Dum anates in lacu natant, gallus prope mensam ambulat et panem quaerit.

Dum usually means while. It introduces a clause that gives the background action:

• Dum anates in lacu natant = while the ducks are swimming in the lake

So the sentence is describing two actions happening at the same time:

• the ducks are swimming
• the rooster is walking nearby and looking for bread

Anates means ducks and is the plural nominative form.

That makes it the subject of natant:

• anates = the ducks
• natant = they swim / are swimming

A learner might expect something closer to English word order, but in Latin the ending is what tells you the grammatical role. Here, -es shows the plural nominative form of this noun.

Because the subject is plural.

• natat = he/she/it swims
• natant = they swim

Since anates is plural, the verb also has to be plural:

• anates ... natant = the ducks swim

Lacu is in the ablative singular.

It is used after in when in means in or on in a location sense, not movement into something.

So:

• in lacu = in the lake / in the pond

Compare:

• in lacu natant = they are swimming in the lake → location, so ablative
• in lacum currunt = they run into the lake → motion toward, so accusative

This is a very common Latin pattern:

• in + ablative = in/on, location
• in + accusative = into/onto, motion toward

Because prope is a preposition that takes the accusative.

So:

• prope = near
• mensam = table, in the accusative singular
• prope mensam = near the table

This is something you often just have to memorize with prepositions: each one governs a particular case.

Latin word order is much more flexible than English word order because Latin uses endings to show grammatical relationships.

In English, word order does a lot of the grammatical work:

• The rooster looks for bread

In Latin, endings show who is doing what:

• gallus is nominative, so it is the subject
• panem is accusative, so it is the direct object

That means Latin can move words around more freely for style, emphasis, or rhythm. This sentence is still quite natural and readable:

• Dum anates in lacu natant, gallus prope mensam ambulat et panem quaerit.

Because gallus is in the nominative singular, which is the normal case for the subject.

Also, both verbs are third person singular:

• ambulat = he walks / is walking
• quaerit = he seeks / is looking for

So they match gallus:

• gallus ambulat et panem quaerit = the rooster walks and looks for bread

Latin often uses one subject with two verbs, just as English does.

Because panem is the direct object of quaerit.

• quaerit = seeks / looks for
• What is he looking for? panem = bread

The direct object in Latin is usually in the accusative case. So:

• panis = bread, nominative
• panem = bread, accusative

Here it means looks for or seeks.

The basic meaning of quaerere is to seek, to look for, to search for, or sometimes to ask depending on context. In this sentence, with panem as the object, the most natural meaning is:

• panem quaerit = he is looking for bread

Classical Latin has no articles like English the and a/an.

So:

• gallus can mean a rooster or the rooster
• panem can mean bread, a loaf of bread, or the bread, depending on context
• mensam can mean a table or the table

You figure out the best English translation from the situation, not from a separate Latin word.

Either can be correct.

The Latin present tense often covers both:

• simple present: walks
• present progressive: is walking

So:

• gallus prope mensam ambulat can mean
  • the rooster walks near the table
  • the rooster is walking near the table

Because the sentence also has dum and an ongoing background action, English often prefers is walking in context.

Yes, dum can appear with different tenses, but the present tense is very common when it means while in a vivid or general way.

Here:

• dum ... natant = while ... are swimming

This is a normal and straightforward use for beginners. It presents the ducks’ action as ongoing at the same time as the rooster’s actions.

A beginner-friendly breakdown would be:

• dum = introduces a while clause
• anates = nominative plural subject
• in lacu = in + ablative for location
• natant = 3rd person plural present
• gallus = nominative singular subject
• prope mensam = prope + accusative
• ambulat = 3rd person singular present
• et = and
• panem = accusative singular direct object
• quaerit = 3rd person singular present

So the sentence is a good example of:

• subject-verb agreement
• case endings
• prepositions with fixed cases
• a time clause with dum
• one subject governing two verbs