Learn Hardcore Latin: Equus lente per viam ambulat, et puella eum lente spectat. - The horse walks slowly along the road, and the girl watches him slowly.

equus = nominative singular (subject) → the/a horse (as doer of the action)
equum = accusative singular (direct object) → the/a horse (as receiver of the action)

Because the horse is the one doing the walking, Latin uses equus, not equum.

What case is viam, and why is that form used?

Viam is accusative singular, from via, viae (road, way).

The preposition per (meaning through, along) always takes the accusative case in Latin. So:

via (nominative) → road (as subject)
viam (accusative) → used after per: per viam = along the road / through the road

So per viam literally means through/along (the) road.

Why is it lente and not lentus?

Lentus is an adjective meaning slow and must agree with a noun in gender, number, and case:

lentus equus = a slow horse (masc. nom. sg.)

But in this sentence we want to say slowly, describing how the horse walks and how the girl watches. That’s an adverb, and the adverb from lentus is lente:

Equus lente ambulat = The horse walks slowly.
Puella eum lente spectat = The girl watches him slowly.

So lente is the adverb “slowly,” not the adjective “slow.”

What does per mean exactly in per viam, and how is it different from just in via?

Per usually means:

through
along
during (in some contexts)

Used with an accusative noun, it can describe movement through or along something:

per viam = along the road / through the road

In with a noun can mean different things depending on the case:

in via (via ablative) = on the road / in the road (location, no movement)
in viam (viam accusative) = into the road (movement toward)

So:

Equus per viam ambulat → The horse walks along the road.
Equus in via stat → The horse stands on the road.
Equus in viam ambulat → The horse walks into the road.

Why is the verb ambulat and not ambulo or ambulant?

Latin verbs change their endings to show person and number:

ambulo = I walk (1st person singular)
ambulat = he/she/it walks (3rd person singular)
ambulant = they walk (3rd person plural)

The subject is equus (the horse), which is third person singular, so the correct form is:

equus ambulat = the horse walks

Why is puella in that form and not puellam?

Puella is in the nominative singular, because she is the subject of the second verb spectat (watches).

puella (nominative) → the girl as the one doing the watching.
puellam (accusative) would mean the girl as a direct object (the one being watched).

In this sentence, the girl is looking at someone else (the horse), so she must be nominative: puella.

What is eum, and why is that form used instead of eum equum or something similar?

Eum is a pronoun, meaning “him”.

It’s the accusative singular masculine form of is, ea, id (he/she/it).
It refers back to equus (the horse), which is masculine.

So:

puella eum spectat = the girl watches him (i.e. the horse)

Latin usually doesn’t repeat the noun if it’s clear from context. Instead of puella equum spectat again, it uses eum to avoid repetition.

We do not say eum equum here; that would be like saying “him the horse,” which is redundant unless you have a specific stylistic or emphatic reason.

Why not use eam or id instead of eum?

The pronoun must agree in gender and number with the noun it refers to:

equus is masculine singular.
So the appropriate pronoun is eum (masculine accusative singular, him).

Other forms:

eam = feminine accusative singular (her) → would refer to a feminine noun.
id = neuter nominative/accusative singular (it) → would refer to a neuter noun.

Since equus is masculine, eum is the correct choice.

Why is lente repeated? Does repeating it change the meaning?

The repetition of lente just tells us that both actions are done slowly:

Equus lente per viam ambulat → the horse walks slowly.
Puella eum lente spectat → the girl watches him slowly.

Each lente belongs to its own verb (ambulat and spectat). Repeating the adverb is normal and clear. It doesn’t add a special extra meaning; it just specifies that each action individually is slow.

You could also write:

Equus per viam ambulat, et puella eum lente spectat. → Only the watching is explicitly slow.

Equus lente per viam ambulat, et puella eum spectat. → Only the walking is explicitly slow.

Where can lente go in the sentence? Is the position fixed?

Latin word order is flexible, especially for adverbs like lente. All of these are grammatical and mean roughly the same:

Equus lente per viam ambulat.
Equus per viam lente ambulat.
Lente equus per viam ambulat.

The usual, neutral order tends to put the adverb close to the verb it modifies, often just before it. Moving lente can give it a slightly different emphasis, but the core meaning “slowly” stays the same.

What does spectat mean, and is it related to any English words?

Spectat is the 3rd person singular of spectare, meaning to look at, to watch.

puella spectat = the girl watches / looks at

It is related to several English words derived from Latin:

spectator – a watcher
spectacle – a show for looking at
inspect – to look into, examine
respect (originally to look back at, regard)

So spectat literally means he/she/it watches or he/she/it looks at.

How does Latin show who is doing what to whom, if the word order can change?

Latin mainly uses endings (inflections), not word order, to show roles:

equus (nominative) = subject → the doer (the horse).
puella (nominative) = subject → the doer (the girl).
eum (accusative) = direct object → receiver of the action (him).
viam (accusative after per) = object of the preposition (along the road).

Because the roles are clear from the endings:

Puella eum lente spectat.
Eum puella lente spectat.
Lente eum puella spectat.

All of these still mean: The girl watches him slowly. The meaning doesn’t change, though emphasis can shift slightly depending on what is put first.

Could Latin leave out eum completely, like just et puella lente spectat?

Yes, Latin can omit pronouns when they’re clear from context, but the result changes the feel of the sentence.

Et puella lente spectat. literally = And the girl watches slowly.

Without eum, we are not explicitly told what (or whom) she is watching. Context might make it obvious (very likely “the horse”), but grammatically it’s just “she watches.”

Including eum makes the sentence complete and unambiguous: she is watching him (the horse). In simple teaching examples like this, it’s normal to include the object pronoun.

Why is there no word for “the” in equus or puella? How do we know if it’s “a horse” or “the horse”?

Classical Latin has no articles (no “a/an” and no “the”). A noun like equus can be translated as:

a horse
the horse

The choice in English depends on context, not on a separate Latin word.

In this isolated sentence, both are reasonable:

A horse walks slowly along the road, and a girl watches him slowly.
The horse walks slowly along the road, and the girl watches him slowly.

Either can be correct; a longer passage or previous sentences would normally make the intended meaning clear.