Learn Hardcore Latin: Avia, quae puellam amat, capillos pueri spectat et oculos eius laudat. - The grandmother, who loves the girl, looks at the boy's hair and praises his eyes.

It is nominative singular feminine, because:
- It names the one doing the actions.
- It agrees in person/number with spectat and laudat (3rd person singular).

So: Avia … spectat et … laudat = The grandmother looks at … and praises …

What does quae refer to, and why is it in that form?

Quae is a relative pronoun meaning who (or who/which). It:

Refers back to avia (the grandmother).
Is feminine, singular, nominative to match avia:
- Feminine: because avia is feminine.
- Singular: because there is one grandmother.
- Nominative: because quae is the subject of amat (loves).

So Avia, quae puellam amat, … = The grandmother, who loves the girl, …

In quae puellam amat, who loves whom, and how do we know?

Quae is the subject of amat (loves).
Puellam is accusative singular, so it is the direct object.

Therefore:

Quae = she (the grandmother).
Puellam = the girl (object).

Meaning: who (she) loves the girl — the grandmother loves the girl, not the other way round.

Why is puellam in the accusative case?

Puellam is accusative singular because it is the direct object of amat (loves).

In Latin:

The subject takes the nominative.
The direct object usually takes the accusative.

So quae (nominative) does the loving, and puellam (accusative) receives the action of loving.

Why is it capillos pueri and not capillos puerum?

Capillos pueri literally means the hair of the boy or the boy’s hair.

Capillos = accusative plural (direct object of spectat).
Pueri = genitive singular, showing possession (of the boy).

If you wrote puerum, that would be accusative singular and would look like another direct object. Here we don’t mean she looks at the boy’s hair and the boy, but she looks at the boy’s hair; the pueri is only possessive.

How do I know pueri is genitive singular and not nominative plural?

Forms in -ī in the second declension can be:

Nominative plural (boys),
Or genitive singular (of the boy).

Here, context shows it is genitive:

It stands right after capillos and fits the pattern noun + noun in genitive = possession.
The sense hair of the boy is natural.
A nominative plural subject pueri would clash with avia as the subject, and the verb would more likely be plural if the boys were the subject.

So pueri here = of the boy.

Why is capillos plural? In English we often say “hair” as a mass noun.

Latin commonly uses the plural capilli, capillōrum for what English usually treats as uncountable hair.

Capillos = accusative plural: the (individual) hairs / the hair.
It’s very normal Latin to speak of someone’s hair using capilli in the plural.

So capillos pueri spectat is naturally translated she looks at the boy’s hair, not necessarily individual hairs.

Why do we have oculos in the plural as well?

Oculos is the accusative plural of oculus (eye), so oculos eius laudat = she praises his eyes.

Each person normally has two eyes, so Latin (like English) uses the plural (eyes).
Grammatically it matches capillos: both are accusative plural direct objects of their verbs (spectat and laudat).

Why is it eius and not suos? What’s the difference?

Both eius and suos can be translated as his/her/their, but they work differently:

Eius:
- Is a regular (non-reflexive) possessive.
- Refers to someone else in the context, not the subject of the clause.
- It does not change for gender (same form for his / her / its in singular).
Suus, sua, suum:
- Is reflexive possessive.
- Refers back to the subject of the same clause.

In oculos eius laudat, the subject is avia.

If we said oculos suos laudat, it would normally mean she (the grandmother) praises *her own eyes*.
With oculos eius laudat, it means she praises someone else’s eyes (here, the boy’s).

So eius avoids saying she is praising her own eyes.

To whom does eius actually refer here: the girl or the boy?

Grammatically, eius is:

Genitive singular of is, ea, id, meaning of him / of her / of it.
It doesn’t show gender, so it could in theory refer to either puella (the girl) or puer (the boy).

We work it out by context:

We just mentioned capillos pueri (the boy’s hair).
Then immediately: et oculos eius laudat — and she praises his/her eyes.
The most natural reading is that eius refers to pueri, continuing the focus on the boy’s features: the boy’s hair and his eyes.

So in context, eius = his (the boy’s).

Why is the word order capillos pueri spectat et oculos eius laudat? Could the order be different?

Latin word order is quite flexible. The chosen order:

Groups capillos pueri (the boy’s hair) together.
Groups oculos eius (his eyes) together.
Puts verbs spectat and laudat at the end of each phrase, which is a common Latin pattern.

Many rearrangements are possible and still correct, for example:

Avia capillos pueri spectat et eius oculos laudat.
Avia spectat capillos pueri et laudat oculos eius.

The core grammar (cases and endings) carries the meaning; word order mostly affects emphasis and style.