Mater vestigium canis in atrio videt et servam vocat.

Because mater is in the nominative singular, the case normally used for the subject of a finite verb.

It also fits the verbs:

• videt = she sees
• vocat = she calls

So mater is the person doing both actions.

Vestigium is the direct object of videt, so it means the thing the mother sees.

A useful point here: vestigium is a neuter noun, and in many neuter nouns the nominative and accusative singular look the same. So the form by itself does not prove the function. You tell from the sentence structure and meaning:

• mater is the doer
• vestigium is what is seen

So here vestigium is understood as accusative singular.

Here canis is genitive singular, showing possession or association.

So:

• vestigium canis = the dog's footprint
• literally: the footprint of the dog

This is a very common Latin pattern:

• noun + genitive noun
• vestigium canis = footprint of a dog / the dog

A beginner can find this tricky because canis can also be nominative singular. In this sentence, though, it clearly depends on vestigium, not on the verb, so it is understood as genitive.

Because in takes different cases depending on meaning:

• in + ablative = in / on / at a place, with no motion into it
• in + accusative = into a place, showing motion

Here the sentence says the footprint is in the atrium, not moving into it, so Latin uses the ablative:

• in atrio = in the atrium / in the courtyard

Because servam is the accusative singular, and it is the direct object of vocat.

So:

• serva = slave woman as subject
• servam = slave woman as object

In this sentence, the mother is calling the slave woman, so the object form is needed:

• servam vocat = she calls the slave woman

Both are:

• present tense
• indicative mood
• active voice
• third person singular

So they mean:

• videt = he/she/it sees
• vocat = he/she/it calls

Because the subject is mater, we understand:

• mater videt = the mother sees
• mater vocat = the mother calls

And since the subject is not repeated, it still applies to both verbs.

Latin normally has no articles. It does not have exact equivalents of English the and a/an.

So a word like mater can mean:

• mother
• a mother
• the mother

You decide from context what sounds best in English. The same is true for:

• vestigium
• canis
• servam
• atrium

That is why translations into English have to add articles even though Latin does not.

Latin word order is often more flexible than English word order, because the case endings show each word's job in the sentence.

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

• Mater servam vocat et vestigium canis in atrio videt
• In atrio mater vestigium canis videt et servam vocat

The original order is natural and clear, but not the only possible order.

Word order in Latin often affects emphasis more than basic meaning.

In Roman contexts, atrium usually means the central open or semi-open space of a house. Depending on context, English might translate it as:

• atrium
• hall
• courtyard

So in atrio could be understood as in the atrium or in the courtyard, depending on how the textbook is presenting the setting.

Yes, vestigium is singular, so it literally means a footprint, a track, or a trace.

Latin often uses the singular when English might also naturally use the singular:

• she sees a footprint
• she sees the dog's footprint

Depending on context, vestigium can suggest:

• one clear footprint
• a trace or sign left behind
• a track

So singular vestigium does not have to mean only one isolated print in a very narrow sense; it can also mean a visible trace.

Et simply means and.

It joins the two actions:

• videt = sees
• vocat = calls

So the sentence says that the mother does two things:

1. she sees the dog's footprint in the atrium
2. she calls the slave woman

Because there is no new subject after et, we naturally understand the same subject, mater, with both verbs.