Puer caecus matrem rogat ut eum per viam ducat.

Because caecus describes puer, and puer is the subject of rogat. In Latin, an adjective agrees with the noun it modifies in case, number, and gender.

• puer = nominative singular masculine
• caecus = nominative singular masculine

So puer caecus means the blind boy.

It is not accusative because it is not describing matrem or eum.

Because rogat takes a direct object: the person being asked.

So in this sentence:

• puer caecus = the blind boy, the subject
• matrem = his mother, the person he asks

That is why Latin uses the accusative matrem.

A very literal breakdown is:

• The blind boy asks his mother...

After verbs like rogat when someone asks another person to do something, Latin commonly uses:

• verb of asking
• • ut
• • subjunctive verb

So rogat ut ... ducat means he asks that she lead ... or more naturally he asks her to lead ...

This is a very common Latin construction. English often uses an infinitive, as in asks her to lead him, but Latin usually prefers ut + subjunctive here.

It is subjunctive because it is in a clause introduced by ut after a verb of asking: rogat ut ... ducat.

This kind of clause is often called a substantive clause of purpose or, in many beginner explanations, simply an indirect command/request.

So:

• rogat = he asks
• ut ... ducat = that she lead / to lead

The subjunctive is required by this construction.

Because Latin is not using an infinitive here.

English says he asks his mother to lead him, where to lead is an infinitive. But Latin normally says:

• rogat ut ... ducat

So instead of an infinitive like ducere, Latin uses a finite verb in the subjunctive, here ducat.

Also:

• ducere = active infinitive, to lead
• duci = passive infinitive, to be led
• ducat = may/should lead, present subjunctive, fitting the ut clause

Eum refers back to puer.

So the sentence means that the boy asks his mother to lead him.

Latin often uses a third-person pronoun like eum to refer to the same person mentioned earlier, especially when clarity is needed. Here:

• puer = the boy
• eum = him = the boy

This is a very common learner question.

Latin often uses se when the subject of the verb inside the clause is the same as the subject of the main verb, or in reflexive contexts. But here the understood subject of ducat is matrem: she is the one who would do the leading.

So the structure is:

• the boy asks
• that his mother lead him

Since him is not reflexive with respect to matrem, eum is natural here.

If Latin used se here, it would suggest that the mother leads herself, which is not the meaning.

The subject is understood from the context: matrem.

After rogat ut, the person being asked is often understood as the subject of the subjunctive verb.

So:

• matrem rogat = he asks his mother
• ut eum per viam ducat = that she lead him along the road

Latin often leaves subject pronouns unstated when they are clear from context.

Per takes the accusative and often means through, along, or by way of.

So:

• per viam = along the road or through the street/road

In this sentence, along the road is probably the most natural translation.

Grammatically:

• per = preposition taking accusative
• viam = accusative singular of via

Because the preposition per always takes the accusative case.

So:

• per + accusative
• via becomes viam

This has nothing to do with being the direct object of ducat. It is accusative specifically because it follows per.

Latin often does not need to state possessive words like his, her, or their when the relationship is obvious.

Here, matrem by itself naturally means his mother from the context, because the blind boy is the one asking.

Latin frequently leaves possession understood when it is clear, especially with family relationships.

If needed for emphasis or clarity, Latin could add a possessive, but it is not necessary here.

Yes, but not in the same rigid way as in English.

Latin word order is more flexible because the endings show the grammatical roles. So even though:

• puer is the subject
• matrem is the object
• eum is also accusative but belongs inside the ut clause

the cases make the relationships clear.

This word order is quite natural:

• Puer caecus puts the main subject first
• matrem rogat gives the main action
• ut eum per viam ducat gives the content of the request

So the order helps the sentence flow, but the endings carry most of the grammar.

It is grammatically just an adjective modifying puer, but it also helps explain why the boy asks for help.

So in terms of grammar:

• caecus = adjective agreeing with puer

In terms of meaning:

• it gives the reason the request makes sense
• a blind boy asks his mother to lead him along the road

So it is both a simple modifier and an important detail in the sentence’s overall sense.