Mater pecuniam numerat et piscem emere vult.

Mother counts the money and wants to buy fish.

Breakdown of Mater pecuniam numerat et piscem emere vult.

• et: and
• mater: the mother
• velle: to want
• piscis: the fish
• pecunia: the money
• numerare: to count
• emere: to buy

Questions & Answers about Mater pecuniam numerat et piscem emere vult.

In English we say “is counting” vs “counts”. Does mater pecuniam numerat mean “The mother counts the money” or “The mother is counting the money”?

Latin present tense usually covers both English uses:

• Mater pecuniam numerat can be:
  • The mother counts the money. (general/habitual)
  • The mother is counting the money. (right now)

Context decides which English translation is better; the Latin form itself is the same.

Why is mater and not something like la mater or the mater? Where is the in Latin?

Latin has no words for “the” or “a/an”.

• Mater simply means “mother”.
• Whether we translate it as “the mother” or “a mother” depends on context in English, not on any special Latin word.

So mater pecuniam numerat = “The mother counts the money” or “A mother counts the money” depending on the situation.

What case is mater, and what does that tell us?

Mater is in the nominative singular.

• The nominative is the normal case for the subject of the sentence.
• So mater is the one doing the actions numerat (counts) and vult (wants).

Grammatically:

• mater = subject → the mother acts.

Why does pecuniam end in -am instead of just pecunia?

Pecunia is a first-declension noun.

• Pecunia = nominative singular (“money” as a subject)
• Pecuniam = accusative singular (“money” as a direct object)

In this sentence, pecuniam is what is being counted, so it must be in the accusative (direct object) case:

• Mater pecuniam numerat = The mother counts (what?) → the money.

What exactly is the difference between pecunia and pecuniam?

Both forms refer to “money”, but their grammatical role is different:

• Pecunia (nominative singular): used for the subject.
  • Pecunia est bona. → Money is good.
• Pecuniam (accusative singular): used for the direct object.
  • Mater pecuniam numerat. → The mother counts the money.

So the ending changes according to function in the sentence, not meaning.

What form is numerat, and what does its ending tell us?

Numerat is:

• 3rd person singular
• present tense
• active voice
• from the verb numero, numerare = to count

Its ending -at (in the 1st conjugation) tells us:

• who is doing the action: he/she/it or “the mother” (3rd person singular)
• when: present time.

So numerat = “he/she/it counts” or “is counting”.

What does et do in this sentence? Is it joining verbs, nouns, or whole clauses?

Et means “and” and here it connects two verbs/clauses that share the same subject:

• Mater pecuniam numerat
  et
  (mater) piscem emere vult.

The subject mater is understood for both verbs. So et is linking:

1. counts the money
2. wants to buy a fish

into a single sentence: The mother counts the money and wants to buy a fish.

What form is vult, and why is it not just volat or something closer to volo?

Vult is:

• 3rd person singular
• present tense
• from the irregular verb volo, velle, volui = to want / wish

Irregular verbs don’t always form their present endings in a predictable way, so we get:

• volo = I want
• vis = you want
• vult = he/she/it wants

So mater … vult = the mother wants.

Why is emere used instead of a normal finite verb like emit? Where is the “to” in “to buy”?

Emere is the present infinitive of emo, emere, emi, emptum = to buy.

• Latin infinitives correspond to English “to _” forms:
  • emere = to buy

After vult (wants), Latin normally uses an infinitive:

• mater piscem emere vult
  = the mother wants to buy a fish

Latin does not add a separate word for “to” before infinitives; the infinitive ending -re already expresses that idea.

Who is the subject of emere? Is it written anywhere?

The subject of the infinitive emere is the same as the subject of vult, unless the sentence says otherwise.

• Mater … piscem emere vult literally:
  The mother wants (she) to buy a fish.

Latin does not normally express that “she” explicitly here; it’s understood from the context:

• Subject of vult = mater
• That same mater is understood as the one who emere (buys).

Why is it piscem instead of piscis? What case is piscem?

Piscis, piscis (m.) = fish is a 3rd-declension noun.

• Piscis = nominative singular (subject)
• Piscem = accusative singular (direct object)

In piscem emere vult, the fish is what she wants to buy, so it is a direct object and must be in the accusative:

• (She wants) to buy what? → piscem.

Is piscem singular or plural? How would I say “wants to buy fishes” or “some fish”?

Piscem is singular accusative: “a/the fish.”

For plural, you would use piscēs in the accusative:

• piscēs emere vult = she wants to buy fish / fishes.

Latin has no word for “a” or “some” either, so:

• piscem emere vult can be translated as
  • wants to buy a fish
  • wants to buy one fish

Context (and sometimes additional words) decides how we phrase it in English.

In English we distinguish “a fish” vs “the fish”. How do we know which one piscem means?

Latin does not mark “a” vs “the”. Piscem is simply “fish” in the accusative singular.

You choose the English article based on context:

• If the fish has not been mentioned before: usually “a fish”.
• If both speakers know which fish: “the fish.”

Latin leaves that detail to context, not to grammar.

Why is the order mater pecuniam numerat instead of mater numerat pecuniam? Does word order matter?

Latin word order is fairly flexible because the endings show the roles.

Both are grammatically correct:

• Mater pecuniam numerat
• Mater numerat pecuniam

Latin often likes verb-final order (… numerat at the end), but you can move words for emphasis or style. In such a short, simple sentence, there is no big difference in meaning, just a slight change of emphasis:

• Mater pecuniam numerat → maybe a tiny emphasis on pecuniam (“it’s the money she counts”).
• Mater numerat pecuniam → more neutral in feel to an English speaker.

Can I leave out mater and just say pecuniam numerat et piscem emere vult?

Yes, you can omit the subject pronoun or noun in Latin when the verb ending makes it clear.

• Numerat and vult are 3rd person singular, so you know the subject is he/she/it.
• If the identity of that person has already been mentioned or is obvious from context, you can drop mater.

So:

• Pecuniam numerat et piscem emere vult
  = She/he counts the money and wants to buy a fish.

If you want to stress “it’s the mother who does this”, or if it’s the first mention, you typically keep mater.

How would the sentence change if we wanted “The mothers count the money and want to buy a fish”?

You must make the subject plural and match the verbs:

• Matrēs pecuniam numerant et piscem emere volunt.

Changes:

• mater → matrēs (nominative plural)
• numerat → numerant (3rd person plural)
• vult → volunt (3rd person plural)

Pecuniam and piscem stay singular accusative unless you also want them plural.

How would I say “The mother was counting the money and wanted to buy a fish” or “will count … and will want …”?

You change the tense of the verbs:

Past (imperfect) – was counting / wanted

• Mater pecuniam numerābat et piscem emere volēbat.

Future – will count / will want

• Mater pecuniam numerābit et piscem emere volēt.

The infinitive emere stays the same; the tense is shown in numerabat / numerabit and volebat / volet, not in emere.