Learn Hardcore Latin: Avia puero flenti dicit cor eius bonum esse et lacrimas eius tergit. - Grandmother tells the crying boy that his heart is good and wipes his tears.

Word

Avia puero flenti dicit cor eius bonum esse et lacrimas eius tergit.

Meaning

Grandmother tells the crying boy that his heart is good and wipes his tears.

Part of speech

sentence

Pronunciation

Course

Lesson

Breakdown of Avia puero flenti dicit cor eius bonum esse et lacrimas eius tergit.

Why is puero flenti in the dative case?

Because it is the indirect object of dicit.

dicit = she says
She says something to the boy
In Latin, the person to whom something is said is usually put in the dative

So:

Together, puero flenti means to the crying boy.

Why is it flenti and not flens or flentem?

Because flenti has to agree with puero.

The participle flens means crying, but its form changes depending on case, number, and gender, just like an adjective.

Since puero is:

the participle must also be:

So:

That is why Latin uses puero flenti.