In olla parva mater oleum et unum ovum ponit.

Here is the basic breakdown:

• in = a preposition, here meaning in
• olla = pot, in the ablative singular
• parva = small, agreeing with olla
• mater = mother, the subject
• oleum = oil, a direct object
• et = and
• unum = one, agreeing with ovum
• ovum = egg, another direct object
• ponit = puts or places

So the core structure is:

mater ... ponit = mother puts

and the things being put are:

oleum et unum ovum = oil and one egg

Latin does not have articles like English the and a/an.

So mater can mean:

• mother
• the mother
• sometimes even a mother

Likewise, ovum can mean egg, an egg, or the egg, depending on context.

English has to choose an article, but Latin usually leaves that to the situation.

We know because of both form and sentence structure.

• mater is nominative singular, the normal case for the subject.
• ponit is he/she/it puts, so it needs a singular subject.
• oleum and ovum are objects, not subjects.

So mater is the one doing the action.

Because both are neuter nouns of the second declension, and here they are in the accusative singular.

That matters because they are the direct objects of ponit.

Also, with second-declension neuter nouns:

• nominative singular = -um
• accusative singular = -um

So ovum and oleum look the same in nominative and accusative singular.

This is very common in Latin neuter nouns.

Because unus, una, unum must agree with the noun it modifies.

ovum is:

• neuter
• singular
• accusative

So one must also be:

• neuter
• singular
• accusative

That gives unum ovum.

If the noun were masculine, you would expect unum to change to the masculine form where appropriate; if feminine, to the feminine form.

Because parva is agreeing with olla.

Olla is feminine singular, and after in here it is being treated as ablative singular, so the adjective also appears in the matching form:

• olla = feminine singular ablative
• parva = feminine singular ablative

Latin adjectives must agree with the nouns they describe in:

• gender
• number
• case

So parva means small, and it matches olla.

The strongest clue is that in olla parva naturally forms one prepositional phrase.

So the sentence groups like this:

• in olla parva = in the small pot
• mater = subject

Also, prepositions in Latin usually pull their noun phrase tightly together, so a learner will normally read in olla parva as a unit.

Formally, parva could look ambiguous by itself, but in context it clearly belongs with olla.

Because Latin usually does not need an explicit subject pronoun.

The ending of the verb already tells you the subject is:

• first person = I
• second person = you
• third person singular = he/she/it

Here ponit ends in -t, which tells you it means he/she/it puts.

Since mater is present, Latin does not need to add ea for she.

Ponit is:

• present tense
• active voice
• third person singular

It comes from pono, ponere, meaning to put or to place.

So ponit means:

• he puts
• she puts
• it puts

In this sentence, because the subject is mater, it means she puts.

Latin often puts the verb near the end of the sentence, especially in simple narrative prose.

So:

• mater oleum et unum ovum ponit

sounds very natural.

But Latin word order is more flexible than English because the endings show the grammar. So other orders are possible too, for example:

• Mater in olla parva oleum et unum ovum ponit
• Oleum et unum ovum mater in olla parva ponit

These can sound slightly different in emphasis, but the basic meaning stays the same.

Yes.

Et joins:

• oleum
• unum ovum

Both of these are things that mater puts.

So the sentence has one subject, one verb, and two direct objects.

This is a very good question.

In more classical Latin, after a verb of motion such as put into, many writers would expect in + accusative:

• in ollam parvam

That usually expresses movement into something.

By contrast, in + ablative more often expresses location:

• in the pot
• inside the pot

So a learner may notice that ponit seems to suggest movement into the pot, and therefore expect the accusative.

If your learning material gives in olla parva, it may be simplifying the use of in, or using a less strict pattern for beginners. But it is useful to know that more classical usage often prefers in ollam parvam with ponit.

Mater is a third-declension noun.

Its dictionary form is:

• mater, matris = mother

In this sentence, mater is nominative singular.

Some other forms are:

• nominative singular: mater
• genitive singular: matris
• accusative singular: matrem

So it does not behave like a first-declension noun such as puella.

Because egg is a countable noun, but oil is usually treated as a mass noun.

You can count eggs:

• one egg
• two eggs

But oil is normally measured rather than counted:

• oil
• some oil
• a little oil

So Latin naturally says oleum et unum ovum rather than giving both nouns a number.