Puer annulum matri tradere conatur.

Because puer is in the nominative singular, which is the case normally used for the subject of a sentence.

• puer = boy
• nominative singular of puer, pueri

So puer is the boy / a boy, the one doing the action.

Because annulum is the direct object, and it is in the accusative singular.

The verb idea is to hand over something. The thing being handed over is the ring, so Latin puts annulus into the accusative:

• dictionary form: annulus = ring
• accusative singular: annulum

So annulum means the ring / a ring as the thing directly affected by the action.

Because matri is dative singular, and the dative is often used for the indirect object.

In English, we say:

• The boy tries to hand the ring to his mother.

The person receiving the thing is the mother, so Latin uses the dative:

• dictionary form: mater = mother
• dative singular: matri = to/for the mother

If it were matrem, that would be accusative, which would suggest the mother was the direct object instead.

Because it depends on conatur.

Latin often uses an infinitive after verbs like conor (try), just as English uses to + verb:

• conatur tradere = tries to hand over

So:

• conatur = tries
• tradere = to hand over

This is a very common pattern in Latin.

Because conatur comes from conor, conari, conatus sum, which is a deponent verb.

A deponent verb:

• has passive-looking forms
• but an active meaning

So although conatur looks like a passive form, it means:

• he tries
• not he is tried

This is one of the first unusual verb types Latin learners run into.

Conatur is present tense, and tradere is a present infinitive.

So the sentence means something like:

• The boy tries to hand the ring to his mother
• or The boy is trying to hand the ring to his mother

Latin present tense can often be translated either as simple present or progressive present, depending on context.

Not as much as in English.

Latin relies heavily on case endings, so the roles of the words are shown mostly by their forms, not by position:

• puer = subject
• annulum = direct object
• matri = indirect object

So the sentence could be rearranged in other ways and still mean basically the same thing, for example:

• Puer matri annulum tradere conatur
• Annulum puer matri tradere conatur

The exact word order can affect emphasis or style, but the endings tell you who is doing what.

Yes. Latin has no articles like the or a/an.

So puer can mean:

• the boy
• a boy

Likewise:

• annulum can mean the ring or a ring
• matri can mean to the mother or to a mother

You decide which English wording fits best from context.

Because the idea of to is built into the dative case.

In English we need a separate word:

• to his mother

In Latin, the ending alone can show that meaning:

• matri = to/for the mother

So Latin often expresses relationships by changing word endings rather than adding prepositions.

They are:

• puer, pueri = boy
• annulus, annuli = ring
• mater, matris = mother
• trado, tradere, tradidi, traditus = hand over, hand down, deliver
• conor, conari, conatus sum = try, attempt

Knowing dictionary forms helps you recognize how each word has been changed in the sentence.

Latin often leaves out possessive words like his, her, or their when the meaning is already obvious.

So matri can naturally be understood as:

• to his mother

if the context makes that clear.

Latin does have words like suus, sua, suum for his/her/its own, but it does not have to use them every time.

A common classroom pronunciation would be roughly:

• Puer = PU-err or PU-er
• annulum = AHN-noo-loom
• matri = MAH-tree
• tradere = TRAH-deh-reh
• conatur = ko-NAH-toor

If you are using restored classical pronunciation, the vowels are more carefully distinguished, and tr is pronounced as a real consonant cluster. Also, in careful pronunciation, puer has two syllables: pu-er.

Not exactly.

Tradere often means:

• to hand over
• to deliver
• to pass on
• sometimes to surrender or entrust, depending on context

In this sentence, hand over or give works well, but the basic idea is a bit more specific than a plain generic give.