Learn Hardcore Latin: Puer sororem rogat: "Quando cum amicis in horto ridebimus?" - The boy asks his sister: "When will we laugh with friends in the garden?"

puer – nominative singular: the subject, the one doing the asking (the boy).
sororem – accusative singular: the object, the one being asked (his sister).

So Puer sororem rogat literally means The boy asks (his) sister.

Latin relies mainly on case endings (nominative, accusative, etc.) to show who does what to whom.
Word order can change for emphasis, so both Puer sororem rogat and Puer rogat sororem mean the same thing; the endings, not the position, tell you the roles.

Why is there no word for his or his own before sororem?

Latin often leaves out possessive adjectives (like his, her, their) when it is obvious from context whose relative is meant.

sororem by itself can mean (his) sister / (her) sister / (their) sister, depending on who the subject is.
Because the subject is puer (the boy), the natural reading is his sister.

If Latin wants to emphasize or contrast the possessive, it can add suam:

Puer suam sororem rogat – The boy asks his own sister (as opposed to someone else’s).

But in a neutral sentence like this, sororem alone is perfectly normal.

What tense and person is ridebimus, and how is it formed?

ridebimus is:

1st person plural – subject we.
Future active indicative – we will laugh.

It comes from the verb rideo, ridēre, risi, risum (to laugh, smile).

Formation (for regular 2nd-conjugation verbs like rideo):

Future stem: rideb-
Ending for 1st person plural future: -imus
rideb-
- -imus → ridebimus (we will laugh)

How do I know that the subject of ridebimus is we, and who is included in that we?

Latin usually omits subject pronouns like ego (I) and nos (we), because the verb ending already shows the person and number.

-mus ending → we (1st person plural).
So ridebimus by itself means we will laugh.

Who is included in we is decided by the context:

The speaker is the boy.
He is talking to his sister.
The question mentions friends (amicis).

So we most naturally means: the boy + his sister + (probably) some or all of the friends. Latin does not spell that out; it just leaves it to context.

Why is amicis in the ablative case with cum?

The preposition cum (with) in the sense of together with (a person) takes the ablative case.

amicus (friend) → amicis in the plural ablative.
cum amicis = with (our/the) friends.

This is the standard ablative of accompaniment:
cum amico – with a (my) friend
cum amicis – with (our) friends

Note that with personal pronouns, cum often comes after the pronoun:

mecum – with me
tecum – with you
nobiscum – with us

But with nouns like amicis, the normal order is cum amicis.

Why is it in horto and not in hortum?

Latin in can take either ablative or accusative, with a difference in meaning:

in + ablative → in, on, at (location, where something is).
in + accusative → into, onto (motion toward, where something is going).

Here we have in horto:

horto is ablative singular → in the garden (location).
The meaning is in the garden, not into the garden.

Compare:

In horto sedemus. – We are sitting in the garden. (no movement)
In hortum currimus. – We run into the garden. (movement toward)

Why does the question use quando instead of cum to mean when?

Latin has two main words that can correspond to English when:

quando – an interrogative adverb meaning when?
Used in direct and indirect questions:
- Quando venies? – When will you come?
- Rogo quando venias. – I ask when you will come.
cum – a conjunction meaning when, since, although (depending on context).
It introduces a clause, but not a direct question:
- Cum venies, gaudebo. – When you come, I will be glad.

In our sentence, we have a question:

Quando cum amicis in horto ridebimus? – When shall we laugh with friends in the garden?

Because this is a direct question, quando is the correct choice.
Using cum here would be wrong, because cum does not form direct questions.

Can the word order in Quando cum amicis in horto ridebimus? be changed, and does it change the meaning?

Yes, Latin word order is fairly flexible, and the core meaning does not change, as long as the endings stay the same.

You could see, for example:

Quando ridebimus cum amicis in horto?
Cum amicis in horto quando ridebimus?
Ridebimusne cum amicis in horto quando? (more unusual, but possible for special emphasis)

Typical patterns:

In many simple questions, Latin likes the verb at the end, as in our sentence.
Moving a word forward (toward the beginning) often gives it more emphasis.

So:

Quando cum amicis in horto ridebimus? – neutral, normal.
Cum amicis in horto quando ridebimus? – slight emphasis on with friends in the garden.

The grammatical relationships do not change; only the focus or emphasis may shift.

What exactly does rogat mean here, and how is it different from quaerit or interrogat?

In this sentence, rogat means (he) asks (someone a question).

Typical patterns:

rogo + accusative (person)
Puer sororem rogat. – The boy asks his sister.
Often followed by direct speech or an indirect question.

quaero and interrogo are a bit different:

quaero = to seek, ask for, inquire
Often not followed directly by the person asked in the accusative; instead:
- quaero ab eo or quaero ex eo – I ask (it) from him.
- quaero quid facias – I ask what you are doing.
interrogo = to question, interrogate
Closer to to question (someone), sometimes implying more formal or intense questioning.

In Puer sororem rogat: …, the focus is simply on asking his sister, so rogat is the most natural choice.

Why is direct speech used (Puer sororem rogat: Quando cum amicis in horto ridebimus?) instead of an indirect question?

The sentence gives us the exact words of the boy’s question, as if we are hearing him speak. This is direct speech:

Puer sororem rogat: Quando cum amicis in horto ridebimus?
→ The boy asks his sister: When will we laugh with friends in the garden?

Latin can also use an indirect question, where the question is reported rather than quoted. Then you normally:

Drop the question mark and the direct-question word order.
Put the verb of the question into the subjunctive.

For example, with a present-time question:

Direct: Puer sororem rogat: Quando ridemus? – The boy asks his sister: When are we laughing?
Indirect: Puer sororem rogat quando rideant. – The boy asks his sister when they are laughing / when they laugh.

Handling future meanings in indirect questions (like ridebimus) is more advanced and often uses special constructions (future participles), so beginners usually first learn the pattern with present and past tenses.

In short, the text uses direct speech because it is simpler and shows the sister’s exact words as a quotation.

Why is there a colon after rogat?

The colon is a punctuation convention (a matter of modern editing), not a special Latin grammar rule.

It signals that what follows is:

A piece of direct speech (the exact words spoken).
Or some kind of explanation or elaboration of what comes before.

So:

Puer sororem rogat: Quando cum amicis in horto ridebimus?

means: The boy asks his sister: and then we see his actual question.

In ancient manuscripts, punctuation was very minimal or inconsistent; modern editors add things like colons, commas, and question marks to make the text easier to read.