What a parse claims
A morphological parse identifies the lemma and grammatical features of a form: for instance a noun’s case and number or a verb’s person and tense. It is a proposal about how the written form functions. A parser can list shapes compatible with its lexicon and rules, but it may not decide which shape the sentence uses. Perseus explicitly warns that ambiguous words can yield several results, some irrelevant to the passage. A single highlighted result in an interface is not a proof.
Work from the attested spelling outward. Check whether endings, agreement, government and neighboring clauses support the proposal. Then compare a grammar written for the relevant variety and period. Note when a category is absent from the source rather than forcing a complete modern paradigm onto it.
A clause-level check
In Caesar’s opening, omnis and divisa can be linked to Gallia because their form and the clause support agreement with a feminine singular subject. The Latin grammar hosted by Dickinson College Commentaries explains the agreement principle for adjectives and participles. The preposition in with partes tres gives a separate phrase. Reading each word’s English gloss in printed order would conceal these relationships.
Write a parse in small pieces: form; candidate lemma; morphological features; syntactic role; evidence; remaining alternative. Do not infer meaning directly from a case ending. A nominative form can be the subject of one clause, but the entire clause decides its role.
Practice
Click each word of the Perseus passage and record every analysis offered for one ambiguous form. Mark the analyses compatible with local agreement and explain the exclusions. If no offered analysis fits, preserve the form and note the tool limitation rather than altering the text.
| Form | Candidate function | Local check |
|---|---|---|
| Gallia | subject noun | est is singular; the clause is about Gaul |
| omnis | modifier of Gallia | agreement and sense in the whole clause |
| divisa | participial predicate with est | agreement with Gallia and verbal context |
| partes tres | object of in in this construction | the preposition and number agree with the phrase |
Modern-language examples on this page clarify a linguistic pattern. They do not establish unattested sounds or forms for an ancient language. Follow the cited sources below and keep editorial readings separate from the surviving trace.