Dum serva cibum fert, dominus vinum in pocula fundit et hospites salutat.

Dum usually means while in a sentence like this. It introduces the action that is happening at the same time as the main action.

So:

• Dum serva cibum fert = While the slave-girl/servant is carrying the food
• the rest of the sentence tells what the master is doing during that time.

In some contexts, dum can also mean until, but here while is the natural meaning.

With dum meaning while, Latin commonly uses the present tense, even when English might translate it as is carrying.

So fert literally means carries, but in smoother English you would usually say:

• while the servant is carrying the food

This is normal Latin usage: the simple present often covers what English expresses with the present progressive.

Serva is in the nominative singular, which is the case normally used for the subject.

Here the pattern is:

• serva = subject, the female slave / servant
• cibum = direct object, the food
• fert = verb, carries / brings

So serva cibum fert means the servant carries the food.

Because cibum is the direct object of fert.

The verb ferre means to carry, bring, bear, and it takes an object answering the question what?

• The servant carries what?
• cibum = the food

That is why it is accusative singular.

Because they have different jobs in the sentence.

• dominus = the subject of fundit and salutat
• vinum = the thing being poured
• hospites = the people being greeted

So:

• dominus does the actions
• vinum receives the action of fundit
• hospites receive the action of salutat

This is a very common Latin pattern: the subject is nominative, and direct objects are accusative.

Because in here means into, showing movement toward the inside of something.

The distinction is important:

• in + accusative = into / movement into
• in + ablative = in / on / location

So:

• in pocula = into the cups

This fits fundit well, because the wine is being poured into the cups.

There are two reasons:

1. It is plural because there is more than one cup: cups
2. It is accusative because in here takes the accusative when it means into

Poculum is a neuter noun, so:

• singular nominative/accusative: poculum
• plural nominative/accusative: pocula

Here it is plural accusative, though for neuter nouns the nominative and accusative forms are the same.

Because salutare takes a direct object in Latin.

So Latin says:

• salutat hospites = he greets the guests

A learner might expect something like to the guests, but Latin treats the guests as the object directly, so the accusative is used.

That is why hospites is correct here, not hospitibus.

Classical Latin does not have articles like English the and a/an.

So a noun like dominus can mean:

• the master
• a master

and serva can mean:

• the servant/slave-girl
• a servant/slave-girl

You figure out which is best from the context. In this sentence, English usually uses the because the people are specific and already understood in the scene.

Latin word order is more flexible than English word order because the endings show each word’s function.

English depends heavily on position:

• The master greets the guests is different from
• The guests greet the master

Latin can move words around more freely because the cases tell you who is doing what.

In this sentence:

• Dum serva cibum fert, dominus vinum in pocula fundit et hospites salutat

the order is perfectly natural, but Latin could rearrange parts of it for emphasis without changing the core meaning very much.

A useful way to read it is by endings, not just by position.

Because both verbs have the same subject: dominus.

The sentence says that the master does two actions:

• fundit = pours
• salutat = greets

Since dominus is one person, both verbs are third person singular.

This is a common Latin structure:

• one subject
• two verbs joined by et

A learner often wants to know the base form behind each word. Here they are:

• dum = while
• serva, servae = female slave, servant
• cibus, cibi or commonly the accusative here cibum = food
• fero, ferre, tuli, latum = carry, bring
• dominus, domini = master, lord
• vinum, vini = wine
• in = in, into
• poculum, poculi = cup
• fundo, fundere, fudi, fusum = pour
• et = and
• hospes, hospitis = guest
• saluto, salutare = greet

Knowing the dictionary form helps you see how the endings in the sentence are working.

Yes. Depending on context, serva can be translated as:

• female slave
• maidservant
• servant

In many beginner Latin sentences, serva is often translated simply as slave-girl or maid, but the best English choice depends on the tone and context of the passage.