Breakdown of Mater filio ignoscit, si crimen suum aperte fatetur.
Questions & Answers about Mater filio ignoscit, si crimen suum aperte fatetur.
Because mater is in the nominative singular, which is the usual case for the subject.
Even though mater does not have the very common -a nominative ending, it is still nominative. It is a third-declension noun:
- mater = mother
- nominative singular: mater
The verb ignoscit is third person singular, so it matches mater: the mother forgives.
Because the verb ignoscere takes the dative of the person being forgiven.
So Latin says, literally, something like:
- mater filio ignoscit = the mother grants forgiveness to the son
This is different from English, where forgive usually takes a direct object: the mother forgives the son.
So:
- filio = to/for the son = dative singular
Crimen is accusative singular.
That is because it is the direct object of fatetur:
- fatetur crimen = he admits/confesses the crime