Mater puerum rogat: “Cur fles?”

Because puerum is the direct object of rogat.

• rogat = asks
• The person being asked is put in the accusative case
• puer = boy (nominative)
• puerum = boy (accusative)

So Mater puerum rogat means The mother asks the boy.

Because mater is the subject of the verb rogat.

In Latin:

• the subject is usually in the nominative
• the direct object is usually in the accusative

So here:

• mater = nominative, the mother as the one doing the asking
• puerum = accusative, the boy as the one being asked

Rogat is:

• 3rd person singular
• present tense
• active voice
• from rogare = to ask

It means he/she/it asks.
Because the subject is mater, we understand it as she asks or the mother asks.

Latin often leaves subject pronouns out because the verb ending already tells you the person and number.

In rogat, the ending -t tells you it is:

• 3rd person
• singular

So Latin does not need to say ea for she.
The noun mater already makes the subject clear.

It is not written separately, because Latin usually does not need to include subject pronouns.

In fles, the ending -s tells you:

• 2nd person
• singular

So fles means you cry or you are crying.

If Latin wanted to make you extra emphatic, it could add tu, but it is not necessary.

Fles is:

• 2nd person singular
• present tense
• from flere = to weep / cry

So Cur fles? means Why are you crying?

A learner may expect something like ploras, because plorare also means to cry. But flere is simply a different Latin verb with a similar meaning.

Cur is an interrogative adverb meaning why.

It introduces a direct question:

• Cur fles? = Why are you crying?

Latin can also use other words for why, such as quare, but cur is very common and natural.

Because Latin does not always need a separate helping verb the way English does.

English says:

• Why are you crying?

But Latin can simply use the present tense verb:

• fles = you cry / you are crying

So the idea of present action is already contained in the verb form itself.

Latin can use rogare with:

• the person asked in the accusative
• followed by the direct question itself

So the structure is:

• Mater = the subject
• puerum = the person being asked
• rogat = asks
• Cur fles? = the actual words of the question

In other words, Latin is doing exactly what English does in The mother asks the boy: Why are you crying?

Not really in the ancient sense. It is mainly editorial punctuation used in modern printed texts to make the sentence easier to read.

The colon here shows that direct speech is beginning:

• Mater puerum rogat: Cur fles?

Ancient Latin manuscripts did not use punctuation in the same regular way that modern editions do. So the colon helps the reader, but it is not a special grammatical feature of the sentence itself.

Yes. Latin word order is often more flexible than English word order because the endings show the grammatical roles.

For example, Latin could rearrange the first part in different ways, such as:

• Mater puerum rogat
• Puerum mater rogat

Both can still mean The mother asks the boy, because:

• mater is nominative
• puerum is accusative

However, the original order is straightforward and natural for a beginner.

Not always. Rogare can mean:

• to ask
• to ask for
• to request

Its exact sense depends on context.

Here, because a person is being asked a question and direct speech follows, the meaning is clearly ask rather than request. So Mater puerum rogat means The mother asks the boy.