Mater dicit ludum esse bonum, sed clamorem puerorum nimium esse, quia pueri diu non tacent.

Mother says the game is good, but that the noise of the boys is too much, because the boys do not keep quiet for a long time.

Breakdown of Mater dicit ludum esse bonum, sed clamorem puerorum nimium esse, quia pueri diu non tacent.

• esse: to be
• puer: the boy
• mater: the mother
• non: not
• sed: but
• bonus: good
• dicere: to say
• quia: because
• tacere: to be silent
• nimium: too much
• ludus: the game
• diu: for a long time
• clamor: the noise

Questions & Answers about Mater dicit ludum esse bonum, sed clamorem puerorum nimium esse, quia pueri diu non tacent.

What kind of structure are ludum esse bonum and clamorem puerorum nimium esse, and how do they relate to dicit?

Both are examples of indirect statement (also called accusative and infinitive construction).
In Latin, after verbs of saying, thinking, perceiving, etc., the content of what is said is put into this structure:

• the subject of the reported statement is in the accusative (here: ludum, clamorem puerorum), and
• the verb of the reported statement is in the infinitive (here: esse).

So the whole sentence means:

• Mater dicit [ludum esse bonum] – Mother says [that the game is good]
• (dicit) sed [clamorem puerorum nimium esse] – (she says) but [that the shouting of the boys is too much]

Both bracketed parts are “what she says.”

Why is it ludum and not ludus?

In an indirect statement, the subject of the infinitive must be in the accusative case, not the nominative.

• ludus = nominative singular (the game)
• ludum = accusative singular (the game as object)

Because Latin uses accusative + infinitive for “that…” clauses after dicit, we must say ludum esse bonum, not ludus est bonus.
If we turned it into a direct statement, it would indeed be ludus est bonus (the game is good).

Why is it bonum and not bonus?

Bonus, -a, -um is an adjective and has to agree with the noun it describes in gender, number, and case.

• ludum: masculine, singular, accusative
• So the adjective must also be: masculine, singular, accusative → bonum

Forms:

• nominative: bonus ludus – a good game
• accusative: bonum ludum – a good game (as object)

In ludum esse bonum, bonum is a predicate adjective describing ludum, and it matches its case (accusative) because the whole phrase is inside an indirect statement.

What cases are clamorem and puerorum, and what do they each mean?

• clamorem is accusative singular of clamor, clamoris – shout, shouting, noise.
  Here it is the subject of the infinitive esse in the indirect statement: that the shouting is…
• puerorum is genitive plural of puer, pueri – boy.
  The genitive here is a possessive / descriptive genitive: the shouting of the boys, i.e. the boys’ shouting.

So clamorem puerorum literally means the shouting of the boys.

What exactly is nimium doing in clamorem puerorum nimium esse? Is it an adjective or an adverb here?

In this sentence nimium is an adjective describing clamorem.

• clamorem: masculine, accusative singular
• nimium: masculine, accusative singular (agreeing with clamorem)

So clamorem puerorum nimium esse = that the boys’ shouting is too much / excessive.

You may also see nimium or nimis used as adverbs (too, too much, excessively), but here the form fits grammatically as an adjective agreeing with clamorem.

Why is the infinitive esse used twice? Could Latin leave one of them out?

We have two separate indirect statements depending on dicit:

1. ludum esse bonum – that the game is good
2. clamorem puerorum nimium esse – that the boys’ shouting is too much

Each one has its own accusative subject + infinitive. Latin often repeats the infinitive for clarity, especially when the subjects are different (ludum vs clamorem puerorum).

In some contexts, if the structure is very parallel and obvious, esse can be omitted in the second clause, but keeping it is perfectly normal and clear Latin, especially for learners.

What does the tense of esse (present infinitive) tell us about the time of the actions compared to dicit?

In indirect statement, the infinitive’s tense is relative to the main verb’s time.

Here dicit is present, and esse is the present infinitive, which normally expresses action at the same time as the main verb:

• Mater dicit ludum esse bonum
  → Mother says that the game *is good (now / generally).*

If the reporting verb were past, you would choose infinitives according to the time relationship:

• dixit ludum bonum esse – she said the game *was/is good (at that time, ongoing)*
• dixit ludum bonum fuisse – she said the game *had been good (before that time)*

Why does the sentence use quia pueri diu non tacent with the indicative, and not something like a subjunctive?

Quia introduces a causal clause (because…).

When the speaker presents the reason as a simple fact, Latin normally uses the indicative:

• quia pueri diu non tacent – because the boys do not keep quiet for long (a factual reason)

A subjunctive after quia is used more for reported / alleged reasons or the speaker’s distance or doubt. Here, the mother genuinely believes that the boys really don’t stay quiet for long, so the indicative non tacent is appropriate.

What does diu mean, and how does it function in the sentence pueri diu non tacent?

Diu is an adverb meaning for a long time, for long.

In pueri diu non tacent:

• pueri – subject, the boys
• tacent – verb, are silent / keep quiet
• diu – adverb telling how long they (don’t) keep quiet

So the phrase means: the boys do not keep quiet for long / for a long time.

The verb tacent comes at the end of the clause, and adjectives like bonum follow their nouns. Is this word order important in Latin?

Latin word order is much more flexible than English because the endings show the grammatical roles.

Some general tendencies seen here:

• Verb at or near the end of the clause (non tacent) is very common.
• Adjectives like bonum, nimium often follow their nouns (ludum bonum, clamorem nimium), although they can come before for emphasis.

So the order Mater dicit ludum esse bonum is natural, but you could rearrange it (e.g. Mater ludum bonum esse dicit) without changing the basic meaning; the endings, not the order, carry the grammar.