Mater respondet patri et dicit: "Puer foris currit."

the boy

Breakdown of Mater respondet patri et dicit: "Puer foris currit."

• et: and
• pater: the father
• mater: the mother

Questions & Answers about Mater respondet patri et dicit: "Puer foris currit."

Why is it patri and not patrem after respondet?

In Latin, respondeō (respond, answer) normally takes the dative case for the person you answer:

• respondēre alicuī = to answer someone (literally: to answer to someone)

So patrī is dative singular of pater (father), meaning “to the father.”

If you used patrem (accusative), it would sound wrong, because respondēre does not usually take an accusative object for the person answered.

What case are mater, patri, and puer, and what roles do they play?

• māter – nominative singular, subject of respondet and dicit.
• patrī – dative singular, indirect object of respondet: she answers to the father.
• puer – nominative singular, subject of currit in the quoted sentence.

So in simple terms:

• Mater does the actions “responds” and “says.”
• Patri is the one to whom she responds.
• Puer is the one who is running.

Why is it puer and not puerum?

Puer is the of the verb , so it must be in the .