Puer rogat cur bos, quamquam pastor prope est, adhuc mugiat.

Because cur bos ... adhuc mugiat is an indirect question after rogat.

In Latin, verbs like rogo can introduce an embedded question:

• direct question: Cur bos adhuc mugit? = Why is the cow still mooing?
• indirect question: Puer rogat cur bos adhuc mugiat. = The boy asks why the cow is still mooing.

In an indirect question, Latin normally uses the subjunctive. So mugiat is the expected form.

It is specifically:

• present
• active
• subjunctive
• 3rd person singular

The present subjunctive fits well here because the asking and the mooing are happening at the same time.

Cur means why.

Here it introduces the indirect question:

• cur bos ... mugiat = why the cow is mooing

This is different from a word like quia or quod, which would introduce a reason or explanation:

• quia = because

So:

• rogat cur... = asks why...
• not asks because...

That is an important distinction for English speakers, because English sometimes uses similar-looking structures, but Latin keeps the two ideas clearly separate.

No. Quamquam usually takes the indicative in Classical Latin.

So:

• quamquam pastor prope est = although the shepherd is nearby

This clause expresses a concession: something is true, and yet something else still happens.

So the sentence means roughly:

• the boy asks why the cow is still mooing,
• although the shepherd is nearby.

The subjunctive in the sentence comes from the indirect question after rogat, not from quamquam.

Bos is nominative singular.

It is the subject of mugiat:

• bos mugiat = the cow may be mooing / is mooing in the indirect-question construction

This noun is a 3rd-declension noun and is somewhat irregular, so its forms may look unfamiliar.

Important forms include:

• nominative singular: bos
• genitive singular: bovis

A learner might expect something more regular-looking, but bos is simply the dictionary form and the correct subject form here.

Because pastor is the subject of a different verb: est.

The sentence has:

• main clause: Puer rogat
• indirect question: cur bos ... mugiat
• inserted concessive clause: quamquam pastor prope est

Inside that concessive clause:

• pastor = subject
• est = verb

So:

• bos is the subject of mugiat
• pastor is the subject of est

Even though both are nominative, they belong to different parts of the sentence.

Here prope is being used adverbially, meaning nearby or close.

So:

• pastor prope est = the shepherd is nearby

Latin prope can be used in two ways:

1. as an adverb:

   • prope est = is nearby

2. as a preposition with the accusative:

   • prope villam est = he is near the house

In this sentence it is the adverbial use, so no object is needed.

Adhuc means still, up to now, or yet depending on context.

Here it means:

• bos adhuc mugiat = the cow is still mooing

It adds the idea that the mooing is continuing longer than one might expect.

That is important for the logic of the sentence:

• if the shepherd is nearby, why is the cow still mooing?

Latin word order is much more flexible than English word order because Latin shows grammatical relationships mainly through endings, not just position.

This sentence is organized roughly like this:

• Puer rogat = main clause
• cur bos ... adhuc mugiat = indirect question
• quamquam pastor prope est = concessive clause inserted in the middle

A more mechanically arranged version might be:

• Puer rogat cur bos adhuc mugiat, quamquam pastor prope est.

But Latin often places an inserted clause where it sounds natural or where it gives emphasis.

So the given order is perfectly normal:

• the main question begins,
• then the although clause interrupts,
• then the main verb of the indirect question comes at the end.

That final placement of mugiat is also very Latin.

Yes.

Mugiat is:

• from mugire = to moo, to bellow
• 3rd person singular
• present
• active
• subjunctive

So it means:

• he/she/it may moo
• but here, because it is in an indirect question, it is best understood simply as is mooing

The subject is bos, so:

• bos ... mugiat = the cow is mooing

Because the sentence is reporting what the boy asks, not quoting his exact words.

Compare:

Direct question:

• Cur bos, quamquam pastor prope est, adhuc mugit?
• Why is the cow still mooing, although the shepherd is nearby?

Reported / indirect question:

• Puer rogat cur bos, quamquam pastor prope est, adhuc mugiat.
• The boy asks why the cow is still mooing, although the shepherd is nearby.

So Latin changes the verb of the question to the subjunctive because the question is embedded inside a larger sentence.

It most directly modifies the situation inside the indirect question.

The sense is:

• the boy asks why the cow is still mooing,
• even though the shepherd is nearby

So quamquam pastor prope est gives the surprising circumstance against which the mooing is happening.

In other words, the concession belongs with bos ... adhuc mugiat, not really with puer rogat.

The boy is not asking although the shepherd is nearby; rather, he is asking why the cow is mooing although the shepherd is nearby.

Yes, a small point.

Bos can mean ox, cow, or more generally bovine/cattle animal, depending on context.

Since the English meaning has already been given to the learner, cow is presumably the intended translation here. But the Latin word itself is broader than that.

So grammatically:

• bos = one bovine animal
• context decides whether English should be cow, ox, or something similar

They mark the inserted concessive clause.

The core indirect question is:

• cur bos adhuc mugiat

The clause

• quamquam pastor prope est is inserted parenthetically to add contrast.

So the commas help the reader see the structure:

• Puer rogat
• cur bos, quamquam pastor prope est, adhuc mugiat.

In printed Latin, punctuation is editorial rather than original, but here it is very helpful for understanding the syntax.