Questions & Answers about Post cenam mater in horto orat et pacem sperat.
Why does post take cenam in the accusative?
In Latin, post is a preposition that normally governs the accusative when it means after (in time) or behind (in space). So post cenam literally means after the dinner/meal.
- cena = dinner (feminine noun)
- cenam = accusative singular, required by post
Could post cenam also mean “after dinner” in the sense of “after the meal has finished,” not “after the evening”?
Yes. cena refers to the meal itself, so post cenam means after dinner (the meal)—i.e., once dinner is done.
What case is mater, and why is it not marked with an ending like -m?
mater is nominative singular, and it’s the subject of the verbs orat and sperat. Many Latin nominative singular forms don’t end in a very obvious “subject marker.”
mater belongs to the 3rd declension and has an irregular-looking nominative form (compare genitive matris).
Why is in horto in the ablative instead of the accusative?