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Si pater in horto laborat, frater cenat in villa.

Si pater in horto laborat, frater cenat in villa.
If the father works in the garden, the brother dines in the villa.
FromLesson 3inHardcore Latin

Breakdown of Si pater in horto laborat, frater cenat in villa.

laborare
to work
in
in
villa
the villa
pater
the father
hortus
the garden
frater
the brother
si
if
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Questions & Answers about Si pater in horto laborat, frater cenat in villa.

Why does the sentence start with Si?
Si means if in Latin. It introduces a conditional clause, essentially setting up a condition—"if the father is working in the garden"—upon which the rest of the sentence is based.
Why is pater not preceded by an article like "the"?
Latin does not use articles (like the or a in English). Pater simply means "father" in this context without needing a separate word for "the."
What case is horto in, and why?
Horto is in the ablative case. The preposition in can be followed by the ablative case to indicate location. So in horto means in the garden.
Why does frater have a different ending from fratrem?
Frater is in the nominative case, which is typically used for the subject of the sentence. Fratrem is in the accusative case, usually used for the direct object. Since brother is the subject alongside father, we use frater.
Why is cenat used here instead of another verb like est (meaning "is")?
Cenat comes from the verb ceno, cenare meaning to dine or eat dinner. It describes the action the brother is doing, so it’s the correct choice to convey is dining in the present tense.