Puer ad canem accedit et eum tangit.

Puer is the nominative singular form, which is the form Latin normally uses for the subject of the sentence.

Here, puer is the one doing the actions:

• accedit = he approaches
• tangit = he touches

So puer is nominative because the boy is the subject.

Because the preposition ad takes the accusative case.

So:

• canis = nominative, dog
• canem = accusative, dog as the object of motion toward something

With ad, Latin uses the accusative to show movement to, toward, or up to something:

• ad canem = to/toward the dog

So ad canem accedit means he approaches the dog or he goes up to the dog.

Accedit is from accedere, meaning to approach, to go to, or to come up to.

In this sentence, it means something like:

• he approaches
• he goes up to

Grammatically, accedit is:

• present tense
• third person singular
• active
• indicative

So it means he/she/it approaches, and here the subject is puer, so the boy approaches.

Eum is the accusative singular masculine form of the pronoun is, ea, id, meaning him or it.

Here it refers back to canem:

• canem is masculine singular
• eum is also masculine singular accusative

It is used because tangit needs a direct object:

• eum tangit = he touches him/it

Since the dog was just mentioned, eum means the dog.

Latin often uses a pronoun to refer back to something already mentioned, just like English does.

So instead of repeating canem, Latin can say eum:

• Puer ad canem accedit et eum tangit.
• The boy approaches the dog and touches it.

This avoids repetition and sounds natural.

Latin could also say canem tangit, but eum is a very normal way to say him/it after the noun has already been introduced.

Mostly from the sentence structure and common sense.

• The subject of tangit is already clear from the verb ending: he touches
• That subject is puer
• So eum is the object, the one being touched

Because canem is the other masculine singular noun just mentioned, eum naturally refers to the dog.

In isolation, a pronoun can sometimes be ambiguous, but in this sentence the intended meaning is clearly:

• The boy approaches the dog and touches it/him

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

So:

• puer can mean boy, a boy, or the boy
• canem can mean dog, a dog, or the dog

You figure out which is most natural from the context.

That is why the Latin sentence can be translated in more than one natural English way, such as:

• The boy approaches the dog and touches it
• A boy approaches a dog and touches it

Because the verb endings already tell you the subject.

Both accedit and tangit end in -it, which here shows third person singular:

• he/she/it approaches
• he/she/it touches

Since puer is the subject, the meaning is the boy approaches and touches.

Latin often leaves subject pronouns out unless they are needed for emphasis or contrast.

Eum is accusative singular masculine.

It is accusative because it is the direct object of tangit:

• tangit quem? = he touches whom/what?
• Answer: eum

So:

• puer = nominative subject
• eum = accusative direct object

This is a very common Latin pattern.

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

So this sentence could be rearranged in different ways and still mean basically the same thing, for example:

• Puer ad canem accedit et eum tangit.
• Ad canem puer accedit et eum tangit.
• Puer eum tangit et ad canem accedit.
  (though this changes the emphasis and the order of actions)

The given order is straightforward and natural:

1. subject: puer
2. first action: ad canem accedit
3. second action: et eum tangit

So the meaning is easy to follow.

Et means and.

It joins the two actions:

• ad canem accedit = approaches the dog
• eum tangit = touches it

So the sentence describes two connected actions done by the same subject:

• The boy approaches the dog and touches it.

Yes. Accedere can sometimes be used with a dative instead of ad + accusative, especially in some authors and contexts.

For example, Latin can sometimes express approach someone/something with:

• ad canem accedit or
• a dative construction

But for learners, ad + accusative is one of the clearest and most common ways to understand it:

• ad canem = to/toward the dog

So in this sentence, the grammar is very straightforward.

Its basic meaning is touches, but like English touch, it can sometimes have a broader sense depending on context.

In a simple sentence like this, the most natural meaning is the physical one:

• he touches the dog

Grammatically, tangit is:

• present tense
• third person singular
• from tangere

So eum tangit simply means he touches it/him.