Postremo mater dicit cenam paratam esse, et denique omnes ad mensam conveniunt.

This is one of the most important Latin patterns: after verbs of saying, thinking, knowing, hearing, and perceiving, Latin very often uses an accusative + infinitive construction instead of a that-clause.

So:

• mater dicit = mother says
• cenam paratam esse = that the dinner is ready

In this construction:

• the subject of the reported statement goes into the accusative
• the verb of the reported statement goes into the infinitive

So cena parata est means the dinner is ready as a direct statement, but after dicit, it becomes:

• cenam = accusative of cena
• paratam esse = to be ready

So literally, Latin says something like mother says the dinner to be ready, which English turns into mother says that the dinner is ready.

Because cenam is the subject of the infinitive inside the accusative-and-infinitive construction.

If the sentence were a direct statement, you would have:

• cena parata est = the dinner is ready

Here, cena is nominative, because it is the subject of the finite verb est.

But after dicit, Latin changes the reported clause into indirect statement:

• cenam paratam esse

Now the subject of the reported statement is no longer nominative. It becomes accusative, so cena changes to cenam.

Paratam is the feminine singular accusative form of the adjective paratus, -a, -um, meaning prepared or ready.

It agrees with cenam in:

• gender: feminine
• number: singular
• case: accusative

So:

• cenam = feminine singular accusative
• paratam = feminine singular accusative

This agreement is exactly like in English the ready dinner, except Latin shows the relationship through matching endings.

Because in indirect statement Latin uses an infinitive, not a normal finite verb.

Compare:

• cena parata est = the dinner is ready
  
  • this is a direct statement
• mater dicit cenam paratam esse = mother says that the dinner is ready
  
  • this is an indirect statement

So esse is the infinitive to be, and it is required by the construction after dicit.

A helpful way to remember it is:

• direct statement -> est
• reported statement after dicit -> esse

Together, paratam esse means to be ready.

More literally:

• paratam = ready / prepared
• esse = to be

Latin often uses an adjective plus esse where English simply says is ready or to be ready.

Since this is part of indirect statement, English usually translates the whole thing as:

• that dinner is ready

even though the Latin structure is literally dinner to be ready.

Both postremo and denique can mean finally, at last, or in the end.

In this sentence they help mark the sequence of events:

• Postremo introduces the last major step: the mother announces dinner.
• denique then moves to the final result: everyone gathers at the table.

So using both can feel a little like:

• Finally, mother says dinner is ready, and then at last everyone comes to the table.

Latin often likes these connective adverbs to make the flow of the story clear. A learner should not assume they must always be sharply different in meaning; sometimes they overlap and mainly help with narrative progression.

Because omnes is the subject of conveniunt.

Here omnes means everyone or all [the people]. Grammatically, it is plural:

• omnes conveniunt = everyone / all come together

Even though English may use singular everyone, Latin here uses a plural idea: all the people.

That is why the verb is also plural:

• conveniunt = they gather / they come together

Because its subject, omnes, is plural in form and sense.

• omnes = all (people)
• conveniunt = they gather / come together

So Latin is treating omnes as all the people, not as a singular abstract word like English everyone sometimes feels.

If the subject were singular, you would expect a singular verb such as convenit. But here the plural is completely natural.

Ad mensam means to the table.

The preposition ad takes the accusative and usually expresses:

• motion toward
• direction to
• position at / near in some contexts

Here it shows movement toward the table:

• omnes ad mensam conveniunt = everyone gathers at/to the table

So:

• mensa = nominative
• mensam = accusative after ad

A common beginner question is why it is not dative or ablative. The answer is simply that ad governs the accusative.

It means something more specific than just come. Convenire often means:

• come together
• meet
• assemble
• gather

So omnes ad mensam conveniunt is not just everyone comes to the table, but more specifically everyone gathers at the table.

That sense of people coming together is built into the verb.

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

English depends heavily on position:

• the mother says the dinner is ready

Latin can move words around more freely because the endings show what each word is doing.

In this sentence:

• Postremo mater dicit cenam paratam esse, et denique omnes ad mensam conveniunt

the order is quite natural for Latin prose. Some things to notice:

• Postremo and denique are placed early because they connect the story.
• mater comes near dicit, which keeps subject and main verb close.
• cenam paratam esse stays together as the indirect statement.
• conveniunt comes at the end of the second clause, a very common place for a Latin verb.

So the order is not random; it is flexible but still meaningful and stylistically natural.

Mater is nominative singular because it is the subject of dicit.

The basic structure is:

• mater dicit = mother says

The noun mater belongs to the third declension, and its nominative singular form is mater.

So in this sentence the main subjects are:

• mater -> subject of dicit
• omnes -> subject of conveniunt

Not necessarily. Latin often tells a story in the present tense for vividness. This is sometimes called the historical present when used in narrative.

So even if the whole scene is part of a story about the past, Latin may still say:

• mater dicit
• omnes conveniunt

This makes the action feel immediate, as if it is happening in front of the reader.

Whether you translate these as present or past in English depends on the context of the larger passage. Grammatically, though, the Latin present tense here is completely normal.