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Puer ex cubiculo currit et matrem vocat.

Puer ex cubiculo currit et matrem vocat.
The boy runs out of the bedroom and calls his mother.
FromLesson 12inHardcore Latin
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Questions & Answers about Puer ex cubiculo currit et matrem vocat.

Why is puer the subject, and what case is it in?
Puer is in the nominative singular, which is the case typically used for the subject of a finite verb. Here it matches the verbs currit and vocat: the boy runs and (the boy) calls.
What does ex cubiculo mean grammatically, and why is cubiculo in that form?

Ex is a preposition meaning out of / from, and it normally takes the ablative case.
So cubiculo is ablative singular of cubiculum (bedroom/room). The phrase ex cubiculo means out of the bedroom (movement from inside to outside).

How can I tell what tense and person currit is?

Currit is 3rd person singular, present tense, active indicative of currere (to run).
So it means he/she/it runs. Since puer is the subject, we translate it as he runs.

How does et work here—does it join words or whole clauses?

Here et connects two verbs/clauses with the same subject:

  • Puer ... currit
  • (Puer) ... vocat
    Latin often doesn’t repeat the subject when it stays the same, so et is effectively joining two actions done by the boy.
Why is matrem in the accusative—what role does it play?

Matrem is accusative singular of mater (mother) because it is the direct object of vocat (calls).
So vocat matrem = he calls (his/the) mother.

Is vocat “calls (out)” as in shouting, or “calls (names)”?

With a person as the direct object (matrem), vocare commonly means to call to / call for / summon (often aloud).
For “call someone by a name” (i.e., “call her X”), Latin often uses vocare with a double construction, e.g. eam Mariam vocat (he calls her Maria), where eam is the object and Mariam is a second accusative describing the name.

Why doesn’t Latin use a word for the or his in this sentence?

Classical Latin has no definite or indefinite articles (the/a). Context supplies them.
Also, possession like his mother is often left implicit when it’s obvious from context. If you needed to specify, you could say matrem suam (his own mother) or matrem eius (his mother, referring to someone else’s).

Could the word order be changed, and would it still mean the same thing?

Yes. Latin word order is relatively flexible because meaning is signaled mainly by endings (cases) rather than position. For example:

  • Puer currit ex cubiculo et matrem vocat
  • Ex cubiculo puer currit et vocat matrem
    All are broadly “The boy runs out of the bedroom and calls (his) mother,” though word order can shift emphasis (what feels most prominent).
What declension is cubiculo, and how is it formed?

Cubiculum is a 2nd-declension neuter noun.

  • Nominative singular: cubicul-um
  • Ablative singular: cubicul-ō
    So cubiculo ends in -ō, which is typical for 2nd-declension ablative singular.
How would I pronounce this sentence (roughly) in Classical Latin?

A common Classical-style approximation:

  • Puer: POO-ehr (two syllables)
  • ex: eks
  • cubiculo: koo-BIH-koo-loh
  • currit: KOOR-rit (double r and t held a bit)
  • et: et
  • matrem: MAH-trem
  • vocat: WOH-kaht (with c always like k)