Expert: Maria - 11/13/2010

Question
Hi Maria
I wonder if you could help me with this.
I have always loved angels and i wonder if you can help me to translate "I believe in angels" into lathin.
If you dont want to I understand, but please let me know.

Best regards
Sandra

Answer
Hello,

“I believe in angels” can be translated as follows into Latin:

-“In angelos credo” or “Angelis confido” both meaning “I believe in angels” in the sense that you  trust in angels.

-“Angelos esse credo” literally meaning “I believe that angels exist” just in the sense that you believe that angels exist.

So, you must choose the translation which is the most appropriate for your purpose.

Best regards,
Maria
_____________________________________________________
Note that:

-I believe = CREDO  or  CONFIDO

-in angels = IN ANGELOS  ( where ANGELOS is the accusative plural of ANGELUS, 2nd.declension) / ANGELIS  (dative plural of ANGELUS) / ANGELOS ESSE (infinitive clause)

As you can see, Latin word order can be  different from English, just because in Latin syntactical relationships are indicated by the endings, not by the order of the words.