Tibi responsum ad hanc quaestionem ante cenam dandum est.

Because this sentence uses the passive periphrastic, a construction that expresses necessity or obligation.

In this construction, the person who has the obligation is often put in the dative, called the dative of agent.

So:

• tibi = for you / by you
• dandum est = must be given

Together, tibi ... dandum est means something like it must be given by you or more naturally in English you must give.

This is different from an ordinary passive, where the agent is often introduced by ab + ablative.

Dandum est is made of:

• dandum — the gerundive of dare (to give)
• est — is

The gerundive plus a form of esse creates the passive periphrastic, which expresses obligation:

• dandum est = must be given / has to be given

So the sentence is not just describing an action; it is saying that giving the answer is necessary.

Because responsum is the subject of dandum est.

In English, we usually say:

• You must give an answer

But Latin often expresses this idea as:

• An answer must be given by you

In that Latin pattern, an answer is the thing that must be given, so it becomes the subject:

• responsum = answer (nominative singular neuter)

And the gerundive agrees with it:

• responsum dandum est

Both are neuter singular nominative.

Here it is being used as a noun meaning answer.

It originally comes from the verb respondere (to answer), and historically it is a perfect passive participle/neuter form, but in actual usage responsum is very commonly just a regular noun meaning answer.

So in this sentence, it is best understood simply as:

• responsum = answer

Because the phrase here is built with responsum dare ad ... — literally, to give an answer to ...

So:

• ad = to / toward
• hanc quaestionem = this question

That gives:

• responsum ad hanc quaestionem = an answer to this question

A learner may notice that Latin can also express answering a question in other ways, especially with respondere. But in this sentence, the pattern is responsum ... ad ....

Because ad takes the accusative case.

So:

• haec quaestio = this question as a subject
• huic quaestioni = to/for this question in the dative
• hanc quaestionem = this question in the accusative

Since the sentence says ad hanc quaestionem, the noun and adjective both have to be accusative singular feminine:

• hanc matches quaestionem

Cenam is accusative singular, because it follows the preposition ante.

• ante
  • accusative = before
• cenam = dinner / the meal

So:

• ante cenam = before dinner

This is a very common prepositional phrase in Latin.

Latin often does not use articles like English a/an/the, so ante cenam can mean:

• before dinner
• before the meal

The exact English wording depends on context. Latin simply gives cenam without an article.

Latin word order is much more flexible because the endings show the grammatical relationships.

This sentence puts the words in an order that is very natural for Latin:

• Tibi first, giving prominence to the person with the obligation
• responsum ad hanc quaestionem next, the thing that must be given
• ante cenam before the end, giving the time limit
• dandum est at the end, where Latin often places the verb or main verbal idea

So the order helps emphasis and style more than basic grammar.

Yes. That is usually the most natural English translation.

Even though the Latin is structured more like:

• An answer to this question must be given by you before dinner

English normally prefers the active wording:

• You must give an answer to this question before dinner

So the Latin grammar is passive, but the best English translation is often active.

Because te is accusative, and this sentence does not need you as a direct object.

Instead, the sentence needs the person on whom the obligation rests, and in the passive periphrastic that person is usually in the dative:

• tibi = for you / by you
• not te

So tibi dandum est means it must be done by you / you must do it.

It comes from the verb:

• do, dare, dedi, datum — to give

The form dandum is the gerundive, neuter singular nominative here, agreeing with responsum.

So:

• responsum dandum est = an answer must be given

Exactly.

The gerundive and est are singular because the subject is singular:

• responsum = singular
• dandum = singular neuter to agree with it
• est = singular

If the subject were plural, the forms would change accordingly.

Yes. That is the standard name many textbooks use.

The pattern is:

• gerundive + esse
• often with a dative of agent

And it means:

• must be ...ed
• has to be ...ed

So this sentence is a textbook example of the gerundive of obligation or passive periphrastic.

Yes. Latin often has more than one way to express the same basic idea.

This sentence uses the noun + verb expression:

• responsum dare = to give an answer

Latin can also use respondere (to answer), though the grammar would be different.

So a learner should recognize that this sentence is built around giving an answer, not directly around the verb to answer.

A good approach is:

1. Find the main verbal idea: dandum est

   • must be given

2. Find the subject of that verbal idea: responsum

   • an answer

3. Find who has the obligation: tibi

   • you

4. Find what the answer is connected to: ad hanc quaestionem

   • to this question

5. Find the time phrase: ante cenam

   • before dinner

That makes the whole structure much easier to understand.