Breakdown of Mater in foro panem emit; tum domum redit.
in
in
mater
the mother
panis
the bread
forum
the forum
Questions & Answers about Mater in foro panem emit; tum domum redit.
What case is mater, and why is it used here?
Mater is nominative singular. It is the subject of the sentence, the person doing the actions: buying and returning.
The basic dictionary form is also mater, so in this case the nominative looks the same as the form you would learn in vocabulary lists.
Why is there no word for the or a before mater or panem?
Latin does not have articles like English the or a/an.
So mater can mean mother, the mother, or sometimes even a mother, depending on context. Likewise, panem can mean bread or the bread. The reader figures this out from the situation rather than from a separate word.
Why is panem ending in -em?
Panem is accusative singular, the form used for the direct object.
The mother is the one acting, and the bread is the thing being bought, so Latin puts panis into the accusative: panem.
So:
- mater = subject
- panem = direct object
Why is it and not ?