- Illa argumenta visa sunt et gravia et certa.
Those arguments seemed both serious and sure.
Video in the passive can mean "to seem." This makes sense when you consider that "to be seen" really verges on "to seem."
et…et means "both _____ and _____." Gravia and certa are both neuter plural nominatives, and they are substantives, so they mean "serious things" and "sure things."
- Quid ego egi? In quod periculum iactus sum? (Terence)
We shall admire him who is not moved by money.
Quid: "What"; interrogative pronoun, neuter accusative singular; literally "what thing"
ego egi: Terence was a comic poet and comic poets enjoyed playing with words. Note the word play of ego egi. There is no relationship between the words; it is just a silly word play.
In quod periculum: "into what danger"; here, quod is the interrogative adjective, modifying periculum. How do you distinguish the interrogative adjective from the interrogative pronoun? Where are the forms different?
iactus sum: From the verb iacio, iacere, ieci, iactus sum, "to hurl, cast, throw". This is the only periphrastic tense in Latin. iactus is the perfect, passive participle. A participle is a verbal adjective: as an adjective, it agrees with the subject ("I", here masculine); as a verbal, it has verbal meaning, tense, and voice. The other part of the verb is sum: this give you the person (first), the number (singular), and the mood (indicative).