Breakdown of Mater infantem in lecto ponit, et infans statim dormit.
Questions & Answers about Mater infantem in lecto ponit, et infans statim dormit.
Because the noun changes form depending on its job in the sentence.
- mater = mother as the subject of ponit
- infantem = the baby/child as the direct object of ponit
- infans = the baby/child again, but now as the subject of dormit
So:
- Mater infantem ponit = The mother puts the baby
- infans dormit = the baby sleeps
Latin shows these roles with case endings, not mainly by word order.
infantem is accusative singular.
It is used because the baby is the direct object of ponit: the mother is putting the baby somewhere.
A very common beginner pattern is:
- subject in the nominative
- direct object in the accusative
So here:
- mater = nominative subject
- infantem = accusative object