Puer timidus cum matre in villa dormit.

in

Breakdown of Puer timidus cum matre in villa dormit.

• villa: the villa
• mater: the mother
• cum: with

Questions & Answers about Puer timidus cum matre in villa dormit.

What does timidus mean here, and is it more like afraid or shy?

Timidus is an adjective meaning timid, fearful, or shy.
In this context it describes the boy’s character or emotional state.

Depending on the wider context, you could translate it as:

• a timid boy
• a frightened boy
• a shy boy

Latin leaves some of that nuance to context; timidus just says he is not brave/confident.

Which word does timidus go with, and how can I tell?

Timidus agrees with puer.

You can tell because in Latin an adjective must match its noun in:

• Gender – both are masculine.
• Number – both are singular.
• Case – both are nominative (subject form).

So puer timidus means the timid boy.
If timidus were describing another noun, it would match that noun’s gender/number/case instead.

How do I know that puer is the subject of the sentence?

In Latin, the subject is usually:

• In the nominative case
• Often near the beginning of the sentence (though word order is flexible)

Puer is nominative singular and is not governed by a preposition like or , so it functions as the subject.The verb (he/she/it sleeps) then tells you what the boy is doing.