Learn Hardcore Latin: Puella matrem rogat: "Quando fenestram aperies, et ubi avia cantabit?" - The girl asks mother: "When will you open the window, and where will grandmother sing?"

Puella is nominative singular: it is the subject of rogat – the girl is doing the asking.
Matrem is accusative singular of mater (“mother”): it is the direct object, the one being asked.

The verb rogare usually takes the person asked in the accusative:

Puella matrem rogat = The girl asks (her) mother.

So matrem must be accusative, not dative (matri) or nominative (mater).

What exactly does rogat mean here, and what is its tense and person?

Rogat is 3rd person singular, present tense, active, from rogo, rogare.
It means “asks” or “is asking”.

So Puella matrem rogat can be understood as:

The girl asks her mother / The girl is asking her mother.

Latin has only one present tense here, and English can translate it with either a simple present (“asks”) or progressive (“is asking”), depending on context.

Why is the thing she asks put in direct speech (“Quando fenestram aperies, et ubi avia cantabit?”) instead of using a Latin indirect question?

Latin allows both:

Direct question (as in your sentence):
- Puella matrem rogat: Quando fenestram aperies…?
- Literally: The girl asks her mother: When will you open the window, and where will grandmother sing?
Indirect question (embedded under rogat):
- Puella matrem rogat quando fenestram aperiat et ubi avia cantatura sit.
  (One possible way; there are several stylistic options.)
- Literally: The girl asks her mother when she will open the window and where grandmother will sing.

Your sentence uses direct speech because it presents the exact words of the girl’s question, as if quoted. That is very common in narrative Latin: verb of speaking + colon (or comma) + direct quotation.

What is the case and function of fenestram, and why is it not fenestra?

Fenestram is accusative singular of fenestra (“window”).
It is the direct object of aperies: you will open the window.

Latin:

fenestra (nominative) = window as subject
fenestram (accusative) = window as object

In quando fenestram aperies?:

aperies = you will open
fenestram = what will you open? → the window → accusative.

Why is avia in the nominative, and how is it functioning in ubi avia cantabit?

Avia is nominative singular of avia (“grandmother, granny”).
In ubi avia cantabit?, avia is the subject of the verb cantabit.

So the clause literally is:

ubi = where
avia = grandmother (subject)
cantabit = will sing

→ Where will grandmother sing?

What are the forms aperies and cantabit exactly (tense, person, number), and why are they future?

Aperies:
- Verb: aperio, aperire (“to open”)
- Form: 2nd person singular future active indicative
- Meaning: you will open
Cantabit:
- Verb: canto, cantare (“to sing”)
- Form: 3rd person singular future active indicative
- Meaning: she will sing (here: grandmother will sing)

They are future because the questions clearly concern future actions:

When will you open the window?
Where will grandmother sing?

Latin shows the future explicitly in the verb endings:

aperi‑es → “you will open”
canta‑bit → “he/she/it will sing”

Why is there no explicit word for “you” in quando fenestram aperies?

Latin usually omits subject pronouns (like I, you, he, she), because the person and number are already shown in the verb ending.

aperies has the ending ‑es, which marks 2nd person singular in the future.
So aperies means “you will open” by itself; there is no need to add tu.

If you add the pronoun, tu fenestram aperies, it can add emphasis:

YOU will open the window (as opposed to someone else).

What do quando and ubi mean here, and what kind of words are they?

Quando = when?
Here it is an interrogative adverb of time, introducing a direct question about time.
Ubi = where? (in this context)
Here it is an interrogative adverb of place, introducing a direct question about location.

Both stand at the beginning of their clauses, which is very typical in Latin direct questions:

Quando fenestram aperies? = When will you open the window?
Ubi avia cantabit? = Where will grandmother sing?

Is et joining one long question or two separate questions? How should we understand the structure?

Grammatically, et is coordinating two direct questions that share the same overall context (the girl’s request):

Quando fenestram aperies?
Ubi avia cantabit?

They are joined in one sentence with et:

When will you open the window, *and where will grandmother sing?*

In stricter punctuation, you could write:

Puella matrem rogat: “Quando fenestram aperies? Et ubi avia cantabit?”

But Latin often leaves them under one question mark when they form a natural pair. The important point is that et is simply coordinating two clauses, both interrogative.

Could this be written as an indirect question instead of a direct one? How would that change the grammar?

Yes. An indirect question would embed the questions into a clause dependent on rogat, and the verbs in the questions would usually move into the subjunctive. For example:

Puella matrem rogat quando fenestram aperitura sit et ubi avia cantatura sit.

Possible sense:

The girl asks her mother *when she is going to open the window and where grandmother is going to sing.*

Main differences:

No colon or quotation marks; everything is under rogat.
Verbs in the question clauses are subjunctive in classical Latin indirect questions.
The English translation often uses when / where
- a clause (no question word order):
  - She asks when you will open…, not She asks when will you open…

Is the word order fixed, or could we rearrange it, for example Quando aperies fenestram, et ubi cantabit avia?

Latin word order is fairly flexible, so your rearrangement is possible:

Quando aperies fenestram, et ubi cantabit avia?

This is still good Latin. The basic information remains:

quando and ubi at the start of their clauses (typical for questions),
verb and subject/object can switch positions fairly freely.

Possible variants:

Quando fenestram aperies, et ubi cantabit avia?
Quando fenestram aperies, et ubi avia cantabit?
Quando aperies fenestram, et ubi avia cantabit?

They are all understandable. Changes in order can slightly affect emphasis, but not the basic meaning.

Why is a colon used after rogat, and how does Latin typically show direct speech?

Classical Latin manuscripts didn’t use modern punctuation, but in printed texts we normally show direct speech this way:

[Verb of speaking] + colon (or comma) + the spoken words, often in quotation marks.

So:

Puella matrem rogat: Quando fenestram aperies, et ubi avia cantabit?

Means:

The girl asks her mother: When will you open the window, and where will grandmother sing?

You will often see:

inquit, dixit, rogavit, etc., followed by a colon or comma and then the spoken words.
Quotation marks and exact punctuation are modern editorial choices; they’re not “grammar rules” of ancient Latin, but they help us read the text.

Why is there no ‑ne on any verb to mark a yes/no question?

The particle ‑ne is used in Latin to mark yes/no questions, typically attached to the first word of the sentence, often the verb:

Vides‑ne fenestram? = Do you see the window?

But your sentence does not ask yes/no questions. It asks “information questions” introduced by interrogative adverbs:

Quando = when?
Ubi = where?

In such cases, quando and ubi already show that the clause is a question, so ‑ne is not used.