Mater autem dicit: "Noli ianuam claudere, quia hospes intus manet."

Mother, however, says: "Do not close the door, because the guest is staying inside."

Breakdown of Mater autem dicit: "Noli ianuam claudere, quia hospes intus manet."

• mater: the mother
• manere: to stay
• dicere: to say
• quia: because
• claudere: to close
• intus: inside
• ianua: the door
• hospes: the guest
• nolle: to not want
• autem: however

Questions & Answers about Mater autem dicit: "Noli ianuam claudere, quia hospes intus manet."

What does noli ianuam claudere literally mean, and why does it translate as “don’t close the door”?

Noli is the singular imperative of nolo, nolle = to be unwilling / to not want.

• Literally, noli ianuam claudere = “be unwilling to close the door” or “do not want to close the door.”
• In Latin, noli + infinitive is the normal way to give a negative command to one person: “don’t do X.”

So idiomatically, noli ianuam claudere is understood as “don’t close the door.”

How would I say “Don’t close the door” to more than one person?

For addressing more than one person, use the plural imperative of nolo:

• Nolite ianuam claudere. = “Don’t close the door (you all).”

So:

• Singular: noli ianuam claudere
• Plural: nolite ianuam claudere

Why is it ianuam and not ianua?

Ianua, -ae (f.) = door.

• Ianua is nominative singular: a/the door as subject.
• Ianuam is accusative singular: a/the door as direct object.

In this sentence, the door is what is being closed:

• claudere ianuam = to close the door → door = direct object → accusative, so ianuam.

What is going on grammatically with claudere?

Claudere is the present active infinitive of claudo, claudere = to close.

In noli ianuam claudere:

• noli = don’t / be unwilling (imperative)
• claudere = to close (infinitive, the action being forbidden)

Together they function as a negative imperative: “don’t close (the door).”

What does autem mean, and why is it in second position?

Autem is a conjunction often translated as “but,” “however,” or sometimes just a gentle “and” with contrast.

• It very often appears in second position in its clause, not at the start like English but.
• So Mater autem dicit literally looks like “Mother, however, says…”

That second-position placement is normal and idiomatic for words like autem, enim, quoque, tamen, etc.

What does quia mean here? Could I also use quod?

Quia is a conjunction meaning “because.”

• quia hospes intus manet = “because the guest stays/is staying inside.”

In Classical-style Latin, both quia and quod can mean “because.”
There are some stylistic and author-dependent preferences, but in a sentence like this, quia is perfectly normal, and quod would also be understandable as “because.”

What is hospes exactly, and what gender is it?

Hospes, hospitis (m./f.) is a 3rd-declension noun meaning:

• guest, visitor, sometimes host (context decides)

In this sentence:

• hospes is nominative singular → it’s the subject of manet.
• Its natural gender depends on the person: it can be masculine or feminine. Latin here doesn’t force that choice; context would tell you.

What is intus? Is it a preposition?

Intus is an adverb, not a preposition. It means “inside, within, indoors.”

• hospes intus manet = “the guest stays inside.”

Because it’s an adverb, it does not govern a case and doesn’t have endings—you don’t say intum or inta etc. It just modifies the verb manet, telling where the guest stays.

Why is the verb manet at the end of the clause?

Latin word order is much freer than English. A very common default pattern is:

• Subject – Other elements – Verb (SOV)

So:

• hospes (subject)
• intus (adverb)
• manet (verb)

= “the guest stays inside.”

Putting manet at the end is normal and often stylistically preferred; Latin relies more on endings than on word position to show who is doing what.

Does manet mean “stays” or “is staying”? How precise is the tense?

Manet is present tense of maneo, manere = to remain, stay.

Latin present can cover several English nuances:

• He stays inside.
• He is staying inside.
• Even He does stay inside (emphatic).

Context decides which English form sounds best. There is no special progressive form (is staying) in Latin; manet covers it.

Why is Mater capitalized, and what case is it?

Grammatically:

• Mater is nominative singular of mater, matris (f.) = mother.
• It is the subject of dicit → “the mother says.”

As for capitalization:

• In Classical Latin manuscripts, capitalization rules were different.
• In modern printed Latin texts, capitalizing Mater when it’s being used like a proper name (e.g., “Mother says…”) is quite common and imitates English style.

So it’s more a typographical choice than a grammatical one.

How is the direct speech structured in Latin here? Do they use colons and quotation marks like English?

The structure is:

• Mater autem dicit: → introductory clause, “But the mother says:”
• Then the words actually spoken: Noli ianuam claudere, quia hospes intus manet.

In ancient Latin manuscripts:

• You don’t usually see modern quotation marks.
• Direct speech might be signaled by a change of line, a dash-like mark, or just by context.

Modern editors often use:

• A colon after verbs of saying (dicit:)
• And quotation marks just as in English.

So the punctuation here is modern convention, but the syntax—verb of saying + direct quote—is true to Latin usage.

Could this sentence be worded differently in Latin without changing the basic meaning?

Yes. Because Latin has flexible word order, several rearrangements are possible, for example:

• Mater dicit autem: Noli ianuam claudere, quia hospes intus manet. (less elegant, but understandable)
• Mater autem dicit: Ianuam noli claudere, quia hospes intus manet. (emphasizing the door)
• Mater autem dicit: Noli claudere ianuam, quia hospes intus manet.

All still mean essentially “But the mother says: Don’t close the door, because the guest stays inside.”
The differences are mostly about rhythm and emphasis, not about core meaning.