Breakdown of Puella in limine vestigia parva videt et scit felem nocte intus venisse.
puella
the girl
et
and
videre
to see
in
on
parvus
small
scire
to know
nox
the night
venire
to come
intus
inside
limen
the threshold
vestigium
the track
felis
the cat
Questions & Answers about Puella in limine vestigia parva videt et scit felem nocte intus venisse.
Why is in limine in the ablative, not the accusative?
Because in takes the ablative when it shows location, and the accusative when it shows motion into something. Here the girl sees the footprints already at/on the threshold, so Latin uses in limine. If the sentence were talking about movement onto or into the threshold area, the accusative would be more likely.
Does in limine really mean on the threshold even though in usually means in?
Yes. Latin in with the ablative can cover a wider range of location than English in sometimes does. Depending on the noun and context, it can mean in, on, at, or among. With limen meaning threshold or doorway, in limine is naturally understood as on the threshold or at the doorway.
What case is vestigia parva, and how do we know?
Vestigia parva is accusative plural, the direct object of videt. The girl is the one seeing, and the footprints are what she sees. A useful detail is that vestigia is neuter plural, and in neuter nouns the nominative and accusative plural have the same form. So you identify the case from the sentence structure: after videt, it makes sense as the object.
Why is the adjective parva and not parvae or parvos?
Because parva agrees with vestigia. Latin adjectives must match their noun in gender, number, and case. Vestigia is neuter plural accusative, so the adjective must also be neuter plural accusative: parva. This is one of the very common patterns in Latin: neuter plural nominative and accusative adjectives often end in -a.
Why is there no word for the or a in this sentence?
Classical Latin has no articles. It does not normally use separate words for the or a/an. Whether a noun should be understood as definite or indefinite is usually clear from context. So puella can mean the girl or a girl, felem can mean the cat or a cat, and so on.
Why is felem accusative if the cat is the one doing the coming?
Because Latin is using an indirect statement after scit. In this construction, the subject of the subordinate idea goes into the accusative, and the verb goes into the infinitive. So felem ... venisse means that the cat came or that the cat has come. Even though the cat performs the action of coming, it appears in the accusative because of this construction.
Where is the word that in scit felem nocte intus venisse?
There is no separate word for that here. Latin usually expresses this kind of idea with the accusative-and-infinitive construction instead of a conjunction. So English says she knows that the cat came inside, but Latin says, more literally, she knows the cat to have come inside. That is why you see felem plus venisse.
What form is venisse, and why is it used here?
Venisse is the perfect active infinitive of venio. In indirect statement, the perfect infinitive shows an action that happened before the time of the main verb. So scit felem ... venisse means she knows that the cat came or has come inside. The coming happened first; the knowing comes after.
Why is nocte used without a preposition?
Because this is the ablative of time when. Latin often uses the ablative by itself to say when something happens. So nocte means at night or during the night. English usually needs a preposition here, but Latin often does not.
What is intus doing here? Is it a preposition?
No, intus is an adverb. It means inside, within, or indoors. With a verb of motion like venisse, it gives the sense to have come inside. It does not govern a noun here; it simply modifies the verb.
Why isn’t puella repeated before scit?
Because the same subject continues into the second verb. Latin does not need to repeat the subject if it is already clear. So Puella ... videt et scit ... means The girl sees ... and knows .... English often does the same thing: we would not normally say The girl sees ... and the girl knows ... unless we wanted special emphasis.
Why is the word order so different from normal English word order?
Latin word order is much more flexible because endings show how the words function. English depends heavily on word order to show subject and object, but Latin can move words around for emphasis, balance, or style. In this sentence, the most tightly connected idea at the end is felem nocte intus venisse, the whole thing that she knows. Putting venisse at the end is especially natural in Latin.
AI Language TutorTry it ↗
“What's the best way to learn Latin grammar?”
Latin grammar becomes intuitive with practice. Focus on understanding the core patterns first — how sentences are structured, how verbs change form, and how words relate to each other. Our course breaks these concepts into small lessons so you can build understanding step by step.
Sign up free — start using our AI language tutor
Start learning LatinMaster Latin — from Puella in limine vestigia parva videt et scit felem nocte intus venisse to fluency
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods.
- ✓ Infinitely deep — unlimited vocabulary and grammar
- ✓ Fast-paced — build complex sentences from the start
- ✓ Unforgettable — efficient spaced repetition system
- ✓ AI tutor to answer your grammar questions