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Mater puerum cum magna cura spectat.

Mater puerum cum magna cura spectat.
Mother watches the boy with great care.

Breakdown of Mater puerum cum magna cura spectat.

puer
the boy
mater
the mother
cum
with
magnus
great
spectare
to watch
cura
the care
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Questions & Answers about Mater puerum cum magna cura spectat.

How do I know that mater is the subject and puerum is the object? The word order looks confusing.

In Latin, subject and object are shown mainly by endings, not word order.

  • mater ends in -er, which here is the nominative singular of māter, mātris (f.) = mother. The nominative is the usual case for the subject of the verb.
  • puerum ends in -um, which is the accusative singular of puer, puerī (m.) = boy. The accusative is the usual case for the direct object.

So even though English would say “The mother looks at the boy”, Latin can say Mater puerum spectat, and we understand who does what to whom by the cases, not by word order.

Why is it puerum and not just puer?

The form changes because of the noun’s role in the sentence.

  • puer (ending -er) is nominative singular = boy as the subject.
  • puerum (ending -um) is accusative singular = boy as the *direct object.

In Mater puerum spectat, the boy is being looked at, so he’s the object, and therefore Latin uses the accusative form puerum.

What tense and person is spectat, and how can I tell?

spectat comes from spectō, spectāre = to look (at), watch.

  • Ending -t tells you it’s 3rd person singular: he / she / it.
  • A simple -t ending with no extra tense markers (like -ba-, -v-, etc.) is the present tense in the indicative mood.

So spectat = “he/she/it looks (at)” or “is looking (at)”.
In context with mater, we translate it as “she looks at” / “she is looking at.”

How do I know cum magna cura goes with the verb and not with puerum?

Several clues:

  1. Meaning: with great care describes how the mother is looking, not the boy himself.
  2. Grammar: cum is a preposition that takes the ablative case.
    • cura is ablative singular (from cūra, cūrae, f. = care).
    • magna is ablative feminine singular, agreeing with cura, not with puerum (which is masculine).
  3. Typical Latin: a prepositional phrase with cum + ablative very often expresses the manner of the action and attaches naturally to the verb.

So cum magna cura answers “in what manner?” — “with great care” — and belongs with spectat.

Why is it magna cura and not magnum cura or something else?

Adjectives must agree in gender, number, and case with the noun they describe.

  • cura is feminine, singular, ablative.
  • So magna must also be feminine, singular, ablative.

Forms you asked about:

  • magnum would be neuter (or masculine accusative), so it would not match cura.
  • magnus (masc. nom. sg.) would also not match cura.

Correct agreement: cum magna cura = with great care.

What exactly does cum mean here, and what case does it take?

cum is a preposition meaning primarily “with”.

  • It always takes the ablative case.
  • Here, its object is cura in the ablative singular: cum cura = with care.
  • magna agrees with cura, so cum magna cura = “with great care.”

So grammatically: cum + ablative = with (someone/something / in some manner).

Latin doesn’t have any word for “the” or “a” here. How do I know whether to translate mater as “the mother” or “a mother”?

Latin has no articles (no “a/an/the”). You choose in English based on:

  • Context: what makes sense in the story or exercise?
  • Typical default: for textbook sentences without context, we often use “the” (so “the mother looks at the boy with great care”).

Both “a mother looks at a boy with great care” and “the mother looks at the boy with great care” are grammatically possible; only context decides which sounds right.

Could this sentence be written in a different word order and still mean the same thing?

Yes. Latin word order is flexible because endings show function. All of these mean essentially the same:

  • Mater puerum cum magna cura spectat.
  • Mater cum magna cura puerum spectat.
  • Puerum mater cum magna cura spectat.
  • Cum magna cura mater puerum spectat.

The core meaning (the mother looks at the boy with great care) stays the same.
Changes in order mainly affect emphasis, not basic grammar.

Does spectat always mean “looks AT”? There’s no separate word for “at”.

spectō generally means “to look at, watch, observe.” The “at” is built into the sense of the Latin verb; you do not need a separate preposition:

  • Mater puerum spectat. = The mother looks at the boy / watches the boy.
  • Latin does not say spectat ad puerum in this meaning.

So you add “at” in English to get a natural translation, but it’s implicitly part of spectat, not a separate Latin word.

Why is the verb singular? Could it ever be plural with mater?

mater is singular (one mother), so the verb must be 3rd person singular: spectat.

  • Mater puerum spectat. = The mother looks at the boy.

If the subject were plural, the verb would also be plural:

  • Matres puerum spectant. = The mothers look at the boy.
    • matres = plural mothers (nom. pl.)
    • spectant = 3rd person plural present.

So subject and verb must agree in number (both singular or both plural).

Is cura here more like worry or more like care/attention?

The Latin noun cūra can mean:

  • care, attention, concern,
  • worry, anxiety,
  • responsibility, charge.

In cum magna cura, with a verb like spectat, it naturally means “with great care / with great attention / very attentively.”
So the idea is that the mother is carefully, attentively watching the boy, not necessarily that she is worried sick (though context could tilt it that way in a longer passage).