Mater non dubitat quin fluctus mox minuantur, sed adhuc piscatorem in portu manere vult.

After a verb of doubting that is negative or has a negative idea, Latin often uses quin plus the subjunctive.

So non dubitat quin fluctus mox minuantur means she does not doubt that the waves will soon lessen / subside.

A helpful way to remember it is:

• dubitat an... = she doubts whether...
• non dubitat quin... = she does not doubt that...

Literally, quin originally has the sense of that not or but that, but in this kind of sentence it is best understood simply as that after a negative expression of doubt.

Because it is inside a quin-clause, and quin normally takes the subjunctive.

minuantur is:

• present subjunctive
• passive
• 3rd person plural

It comes from minuere, meaning to lessen, reduce, make smaller.

So literally fluctus mox minuantur is something like the waves may be reduced soon, but in smoother English it often means the waves will soon die down / lessen.

Here fluctus is plural: the waves.

This can be confusing because fluctus is a 4th-declension noun, and some of its forms look the same in spelling. Without macrons, fluctus could be:

• nominative singular: fluctus = wave
• nominative plural: fluctus = waves

You can tell it is plural here because the verb minuantur is plural.

So:

• fluctus minuantur = the waves are lessening / will lessen

Because it is the subject of the infinitive manere after vult.

Latin often uses an accusative + infinitive construction after verbs of wanting, saying, thinking, knowing, and so on. In English we say:

• She wants the fisherman to remain in the harbor.

In Latin that becomes:

• piscatorem ... manere vult

So:

• vult = she wants
• piscatorem = the fisherman as the subject of the infinitive
• manere = to remain

This is why piscatorem is not nominative.

Because it depends on vult.

Vult means she wants, and Latin commonly follows verbs like volo with an infinitive to say what someone wants to happen.

Here the idea is:

• Mater ... vult = The mother wants...
• piscatorem in portu manere = the fisherman to stay in the harbor

So manere is the infinitive because it expresses the action wanted.

Because in with the ablative shows location: in the harbor.

Compare:

• in portu = in the harbor / at the harbor (where someone is)
• in portum = into the harbor (movement toward)

Since the fisherman is being told or wanted to remain there, Latin uses the ablative:

• in portu manere = to remain in the harbor

Adhuc means still, up to this point, or so far.

In this sentence, it means that even though the mother does not doubt the waves will soon lessen, for the present she still wants the fisherman to remain in the harbor.

So sed adhuc means something like:

• but still
• but for now
• but as things stand

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

This sentence is arranged in a very natural Latin way:

• Mater first, as the main topic
• non dubitat quin... gives the first idea
• sed adhuc... vult adds the contrast
• vult comes at the end of its clause, which is very common in Latin

A different order could still mean the same thing, as long as the forms stay clear. Latin often uses word order for emphasis rather than basic grammar.

Because the two main verbs require different constructions.

1. non dubitat is a verb of doubting used negatively, so Latin uses:

   • quin + subjunctive

2. vult is a verb of wanting, so Latin uses:

   • an infinitive
   • and if the infinitive has its own subject, that subject goes into the accusative

So the sentence combines two standard Latin patterns:

• non dubitat quin fluctus mox minuantur
• piscatorem in portu manere vult

A learner often has to get used to the fact that Latin does not use one single that-clause pattern for everything the way English often does.