Mater falcem tenet et segetem metit.

Because falcem is the accusative singular form of falx, falcis.

In this sentence, falcem is the direct object of tenet: it is the thing the mother is holding. Latin changes noun endings to show their job in the sentence, so:

• falx = nominative singular, a sickle / the sickle as subject
• falcem = accusative singular, a sickle / the sickle as direct object

So Mater falcem tenet literally means Mother holds a sickle.

For the same reason: segetem is the accusative singular of seges, segetis.

Here, segetem is the direct object of metit: it is the thing being reaped. So Latin uses the object form:

• seges = nominative singular
• segetem = accusative singular

This is a very common pattern in Latin: the subject is in the nominative, and the direct object is in the accusative.

We know because mater is in the nominative singular, which is the normal case for the subject of a sentence.

Also, both verbs are third person singular, so they match a singular subject:

• tenet = she/he/it holds
• metit = she/he/it reaps

Since mater means mother and is nominative singular, it is the natural subject of both verbs.

Both are:

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

So they mean:

• tenet = she holds
• metit = she reaps

Latin often does not need a separate word for she, because the verb ending already tells you the subject is he/she/it singular.

Because classical Latin does not have articles like English the and a/an.

So a noun like mater can mean:

• mother
• a mother
• the mother

The exact meaning depends on context. The same is true for falcem and segetem.

Because the verb ending already gives that information.

For example:

• tenet already means he/she/it holds
• metit already means he/she/it reaps

Since mater is present, Latin does not need to add a pronoun. A separate pronoun would usually only be added for emphasis or contrast.

No. Latin word order is much freer than English word order because the endings show the grammatical roles.

This sentence has a very clear and natural order:

• Mater falcem tenet et segetem metit.

But Latin could rearrange the words and still mean the same basic thing, for example:

• Falcem mater tenet et segetem metit.
• Mater tenet falcem et metit segetem.

The emphasis may change slightly, but the case endings still tell you that:

• mater is the subject
• falcem and segetem are direct objects

The dictionary forms are:

• mater, matris = mother
• falx, falcis = sickle
• teneo, tenere = hold
• seges, segetis = crop, grain field, standing corn
• meto, metere = reap, harvest, mow

This is useful because Latin dictionaries usually list nouns with the nominative and genitive singular, and verbs with the first-person singular present and infinitive.

Because both nouns are third-declension nouns in the accusative singular.

Many third-declension nouns form the accusative singular with -em, especially when they are masculine or feminine:

• falx, falcis → falcem
• seges, segetis → segetem

So the shared -em ending is a clue that both words are direct objects.

Yes. Et is the ordinary Latin word for and.

Here it links two parts with the same subject:

• Mater falcem tenet
• (Mater) segetem metit

Latin does not repeat mater in the second half because it is understood. So the full sense is:

• Mother holds a sickle and reaps the crop.