Learn Hardcore Latin: Mater aures pueri videt et dicit: "Aures tuae purae sunt." - Mother sees the boy's ears and says: "Your ears are clean."

mater is the subject of the verb videt. It is in the nominative singular (the form used for the subject).
aures is the direct object of videt (the thing being seen). It is in the accusative plural.
pueri is in the genitive singular, meaning “of the boy”. It depends on aures, giving “the ears of the boy”.

So the structure is: Mater (subject) aures (object) pueri (genitive, “of the boy”) videt (verb) = The mother sees the boy’s ears.

How do we know pueri is genitive singular (“of the boy”) and not nominative plural (“the boys”)?

The form pueri can be either:

nominative plural: the boys
genitive singular: of the boy

Here it must be genitive singular because:

The verb videt is 3rd person singular: she/he/it sees.
- If pueri were nominative plural (“the boys”), the verb would normally be vident (3rd plural), not videt.
aures pueri is a very common Latin pattern: noun + genitive = “the ears of the boy”.

So grammar and sense both favor genitive singular: “of the boy.”

Why is mater in the form mater and not matrem?

Latin uses different endings for different grammatical roles:

mater is the nominative singular, used for the subject of the sentence.
matrem is the accusative singular, used for a direct object.

In Mater aures pueri videt, mater is the one doing the action (seeing), so it must be nominative: “The mother sees …”, not “(Someone) sees the mother …”.

Is the word order Mater aures pueri videt fixed, or could it be rearranged?

The word order in Latin is flexible, because the endings show who is doing what. You could see:

Mater aures pueri videt
Mater pueri aures videt
Aures pueri mater videt

All can mean “The mother sees the boy’s ears.”

Latin often puts the verb at the end, and it’s common for a genitive like pueri to follow the noun it belongs to (aures), but the meaning comes primarily from the endings, not the position.

In Aures tuae purae sunt, what cases and genders are aures, tuae, and purae, and how do they agree?

aures is nominative plural, and its noun auris is feminine (3rd declension). Here it is the subject: “(The) ears …”
tuae is nominative feminine plural, agreeing with aures (your ears).
purae is also nominative feminine plural, again agreeing with aures (clean).

Latin adjectives must agree with the noun they describe in gender, number, and case, so we get:

aures (fem. nom. pl.)
tuae (fem. nom. pl.)
purae (fem. nom. pl.)

Taken together: “Your ears are clean.”

Why is tuae feminine plural when it refers to a boy (who is male)?

Adjectives in Latin agree with the grammatical gender of the noun they modify, not with the sex of the person who owns it.

The owner is a boy (masculine), but the noun is aurēs, from auris, which is feminine.
So the possessive adjective must be feminine plural to match aures: tuae (not tui or tuoi, etc.).

So tuae means “your” in the sense of “belonging to you”, but its form is determined by aurēs (feminine plural), not by the boy’s sex.

In Aures tuae purae sunt, which word is the subject, and could the word order be changed?

Aures is the subject: “(The) ears …”
sunt is the verb: “are.”
tuae purae are adjectives describing aures: “your”, “clean.”

The basic sense is: “Your ears are clean.”

Latin allows you to change the order without changing the core meaning:

Aures tuae purae sunt
Aures purae tuae sunt
Tuae aures purae sunt
Purae sunt aures tuae, etc.

All are possible; Latin relies on endings rather than strict word order.

Why does purae sunt come at the end? Could it be sunt purae?

Yes, you could also say Aures tuae sunt purae. Both are correct.

Latin often places the form of “to be” (sum, esse) toward the end of the clause, but this is a stylistic preference, not a rule.
purae sunt and sunt purae are both grammatically fine; the endings already make the relationships clear.

So Aures tuae purae sunt and Aures tuae sunt purae both mean “Your ears are clean.”

Why do videt and dicit both have the same ending -t, and who is their subject?

The ending -t is the 3rd person singular present tense in Latin:

videt = he/she/it sees
dicit = he/she/it says

The subject is mater, and it is shared by both verbs:

Mater … videt et dicit …
The mother sees and says …

Latin normally does not repeat the subject if it remains the same, so one nominative mater serves for both videt and dicit.

Are there any articles like “the” or “a” in this Latin sentence?

No. Classical Latin has no separate words for “the” or “a/an.” Those ideas are supplied by context.

So:

mater can be read as “a mother” or “the mother.”
aures can be “ears”, “the ears”, or “(some) ears.”

In your sentence, natural English chooses “The mother sees the boy’s ears and says: ‘Your ears are clean.’”, but Latin doesn’t mark the definiteness explicitly.

Could the Latin for “the boy’s ears” be written another way, like pueri aures instead of aures pueri?

Yes, pueri aures is also possible, because word order is flexible. But:

The common and very natural pattern is head noun + genitive: aures pueri (“ears of the boy”).
pueri aures tends to sound more marked, as if you were stressing “the boy’s” in contrast to someone else’s, though context matters.

So aures pueri is the most straightforward and idiomatic way to say “the boy’s ears.”

What’s going on with the colon and quotation marks: dicit: "Aures tuae purae sunt."? Is that how Latin normally shows direct speech?

In ancient Latin manuscripts, punctuation and quotation marks were not used like this. Modern editors add them to make texts easier to read.

The verb of speaking (dicit) introduces the direct speech.
The colon and quotation marks are modern editorial conventions indicating “now someone is speaking directly.”

So dicit: "Aures tuae purae sunt." = “she says: ‘Your ears are clean.’” in modern printed Latin, but the underlying Latin grammar is just dicit followed by a clause that gives the words spoken.