Mater irata est, sed patientiam servare conatur.

Because irata has to agree with mater.

• mater = mother, a feminine noun
• irata = angry, feminine singular nominative

In Latin, adjectives agree with the nouns they describe in gender, number, and case. Since mater is feminine singular nominative, the adjective must also be feminine singular nominative: irata.

If the subject were masculine, you would get iratus instead.

Irata est means is angry.

This is:

• irata = an adjective, angry
• est = is

So it works like She is angry in English.

A beginner might wonder whether this is some kind of tense like a perfect passive, because Latin often uses participle + est. But here irata is simply being used as an adjective describing the subject, not as a passive verb form.

So the structure is basically:

• Mater = Mother
• irata est = is angry

Latin normally does not use articles like the or a/an.

So mater can mean:

• mother
• the mother
• a mother

The exact meaning depends on context.

Also, Latin often leaves out possessives like her or my when they are obvious. So depending on context, mater could naturally be understood as his mother, her mother, my mother, and so on.

Because it is the direct object of servare.

• patientia = patience
• patientiam = patience in the accusative singular

The verb servare means to preserve, to keep, or to maintain. The thing being kept is the direct object, so it goes into the accusative case.

So:

• patientiam servare = to keep patience / to remain patient

Because after conatur, Latin uses an infinitive.

• conatur = tries
• servare = to keep

So patientiam servare conatur means she tries to keep her patience.

This is similar to English:

• She tries to keep calm

not

• She tries keeps calm

So servare is an infinitive because it depends on conatur.

Because conor, conari, conatus sum is a deponent verb.

Deponent verbs:

• look passive in form
• but have active meaning

So conatur looks like a passive form, but it actually means he/she tries.

This is something English speakers often find strange at first. With deponent verbs, you have to get used to the idea that the form and the meaning do not match in the way you expect.

Here:

• conatur = she tries

not she is tried.

By itself, conatur can mean:

• he tries
• she tries
• it tries

Latin third-person singular verbs do not show gender.

We know it means she tries here because the subject is already given as mater, which is feminine. So the subject carries over:

• Mater irata est = Mother is angry
• sed patientiam servare conatur = but she tries to keep her patience

Latin very often leaves out subject pronouns when the subject is already clear.

Because Latin often omits words that are easy to understand from context.

Once mater has been established as the subject, Latin does not need to repeat it. The second clause naturally continues with the same subject unless something shows otherwise.

So this is completely normal Latin style:

• Mater irata est, sed patientiam servare conatur.
• Mother is angry, but she tries to keep her patience.

Yes. Literally it means to preserve/keep patience, and that naturally comes out in English as:

• to keep one’s patience
• to remain patient

Latin often uses concrete verbs like servare where English might prefer a more abstract expression.

So this is a very natural thing for a learner to notice: Latin is not always matching English word-for-word, even when the meaning is straightforward.

Yes. Latin word order is much freer than English word order because the endings show the grammatical relationships.

So the following would still mean essentially the same thing:

• Mater irata est, sed patientiam servare conatur.
• Mater sed patientiam servare conatur, irata est.
• Patientiam servare conatur, sed mater irata est.

However, the original order is natural and clear. It places the contrast neatly:

• Mother is angry
• but she tries to keep her patience

Latin word order is often used for emphasis, contrast, or style, not just grammar.

Sed means but, and it introduces the second clause in contrast with the first one.

So the sentence is built like this:

• Mater irata est = Mother is angry
• sed = but
• patientiam servare conatur = she tries to keep her patience

This creates a clear contrast between:

• her emotional state
• her effort at self-control

That is exactly the kind of thing sed is used for.

A useful set would be:

• mater, matris — mother
• iratus, irata, iratum — angry
• sum, esse — to be
• sed — but
• patientia, patientiae — patience
• servo, servare, servavi, servatum — to preserve, keep
• conor, conari, conatus sum — to try

A very important thing to notice is that conor is deponent, so its principal parts look different from a normal active verb.

A beginner might think so, because Latin can use participle + est to make a perfect passive, such as:

• amata est = she has been loved / she was loved

But here irata is not functioning as a passive participle in a verbal construction. It is simply an adjective meaning angry.

So in this sentence:

• irata est = is angry

not

• has been angered

Context and vocabulary help you decide which use you are seeing.