Mater utramque filiam ad mensam vocat.

Mater is nominative singular, so it is the subject of the sentence.

A learner can tell this in two ways:

• Meaning/function: the mother is the one doing the action of calling.
• Form: mater is the nominative form of the 3rd-declension noun mater, matris.

In Latin, the subject is often shown by case ending rather than by word order.

This is one of the most common questions here.

Utramque comes from uterque, utraque, utrumque, meaning each of two or both. Even though the idea is plural in English, Latin often uses uterque with a singular noun:

• utramque filiam = literally something like each daughter of the two
• naturally in English: both daughters

So filiam is singular because it agrees with utramque, which is grammatically singular, even though the overall sense refers to two people.

Utramque is the accusative feminine singular form of uterque.

It means:

• each of the two
• or, in smoother English, both

Because it modifies filiam, it must match it in:

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

So utramque filiam is a standard Latin way to express both daughters.

No. Here, -que is not the separate conjunction meaning and.

In utramque, the -que is simply part of the word uterque. The whole word is a fixed pronoun/adjective meaning each of two / both.

So this is not:

• utram + que = somehow ... and

It is:

• utramque = one complete form belonging to uterque

Because it is the direct object of vocat.

The verb vocare means to call or summon, and the person being called is put in the accusative:

• mater ... vocat = the mother calls ...
• who does she call? utramque filiam

So both words are accusative feminine singular:

• utramque
• filiam

Good question. Mensam is accusative too, but for a different reason.

• utramque filiam is the direct object
• ad mensam is a prepositional phrase

The preposition ad takes the accusative and usually means to, toward, or up to. So:

• ad mensam = to the table

This is not a second direct object. It is a phrase showing direction.

Because Latin and English do not organize these ideas in the same way.

In English, to can introduce many kinds of phrases. In Latin, movement toward a place is very often expressed with:

• ad
  • accusative

So:

• ad mensam = to the table

Latin does use the dative in other situations, but not here. With a verb like vocare plus a destination, ad + accusative is the normal pattern.

Because the subject is mater, which is singular.

• mater = mother
• vocat = she calls

Even though both daughters are involved, they are the object, not the subject. The verb agrees with the subject, not the object.

So:

• singular subject → singular verb
• mater ... vocat

Vocat is from the verb voco, vocare, vocavi, vocatus.

Here it is:

• 3rd person singular
• present tense
• active voice
• indicative mood

So it means:

• she calls
• she is calling
• sometimes, depending on context, she calls/summons

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

So all of these could be possible, depending on emphasis:

• Mater utramque filiam ad mensam vocat.
• Mater ad mensam utramque filiam vocat.
• Utramque filiam mater ad mensam vocat.
• Ad mensam mater utramque filiam vocat.

The basic meaning stays the same, but the emphasis can shift.

This sentence in its current order is quite natural:

• subject first: mater
• object next: utramque filiam
• destination phrase: ad mensam
• verb at the end: vocat

Latin has no articles like English the or a/an.

So:

• mater can mean mother or the mother
• filiam can mean daughter or the daughter
• mensam can mean table or the table

You decide from context which English article is best.

Here are the main dictionary forms:

• mater → mater, matris = mother
• utramque → from uterque, utraque, utrumque = each of two, both
• filiam → filia, filiae = daughter
• ad = to, toward
• mensam → mensa, mensae = table
• vocat → from voco, vocare = call, summon

Looking up the dictionary form is especially helpful when the form in the sentence is inflected, as with utramque, filiam, mensam, and vocat.