Coquus aquam addit, ut panis mollis sit.

to be

Breakdown of Coquus aquam addit, ut panis mollis sit.

• panis: the bread
• aqua: the water
• addere: to add

Questions & Answers about Coquus aquam addit, ut panis mollis sit.

Why is aquam ending in -am instead of aqua?

Because aquam is the direct object of addit: it is the thing the cook is adding.

• aqua = water as a nominative subject form
• aquam = water as an accusative object form

In this sentence:

• Coquus = the cook, the one doing the action
• aquam = the water, the thing being added
• addit = adds

So Latin uses the accusative for aquam.

Why is panis not panem?

Because panis is the subject of sit, not the object of addit.

In the clause ut panis mollis sit:

• panis = the bread
• mollis = soft
• sit = may be / is to be

So the bread is the thing that is soft. That makes panis the subject of the verb sit, so it stays in the nominative case.

If it were panem, that would be accusative, which would suggest bread was an object instead.

Why is the verb sit used instead of est?