Mater pecuniam in cista condit.

The subject is Mater.

You can tell because mater is in the nominative singular, which is the case typically used for the subject of a sentence. Also, the verb condit is third person singular, so it matches a singular subject: mater = mother.

So structurally:

• Mater = subject
• pecuniam = direct object
• in cista = prepositional phrase
• condit = verb

Because pecuniam is the direct object of the verb.

The verb condit means hides, stores, or puts away, and the thing being hidden or stored is money. In Latin, the direct object usually goes in the accusative case.

The noun is:

• pecunia = nominative singular
• pecuniam = accusative singular

So:

• pecunia would mean money as a subject
• pecuniam means money as the thing acted on

Because here in means in in the sense of location, not motion toward.

Latin uses in with two different cases:

• in + ablative = in / on a place, showing location
• in + accusative = into / onto, showing motion toward

So:

• in cista = in the box/chest (location)
• in cistam = into the box/chest (movement into it)

In this sentence, the money is understood as being hidden in the chest, so Latin uses the ablative: cista.

It is ablative singular.

The noun cista is a first-declension noun. Its relevant singular forms are:

• cista = nominative singular
• cistam = accusative singular
• cista = ablative singular

So the form cista can be either nominative or ablative depending on context. Here, because it comes after in meaning location, it must be ablative.

Because Latin word order is much more flexible than English word order.

Latin often puts the verb at the end, especially in straightforward prose. That does not change the basic meaning. The endings on the words tell you what each word is doing, so Latin does not rely on word order as heavily as English does.

So this sentence could also be arranged differently, for example:

• Mater pecuniam in cista condit
• Mater in cista pecuniam condit
• Pecuniam mater in cista condit

These all keep essentially the same basic meaning, though the emphasis may shift slightly.

Condit is:

• third person
• singular
• present tense
• active voice
• indicative mood

Its dictionary form is condo, condere.

So condit means he/she hides, he/she stores, or he/she puts away.

Because the subject is mater, here it means the mother hides or mother hides.

Here are the usual dictionary forms:

• mater, matris = mother
• pecunia, -ae = money
• cista, -ae = chest, box
• condo, condere, condidi, conditum = hide, store, put away

A learner should get used to recognizing that the form in the sentence is often not the dictionary form.

For example:

• pecuniam comes from pecunia
• condit comes from condo

Because classical Latin does not have articles like English the and a/an.

So mater can mean:

• mother
• the mother
• sometimes even a mother

The exact choice in English depends on context.

The same is true for pecuniam and cista. Latin leaves article-like meanings to context rather than using separate words.

It can mean either, depending on context.

Pecunia often means money, cash, or wealth, but in a specific sentence it can also mean a sum of money. Latin often leaves that level of specificity unstated unless the context makes it clear.

So a learner should not assume Latin is always making the same distinction English does between:

• money as an uncountable idea
• a sum of money as a specific amount

Because the form mater is nominative singular.

The nominative plural is matres.

Also, the verb helps confirm it:

• condit = she hides / he hides = singular
• if the subject were plural, you would expect condunt = they hide

So Mater ... condit clearly gives a singular subject.

Both, in this case.

Mater is a grammatically feminine noun, and it also refers to a female person. With words for people, grammatical gender and natural gender often line up.

But it is helpful to remember that in Latin, grammatical gender is still a grammatical category. Not every noun’s gender is determined by natural sex, especially with objects and abstract nouns.

Here:

• mater = feminine
• pecunia = feminine
• cista = feminine

Even though money and box are not female in a natural sense, they are grammatically feminine in Latin.