Mater dicit se etiam canem curare debere, quia aliquid e mensa auferre solet.

Because this is an indirect statement after dicit.

In Latin, when the subject of the main verb and the subject of the indirect statement are the same person, Latin often uses the reflexive pronoun se.

So:

• Mater dicit = Mother says
• se ... debere = that she must / has to ...

Here se refers back to mater.

If you turned it into direct speech, it would be:

• Etiam canem curare debeo. = I also have to look after the dog.

In indirect speech, debeo becomes se ... debere.

Because after dicit, Latin commonly uses the accusative-and-infinitive construction for reported speech.

So instead of saying:

• Mother says that she must...

Latin says, more literally:

• Mother says herself to have to...

That is why you get:

• se ... debere

not

• se ... debet

The finite verb is dicit; the reported statement is put into infinitive form.

It is an indirect statement.

You can break it down like this:

• se = the subject of the indirect statement, in the accusative
• canem = the object of curare
• curare = infinitive depending on debere
• debere = infinitive of the indirect statement

Very literally:

• Mater dicit se etiam canem curare debere
• Mother says herself also the dog to care for to have to

Better English:

• Mother says that she also has to take care of the dog

So the whole clause after dicit is one reported idea.

Because canem is the direct object of curare.

• curare = to care for / look after
• Who is being looked after? the dog
• Therefore Latin puts dog in the accusative: canem

So:

• canem curare = to take care of the dog

Not here.

Although English cure is related historically, Latin curare often means:

• to care for
• to look after
• to attend to
• to take care of

So in this sentence canem curare means:

• to look after the dog
• to take care of the dog

not to cure the dog.

Etiam means also, too, or even, depending on context.

Here it most naturally means:

• also

So:

• se etiam canem curare debere
• that she also has to take care of the dog

It suggests that this is an additional duty: not only something else, but also the dog.

Latin word order is flexible, so etiam can often move around for emphasis. Here it sits before canem, which makes the dog too stand out slightly.

Because Latin often leaves out a subject pronoun when it is understood from context.

In this clause:

• quia = because
• aliquid e mensa auferre solet = usually steals/carries off something from the table

The subject is not written, but from the meaning it is understood to be the dog.

Latin does this all the time. Instead of repeating a noun or adding a pronoun like it, Latin often just leaves the subject implicit in the verb.

So the sense is:

• because it (the dog) usually takes something from the table

Solet comes from solere, which means:

• to be accustomed
• to be in the habit of
• usually to do something

It is commonly followed by an infinitive.

So:

• auferre solet = is accustomed to carry off
• more naturally: usually carries off or usually steals

This is a very common Latin pattern:

• venire solet = he usually comes
• ridere solent = they usually laugh

Because e/ex means out of or from, and it is commonly used with the ablative to show movement away from something.

So:

• mensa = table in the ablative
• e mensa = from the table

Latin often uses a/ab, de, or e/ex with the ablative for different kinds of separation. Here e mensa gives the natural idea of taking something from the table.

Also, e is the shorter form used before many consonants, while ex is often used before vowels or sometimes for style.

Aliquid means something.

It is the neuter singular form used substantively, from the aliquis / aliquid pattern:

• aliquis = someone
• aliquid = something

Here it is the object of auferre:

• aliquid auferre = to carry off something / steal something

A learner sometimes expects an adjective-like form such as aliquod, but aliquid is the regular pronoun form when it means something by itself.

A direct version would be something like:

• Mater dicit: “Etiam canem curare debeo, quia aliquid e mensa auferre solet.”

Without dicit, the mother’s own words would be:

• Etiam canem curare debeo, quia aliquid e mensa auferre solet.
• I also have to take care of the dog, because it usually steals something from the table.

Comparing the two is useful:

• direct speech: debeo = I must
• indirect speech: se ... debere = that she must

That change is one of the main things this sentence is teaching.