Puer ad canem accedit et eum tangit.

the boy

Breakdown of Puer ad canem accedit et eum tangit.

• et: and
• canis: the dog
• ad: to

Questions & Answers about Puer ad canem accedit et eum tangit.

Why is puer in that form?

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.

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Why is it ad canem, not ad canis?

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.

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What exactly does accedit mean here?

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