Mater paulum tacet, deinde veritatem dicit.

Mater is nominative singular, so it is the subject of the sentence. It comes from the noun mater, matris (mother), a third-declension noun.

In Latin, the subject is often shown by the case ending, not by word order. Here, mater is the one doing the actions tacet and dicit, so it is the subject.

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

So mater can mean mother, a mother, or the mother, depending on context. The same is true for veritatem, which could be understood as the truth or simply truth, depending on how the sentence is being used.

Here paulum means a little, for a little while, or briefly.

Although it looks like a noun/adjective form, it is being used adverbially here, modifying the verb tacet. So it tells us how long or to what extent the mother is silent.

This is something English speakers often have to get used to: Latin sometimes uses a form that looks nominal, but in context it functions like an adverb.

Tacet is:

• 3rd person singular
• present tense
• active voice
• indicative mood

It comes from taceo, tacere, meaning to be silent, to be quiet, or to keep silent.

Because it is 3rd person singular, it matches the subject mater: the mother is silent / keeps silent.

Deinde is an adverb meaning then, next, or afterwards.

It shows the sequence of actions:

1. Mater paulum tacet — the mother is silent for a little while.
2. deinde veritatem dicit — then she tells/speaks the truth.

So deinde helps connect the two parts of the sentence in time.

Because veritatem is the direct object of dicit.

The verb dicit means says or speaks, and the thing being said is put in the accusative case. The noun is:

• veritas = nominative singular
• veritatem = accusative singular

So:

• veritas = truth as a subject
• veritatem = truth as an object

Here the mother is saying the truth, so Latin uses veritatem.

Dicit is:

• 3rd person singular
• present tense
• active voice
• indicative mood

It comes from dico, dicere, meaning to say, to tell, or to speak.

So veritatem dicit means something like:

• she tells the truth
• she speaks the truth
• she says the truth (less natural in English, but structurally helpful for learners)

Yes, both tacet and dicit are in the present tense, so the basic translation is present in English: is silent and says/tells.

Latin present tense often corresponds to ordinary English present tense. Depending on context, English may phrase it a little differently:

• Mater paulum tacet = The mother is silent for a little while / The mother keeps quiet briefly
• deinde veritatem dicit = Then she tells the truth

So the tense is straightforward here.

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

This sentence could be rearranged in various ways, such as:

• Paulum mater tacet, deinde veritatem dicit
• Mater deinde veritatem dicit
• Veritatem mater deinde dicit

The basic meaning would stay similar, though the emphasis might change. In the original sentence, the order is fairly natural and easy for a learner:

• subject: mater
• adverb: paulum
• verb: tacet
• adverb: deinde
• object: veritatem
• verb: dicit

Yes. Veritatem dicere is a normal and clear Latin expression meaning to tell the truth or to speak the truth.

English often prefers tell the truth, while Latin can use dicere with veritatem very naturally. So this is a good phrase to remember as a set expression:

• veritatem dicere = to tell the truth