Mater servae imperat ut focum ante cenam tergat.

the mother

Breakdown of Mater servae imperat ut focum ante cenam tergat.

• ante: before
• cena: the dinner
• ut: so that

Questions & Answers about Mater servae imperat ut focum ante cenam tergat.

Why is mater in that form?

Mater is the nominative singular, because it is the subject of imperat.

• mater = mother
• imperat = orders / commands

So mater is the one doing the ordering.

---

Why is servae not servam?

Because imperare in Latin usually takes the person being commanded in the dative, not the accusative.

So:

• servae imperat = she gives an order to the slave-woman / servant
• not she orders the slave-woman in the same direct-object way English does

This is a very common difference between English and Latin.

Also, servae can have several possible meanings in isolation, but here it is best understood as dative singular because of imperat.

---

What exactly does servae mean here?

Here servae means to the female slave or to the maidservant.

It comes from serva, a first-declension noun meaning female slave or sometimes more loosely servant/maid.

In this sentence, it is: