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Domina iubet servum opus finire ante cenam.

Domina iubet servum opus finire ante cenam.
The mistress orders the servant to finish the task before dinner.
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Questions & Answers about Domina iubet servum opus finire ante cenam.

Why is domina in this form, and how do I know it’s the subject?
Domina is nominative singular, so it’s the grammatical subject: the mistress/lady is the one doing the ordering. Latin often marks “who does the action” by case (nominative), not by position in the sentence (though subjects often come early).
What exactly is iubet—tense, person, and meaning?

Iubet is from iubeō, iubēre and is 3rd person singular present active indicative: (she) orders/commands.
So: domina iubet = the mistress orders.

Why is servum accusative instead of nominative?

Because servum is the direct object of iubet: the mistress gives the order to/at the slave (Latin expresses this as a direct object).
Also, iubeō commonly uses the pattern accusative + infinitive:
iubet servum finire = she orders the slave to finish.

Why is finire an infinitive (not an imperative like fini!)?

Latin often reports commands indirectly with iubeō + accusative + infinitive. This is like English orders [someone] to do [something].
Using an imperative would be a direct command addressed to the slave, e.g. Serve, opus fini! = Slave, finish the work!
But here the sentence is narrating what she orders, so the infinitive fits.

How do servum and finire relate—who is doing the finishing?

In accusative + infinitive, the accusative noun (servum) is the understood subject of the infinitive (finire).
So even though servum is accusative, it is the one who finishes in the infinitive clause: the slave to finish.

What case is opus, and what role does it play?

Opus is accusative singular neuter (same form as nominative for many neuter nouns, but here it functions as accusative). It is the direct object of finire:
finire opus = to finish the work/task.

Could opus mean something other than “work”?
Yes. Opus can mean work, task, piece of work, project, depending on context. In this sentence it’s the thing that must be completed, so task/work is the natural sense.
Why is it ante cenam—what case does ante take?

Ante is a preposition that takes the accusative for time or place meaning before/in front of.
So cēna (dinner) becomes cenam (accusative): before dinner.

Is the word order fixed here, or could it change?

It’s flexible because the cases show the roles. For example, these are still grammatical:

  • Domina servum iubet opus finire ante cenam.
  • Opus domina iubet servum finire ante cenam. The emphasis changes with word order, but the basic meaning stays clear due to nominative/accusative marking.
How would I put this into the past or future?

Change iubet (and optionally adjust context):

  • Past: Domina iussit servum opus finire ante cenam. (iussit = perfect of iubeō)
  • Future: Domina iubēbit servum opus finire ante cenam. (iubēbit = future)
Any pronunciation points a native English speaker might miss?

In a Classical-style pronunciation:

  • iubet ≈ YOO-bet (initial i before a vowel is like English y)
  • c is always hard: cenam = KEH-nam
  • v is closer to w: servum ≈ SER-wum (approximate)