Puer domi matrem exspectat; pluvia cadit, igitur foris ludere non vult.

The boy waits at home for his mother; rain is falling, therefore he does not want to play outside.

Breakdown of Puer domi matrem exspectat; pluvia cadit, igitur foris ludere non vult.

• puer: the boy
• mater: the mother
• non: not
• ludere: to play

Questions & Answers about Puer domi matrem exspectat; pluvia cadit, igitur foris ludere non vult.

Why is domi used here instead of domus or in domo?

Domi is the locative case of domus and means “at home”.
Latin uses a special locative form mainly with a few nouns, especially:

• names of cities: Romae = “in/at Rome”
• small islands: Delphi = “at Delphi”
• some common nouns: domi = “at home”, ruri = “in the countryside”

So puer domi literally means “the boy (is) at home.” You could say in domo, but domi is the most idiomatic way to say “at home.”

What case are puer and matrem, and what roles do they play in the sentence?

• Puer is nominative singular: it is the subject of the verb exspectat (“waits for”).
• Matrem is accusative singular: it is the direct object of exspectat (“waits for [whom?] the mother”).

So the core structure is: puer (subject) matrem (object) exspectat (verb) = “the boy waits for (his) mother.”

Why does exspectat mean “waits for” and not just “looks at”?

Latin has two related but different verbs: