Breakdown of Postea puella fenestram claudit et in cubiculo quiete sedet.
in
in
puella
the girl
et
and
sedere
to sit
Questions & Answers about Postea puella fenestram claudit et in cubiculo quiete sedet.
Why is postea at the beginning, and what part of speech is it?
Postea is an adverb meaning afterwards / later / then. Latin often puts time words early in the sentence to set the scene, but it could appear elsewhere too without changing the basic meaning.
Why do we have puella in the nominative, and do we need the (as in the girl)?
Puella is nominative singular because it is the subject doing the actions (claudit, sedet). Latin has no articles (a/the), so context supplies whether it’s a girl or the girl.
How do I know fenestram is the direct object of claudit?
Fenestram is accusative singular (the -am ending), which commonly marks the direct object. So puella fenestram claudit = the girl closes the window.
What tense is claudit, and why is it translated as present even though postea suggests “then”?
Claudit is present tense, 3rd person singular of claudere (to close). Latin frequently uses the present tense in narrative (often called the historical present) to make actions vivid, even with time adverbs like .