Learn Hardcore Latin: Mater filiam vocat et dicit: "Veni huc, quaeso, et mihi veritatem dic." - Mother calls her daughter and says: "Come here, please, and tell me the truth."

mater ends in -er, here functioning as nominative singular (subject).
filiam ends in -am, which is accusative singular (direct object) of filia.

In a basic sentence, nominative = the doer, accusative = the one affected.
So mater (the mother) is doing the calling, and filiam (the daughter) is being called.

Why is it filiam and not filia?

Filia (daughter) is a first-declension noun:

filia = nominative singular (used for subject)
filiam = accusative singular (used for direct object)

Here the daughter is the object of vocat (calls), so the accusative is required: filiam.
If the daughter were the subject, you would see filia, not filiam.

What tense and person are vocat and dicit, and why is there no word for she?

Both verbs are:

vocat – 3rd person singular, present tense, “(he/she) calls”
dicit – 3rd person singular, present tense, “(he/she) says”

Latin normally does not need a separate subject pronoun like she, because the verb ending already tells you the person and number.
We know it means she (the mother) from the context: mater is the nominative noun in the sentence, so the verbs refer back to her.

Where is the word her in The mother calls her daughter? I only see mater filiam vocat.

Latin often leaves out possessive pronouns like my/your/his/her when the relationship is obvious from context.

mater filiam vocat literally: The mother calls the daughter.
In natural English we say: The mother calls her daughter.

If you wanted to be explicit in Latin, you could say:

mater filiam suam vocat – The mother calls her (own) daughter.

But since a mother–daughter relationship is clear, mater filiam vocat is usually understood as “The mother calls her daughter.”

What exactly are veni and dic?

They are imperatives, direct commands addressed to one person (singular):

veni – come! (2nd person singular imperative of venio, venire – to come)
dic – tell! / say! (2nd person singular imperative of dico, dicere – to say, tell)

So inside the quotation the mother is giving orders:

Veni huc – Come here
mihi veritatem dic – tell me the truth

How are the singular imperative forms like veni and dic formed from venire and dicere?

For most verbs, the 2nd person singular imperative is made from the verb’s present stem:

1st conjugation (like vocare): voca! (drop -re → voca)
2nd conjugation (like monere): mone!
3rd conjugation (like dicere): dic!
4th conjugation (like venire): veni!

So:

venire → veni!
dicere → dic!

That’s why we see veni and dic, not venire or dicere, in the command.

What is the difference between hic and huc? Why is it huc here?

Both are related to “here / this place”, but they show direction differently:

hic – here, in this place (no movement implied).
huc – to here, to this place (movement toward here).

In Veni huc, the mother is telling the daughter to move toward her, so huc (to here) is correct.
If she just described where she is, she might say something with hic (I am here).

What does quaeso mean, and is it just “please”?

Quaeso literally comes from a verb meaning “I ask / I beg”. In practice, it functions much like “please” in English.

In polite requests you often see:

Veni huc, quaeso – Come here, please.
Dic mihi, quaeso – Tell me, please.

It usually appears inside or near the request and softens the command.
So yes, in this kind of sentence you can safely read quaeso as “please.”

Why is it mihi veritatem dic and not me veritatem dic?

Because mihi is dative singular of ego (I), meaning “to me / for me”.

me = accusative, used for a direct object (someone directly affected by the verb)
mihi = dative, used for an indirect object (“to/for” someone)

In mihi veritatem dic:

veritatem (the truth) is the thing being told → direct object (accusative)
mihi (to me) is the person receiving the truth → indirect object (dative)

So the structure is: tell the truth to me → mihi veritatem dic.

Why is veritatem in that form, and what case is it?

Veritas, veritatis (truth) is a third-declension feminine noun.

Its key forms:

veritas – nominative singular (subject)
veritatem – accusative singular (direct object)

In mihi veritatem dic, veritatem is the direct object of dic (tell what? → the truth), so the accusative is used: veritatem.

What is et doing in this sentence? It appears twice.

Et normally means “and”, and here it links both verbs and commands:

mater filiam vocat et dicit
- vocat et dicit = calls and says
- et joins two actions done by the mother.
Inside the speech: Veni huc, quaeso, et mihi veritatem dic.
- Veni huc … et … dic = Come here … and tell me the truth.
- et links two imperatives, two things the mother wants the daughter to do.

So in both places, et coordinates two closely related actions.

Why does the verb dic come at the end of mihi veritatem dic? Could the word order change?

Latin word order is flexible, and verbs very often appear at the end of a clause or sentence. That’s what you see here:

mihi – to me (indirect object)
veritatem – the truth (direct object)
dic – tell (verb)

Other orders are possible and still grammatical, for example:

dic mihi veritatem
veritatem mihi dic

All of these would normally mean “tell me the truth.”
Latin relies heavily on endings, not word order, to show who is doing what.

How is direct speech shown in Latin in dicit: Veni huc, quaeso, et mihi veritatem dic?

In this example:

dicit = she says
Then a colon and quotation mark indicate that the exact words follow.

Historically, classical Latin manuscripts didn’t use modern punctuation and quotation marks the way we do. But in modern textbooks and editions, it is normal to show direct speech with:

a verb of speaking (like dicit, inquit),
then punctuation (colon, sometimes a dash),
then the spoken words in quotation marks.

So, dicit: Veni huc, quaeso, et mihi veritatem dic is just the modern, learner‑friendly way of showing:

She says: Come here, please, and tell me the truth.