Farina tam sicca est ut mater aquam addat.

to be

Breakdown of Farina tam sicca est ut mater aquam addat.

• mater: the mother
• aqua: the water
• addere: to add

Questions & Answers about Farina tam sicca est ut mater aquam addat.

What is the tam ... ut pattern doing in this sentence?

Tam ... ut introduces a result clause in Latin.

• tam = so
• ut = that

So tam sicca est ut ... means is so dry that ...

This is a very common Latin pattern:

• tam
  • adjective/adverb + ut
• ita / sic
  • ut
• tantus / tot / talis
  • ut

In this sentence, tam strengthens sicca and sets up the result: the flour is so dry that the mother adds water.

Why is addat in the subjunctive instead of addit?

Because it is inside a result clause, and Latin normally uses the subjunctive in result clauses after ut.

So:

• addit would be indicative: she adds
• addat is subjunctive: used here because the clause depends on tam ... ut

That is one of the first big uses of the subjunctive that learners meet: not because the action is unreal, but because Latin grammar requires the subjunctive in this kind of subordinate clause.