Learn Hardcore Latin: Heri puella tristis fuit, nunc tamen cum fratre suo ridet. - Yesterday the girl was sad, now however she laughs with her brother.

Heri means yesterday. It is an adverb, not a noun or an adjective, so it does not change its form (it has no cases, gender, or number). It simply modifies the verb fuit by telling us when the girl was sad.

Why is there no separate word for she in the Latin sentence?

Latin usually does not use subject pronouns like she / he / it unless it wants to emphasize them.

The ending -t on fuit and ridet already tells us the subject is 3rd person singular (he/she/it).
The noun puella is in the nominative case, so it is the subject.

So Latin understands puella … fuit and puella … ridet without needing an extra pronoun. If you wanted to emphasize it, you could add ea (she), but it is not needed here.

Why is puella in that form, and what role does it play in the sentence?

Puella is nominative singular feminine, the basic dictionary form. The nominative is used mainly for the subject of a verb.

Here, puella is the subject of both verbs:

puella tristis fuit – the girl was sad
(puella) … ridet – (the girl) laughs

The subject is only written once, but it logically applies to both clauses.

Why is tristis in that form, and why does it follow puella?

Tristis is an adjective meaning sad. Here it is:

nominative singular feminine, agreeing with puella in gender, number, and case.

In this sentence it is a predicate adjective (used with fuit, a form of to be, to describe the subject):

puella tristis fuit – the girl was sad

Adjectives can come before or after the noun in Latin. As a predicate adjective, tristis often follows the verb or the noun it describes, but word order is quite flexible.

What is the difference between fuit and erat, and why is fuit used here?

Both are forms of to be, 3rd person singular:

fuit – perfect tense: he/she/it was (viewed as a completed state in the past)
erat – imperfect tense: he/she/it was / used to be / was being (a continuing or repeated state in the past)

Using fuit suggests her sadness is treated as a finished state in the past:

Heri puella tristis fuit – Yesterday the girl was (and is now no longer) sad.

If you said Heri puella tristis erat, you would describe her state in the past more as a background or ongoing situation, less strongly marked as “over and done with.” Both can be correct, but they carry slightly different aspectual nuances.

What does tamen mean, and why does it stand after nunc?

Tamen means however / nevertheless. It signals a contrast with what came before (yesterday she was sad, now things are different).

In classical Latin, tamen is often post‑positive: it tends to come second in its clause rather than first. So we often see patterns like:

nunc tamen – now, however
ille tamen – he, however

Putting tamen after nunc is very natural Latin word order.

Why is fratre in that form, and what does cum fratre mean grammatically?

Fratre is the ablative singular of frater, fratris (brother).

The preposition cum (with) normally takes the ablative case, so:

frater (nominative, subject)
fratrem (accusative, object)
fratre (ablative, with cum) → with (her) brother

Thus cum fratre literally means with (her) brother, functioning as an adverbial phrase telling us with whom she is laughing.

Why is it suo fratre and not eius fratre? What is the difference between suo and eius?

Both suo and eius can be translated his / her / its, but they are used differently:

suo, sua, suum is a reflexive possessive: it refers back to the subject of the clause.
eius refers to someone else, not the subject.

Here, the subject is puella.

cum fratre suo means with her own brother (the girl’s brother).
cum fratre eius would normally mean with her brother where her refers to another person, not the girl who is laughing.

Also, suo is ablative singular masculine, agreeing in gender, number, and case with fratre.

Why is ridet present tense when the English translation is is laughing?

Latin has one simple present tense that covers both:

she laughs
she is laughing

So ridet can be translated either as laughs or is laughing, depending on what sounds more natural in English. Latin does not have a separate continuous form like is laughing; the context decides.

Could the word order be different, for example Heri puella fuit tristis, nunc cum fratre suo tamen ridet?

Yes. Latin word order is flexible, because the endings show each word’s function. Changing the order often affects emphasis or style, not the basic meaning.

For example:

Heri puella tristis fuit, nunc tamen cum fratre suo ridet.
Heri tristis puella fuit, nunc cum fratre suo tamen ridet.

Both are understandable. The original order is smooth and quite natural, but Latin allows re‑arrangement to highlight different parts of the sentence (e.g. moving tamen closer to what you want to contrast, putting tristis earlier for emphasis on her sadness, etc.).