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Puer rogat cur ovis lanam tam longam habeat.

Puer rogat cur ovis lanam tam longam habeat.
The boy asks why the sheep has such long wool.
FromLesson 13inHardcore Latin

Breakdown of Puer rogat cur ovis lanam tam longam habeat.

puer
the boy
longus
long
rogare
to ask
habere
to have
cur
why
tam
so
ovis
the sheep
lana
the wool
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Questions & Answers about Puer rogat cur ovis lanam tam longam habeat.

Why is habeat in the subjunctive instead of habet?

Because cur ovis lanam tam longam habeat is an indirect question (reported question) depending on rogat (The boy asks...).
In Latin, indirect questions take the subjunctive, so you get habeat (present subjunctive) rather than habet (present indicative).

How can I tell that cur ovis lanam tam longam habeat is an indirect question?

Two main clues:

  1. It follows a verb of asking: rogat (he asks).
  2. The verb inside the question is subjunctive: habeat.

So the structure is: Puer rogat [cur ... habeat].

What case is puer, and why?

Puer is nominative singular, the subject of rogat.
It’s the one doing the asking: The boy asks...

What does rogat mean grammatically here (tense/person), and what verb is it from?

Rogat is 3rd person singular present indicative active from rogō, rogāre (to ask).
So it literally means he/she asks; here it’s the boy asks.

What part of speech is cur, and what does it do?

Cur is an interrogative adverb meaning why.
It introduces the indirect question and helps trigger the subjunctive in habeat (as part of the indirect-question construction).

Why is ovis nominative, and what gender is it?

Ovis is nominative singular because it’s the subject of habeat (inside the indirect question): the sheep is the one having the wool.

As for gender: ovis is a 3rd-declension noun that can be masculine or feminine depending on meaning/context; for a sheep it’s often treated as feminine, but the form ovis looks the same either way.

Why is lanam in the accusative?

Because habeō (to have) normally takes a direct object, and direct objects are in the accusative.
So lanam is accusative singular: the sheep has wool.

Why is the adjective longam in the accusative feminine singular?

Because longam describes lanam, and Latin adjectives must agree with the noun they modify in case, number, and gender.

  • lanam = accusative singular feminine
  • longam = accusative singular feminine

So: lanam longam = long wool.

What does tam modify, and why is it not an adjective?

Tam is an adverb meaning so / so much / such.
It modifies the adjective longam, not the noun:

  • tam longam = so long

Adverbs don’t change form to agree with nouns; tam stays the same.

Is the word order important here? Could it be rearranged?

Latin word order is flexible, but the grammar is shown mostly by endings. You could rearrange many parts without changing the basic meaning, for example:

  • Puer cur ovis lanam tam longam habeat rogat.

However, the given order is very natural:

  • main clause first (Puer rogat),
  • then the indirect question (cur ... habeat), and placing tam longam next to lanam keeps the description clear.