Learn Hardcore Latin: Pater hodie occupatus est, sed puella opus domi facit. - Father is busy today, but the girl does the work at home.

occupatus = “occupied / taken up”
est = “is” So occupatus est literally “has been occupied,” but idiomatically it commonly means “is busy” (i.e., “is occupied”).

What is the tense of occupatus est?

Formally it’s perfect passive indicative of occupare (“to occupy”): “has been occupied.”
But with many participles (especially ones describing a condition), Latin uses this perfect form as a stative present: “is busy / is occupied.”

Why is occupatus ending in -us?

Because it agrees with pater:

pater is masculine singular nominative (“father” as the subject)
occupatus is a masculine singular nominative adjective/participle modifying pater If the subject were feminine, you’d get occupata est; if neuter, occupatum est.

Why is pater nominative, and how can I tell it’s the subject?

Pater is the subject because:

It’s in the nominative case (dictionary form here)
The verb phrase occupatus est describes what pater is Latin doesn’t rely on word order as much as English; case endings do most of the work.

What does hodie do, and where can it go in the sentence?

Hodie means today and is an adverb. It can appear in several places:

Pater hodie occupatus est
Hodie pater occupatus est
Pater occupatus est hodie All are possible; the placement can slightly change emphasis, but the meaning stays basically the same.

What is sed doing here?

Sed is a coordinating conjunction meaning but. It links two independent clauses: 1) Pater hodie occupatus est 2) puella opus domi facit

Why is there a comma before sed?

It’s common (and good practice) to use a comma when sed joins two complete clauses, similar to English:

“Father is busy today, but the girl does the work at home.”

What case is puella, and why?

Puella is nominative singular, so it’s the subject of facit:

puella ... facit = “the girl does/makes ...”

What is the role of opus—what case is it?

Opus here is accusative singular neuter, functioning as the direct object of facit:

facit = “does/makes”
opus = “work” (the thing being done)

Is opus always “work”? Why not use a plural like in English (“works”)?

Opus is often a mass noun (“work” in general) or a single “task/piece of work,” depending on context. Latin doesn’t need a plural the way English sometimes does. If you meant “works” as in “projects” or “deeds,” Latin would typically use other words or contexts (e.g., opera can mean “efforts/services,” but it’s not simply interchangeable in every sentence).

What does domi mean, and why isn’t it in domo?

Domi means at home and uses the old locative case, which survives with a few common words (like domus, rūs, and city names).
So:

domi = “at home” (locative)
in domo = “in the house” (more literal location inside the building)

What tense is facit, and what exactly does it mean?

Facit is present active indicative of facere:

“she does”
“she is doing”
sometimes “she makes” Context decides which English phrasing fits best.

Why is the verb at the end in puella opus domi facit?

Verb-final order is very common in Latin, especially in straightforward statements:

subject (puella) + object (opus) + adverb (domi) + verb (facit) But Latin is flexible; you might also see puella domi opus facit or opus puella domi facit, with changes mainly in emphasis.

How would I negate each clause?

Use non:

Pater hodie occupatus non est = “Father is not busy today.”
Puella opus domi non facit = “The girl does not do the work at home.”