Maritus et uxor simul cenam parant, quia hospes tandem venit.

Because maritus et uxor is a compound subject: husband and wife together count as more than one person. In Latin, the verb agrees with the whole subject, not with each noun separately, so a plural verb is required.

• maritus = singular
• uxor = singular
• maritus et uxor = plural idea
• therefore parant = they prepare

Because cenam is the direct object of parant. It is the thing being prepared, so it goes in the accusative case.

For a first-declension noun like cena, the accusative singular ending is -am:

• nominative: cena
• accusative: cenam

So cenam parant means they prepare dinner.

They are all nominative singular, because they are subjects.

• maritus and uxor are the subjects of parant
• hospes is the subject of venit

A very common Latin pattern is:

• subject in the nominative
• direct object in the accusative
• verb agreeing with the subject

Latin does not have articles like English the and a/an. Whether a noun is understood as a husband, the husband, a guest, or the guest depends on context.

So:

• maritus can mean a husband or the husband
• hospes can mean a guest or the guest

English has to add an article, but Latin usually does not.

Simul is an adverb meaning together or at the same time. Here it tells you how maritus et uxor are preparing the meal: they are doing it jointly.

It modifies the action of parant, not a noun.

So the sense is:

• they prepare dinner together

Yes. Latin word order is much freer than English word order. Simul is placed before cenam parant here, but it could appear elsewhere without changing the basic meaning.

For example, Latin could also say:

• Maritus et uxor cenam simul parant
• Simul maritus et uxor cenam parant

The exact placement can affect emphasis or style, but the case endings keep the sentence understandable.

Quia means because. It introduces a clause giving the reason for the action in the main clause.

So the structure is:

• main clause: Maritus et uxor simul cenam parant
• reason clause: quia hospes tandem venit

In other words, the second clause explains why they are preparing dinner.

Tandem means finally, at last, or sometimes after all this time. It often suggests delay, expectation, or relief.

So hospes tandem venit is not just the guest comes/has come, but more like:

• the guest finally comes
• the guest has finally arrived

It adds a bit of feeling to the sentence.

Because its subject, hospes, is singular. Latin verbs agree with their subject in number.

• hospes = one guest
• venit = he/she comes or has come depending on context and spelling with macrons

If the subject were plural, the verb would also be plural.

This is a very common question. Without macrons, venit can be ambiguous in writing.

With macrons:

• venit = present tense, comes
• vēnit = perfect tense, came / has come

Many printed Latin texts for beginners omit macrons, so context or the given translation has to tell you which meaning is intended.

Their dictionary forms are:

• parant ← paro, parare = prepare
• venit ← venio, venire = come

More specifically:

• parant = 3rd person plural present active indicative
• venit = 3rd person singular present active indicative
  or, if it is really vēnit, 3rd person singular perfect active indicative

Yes. Hospes is one of those Latin words that can mean either guest or host, depending on context.

In this sentence, it is understood as guest, because that makes sense with they prepare dinner because the guest finally comes/has arrived.

So context is what tells you which meaning is intended.

No. Latin word order is flexible because the endings show how words function in the sentence.

This sentence uses a very natural order, but Latin could rearrange it in several ways, for example:

• Cenam maritus et uxor simul parant, quia hospes tandem venit.
• Quia hospes tandem venit, maritus et uxor simul cenam parant.

The basic meaning stays the same, though the emphasis may shift.