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Quick, what’s the difference between these two Latin sentences?

Marcus argentum operuit ne inveniretur.

Marcus argentum operuit ut non inveniretur.

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First, they are both grammatically correct; negative subordinate clauses don’t always have to start with ne. And no they don’t man the same thing.

What we have here is the subtle difference between the optative/volative and potential/hypothetical forms of the subjunctive. The both use the same subjunctive forms, but the first shows the negative with ne, while the second uses non.

In the first sentence, ne inveniretur is a purpose clause representing the (optative) motive for Marcus hiding his money, so we translate the sentence “Marcus hid the money so that it wouldn’t be discovered.” The second is a (hypothetical/potential) result of the action, so we have “Marcus hid the money so that it couldn’t be discovered.” The different types represent a lesser/greater “reality” to the inevitable outcome; it is more likely someone discovered the money in the first sentence rather than the second.

To be fair, a real sentence from a classical author would include some sign-word in the main clause to emphasize the result, e.g. Marcus argentum tam bene operuit ut non inveniretur. A quick search turned up a typical example from Livy describing how younger Tarquin won the loyalty of the soldiers he commanded while stationed in the town of Gabii:

Apud milites vero obeundo ("undertaking", a gerund) pericula ac labores pariter, praedam munifice largiendo (gerund again; praedam is the dir. obj.) tanta caritate esse (historic inf.) ut non pater Tarquinius potentior Romae quam filius Gabiis esset. (I.54)

Tanta caritate - “with such affection, so beloved” cries out for a thought to complete it–the result described in the ut clause. Context also gives us a clue; the younger Tarquin may have his own ulterior motives, but translating here using a purpose clause–"in order that the father would not be more powerful in Rome than his son in Gabii"–would require assigning the motive to the soldiers affection, which is ridiculous.

Sign words, context, and proper negation will often clarify result from purpose in a Latin sentence. Latin (or English) is not simply a matter of following a by-rote process; a good reader brings more than one tool to the job, and uses them each frequently.