"Agis" is the 2nd person singular (present active indicative) of "ago": I put in motion, I move, I lead, I drive, I tend, I conduct...

[Pam]

Kind of like "Whazzup?"

[mwallentein0]

Re: Quid agis?

My interpretation of the phrase is that "quid" is an accusative of respect. "Agis" in this sense means not "are you doing," but rather, "are you managing/faring." In this light, the phrase can still quite literally be translated "In what respect are you faring?" or more idiomatically, "how are you doing?" Therefore, by translating "quid agis" as "how are you doing," we are not violating the usage of either word, but are recognizing alternative connotations/functions of each word.