§ 165. Indefinite Use of the Persons.—An Indefinite Subject to a Verb, one, people, etc., is expressed by—
(a) First Person Plural: quae vŏlŭmŭs lĭbentĕr crēdĭmŭs one readily believes what one wishes.
(b) Third Person Plural, of Verbs of saying, etc.: hōc vulgō crēdunt people believe this generally.
(c) The Passive Voice: rēx dīlĭgĭtŭr people love the king.
{d) Second Person Singular of the Subjunctive: āmentem ilium pŭtēs one would think him a madman.
§ 166. Impersonal Verbs.—Impersonal Verbs are only used in the Third Person Singular of the Active. They comprise:
{a) Verbs denoting natural phenomena, which cannot be assigned to a definite subject; as, plŭĭt it rains, advespĕrāscĭt it draws-towards-evening.
(b) Verbs denoting feelings of the mind, the cause of which is obscure; as, taedĕt expressing weariness or disgust. These Verbs must be translated personally into English; taedĕt mē vītae I am tired of life, lit. it (something, I cannot tell what) tires me of life. See also § 454 (i).
To these may be added:
(c) The Impersonal use of the Third Person Singular Passive to denote the mere performance of an action; as, lūditŭr it-is-played, i.e., playing goes on.
§167. Quasi-Impersonal Verbs.—Numerous other Verbs appear to be Impersonal, and are translated by it in English, but they are either followed by an Infinitive or Dependent clause, which serves as their subject: dĕcĕt tē īgnōscĕre mĭhĭ it becomes you to pardon me, you should pardon me.
For the construction of these Quasi-Impersonal Verbs see § 454 (2).
