Mater aquam calidam in pelvim fundit, ut infans manus lavet.

Because aquam is the direct object of fundit: the mother is pouring the water. In Latin, a direct object is normally put in the accusative case.

• aqua = water
• aquam = water, as a direct object

The adjective calidam matches aquam in case, number, and gender, so it is also accusative singular feminine.

Adjectives in Latin must agree with the nouns they describe.

Here, calidam describes aquam, so it must match it:

• aquam = accusative singular feminine
• therefore calidam = accusative singular feminine

So aquam calidam means warm water.

Because in takes the accusative when it shows motion into something, and the ablative when it shows location in something.

Here the water is being poured into the basin, so Latin uses the accusative:

• in pelvim = into the basin

Compare:

• in pelvi est = it is in the basin
• in pelvim fundit = she pours it into the basin

Pelvim is accusative singular. The dictionary form is pelvis.

So the pattern is:

• nominative: pelvis
• accusative: pelvim

This is a third-declension noun, which is why the form may look less familiar than a first- or second-declension noun.

Here ut introduces a purpose clause: it tells us why the mother pours the warm water into the basin.

So:

• Mater aquam calidam in pelvim fundit = The mother pours warm water into the basin
• ut infans manus lavet = so that the baby may wash hands / so that the baby can wash his or her hands

A very common translation of ut in this use is so that or in order that.

Because after ut in a purpose clause, Latin normally uses the subjunctive, not the indicative.

• lavat = indicative, washes
• lavet = subjunctive, may wash / might wash

So ut infans manus lavet means so that the baby may wash his or her hands.

This is one of the most important uses of the subjunctive in Latin.

Since the main verb is fundit (present tense), Latin normally uses the present subjunctive in the purpose clause. This is part of what is often called sequence of tenses.

• main verb: fundit = present
• subordinate purpose verb: lavet = present subjunctive

So the tense choice is not random; it follows a standard Latin pattern.

The subject of lavet is infans.

So in the clause:

• ut infans manus lavet

the baby is the one doing the washing.

That means:

• infans = subject of lavet
• manus = object of lavet

Here manus is the direct object of lavet, so it is accusative plural: hands.

This can be confusing because manus belongs to the fourth declension, and its accusative plural looks the same as its nominative singular:

• nominative singular: manus = hand
• accusative plural: manus = hands

In this sentence, the meaning makes it clear that hands is intended.

Latin often leaves out possessive words like his, her, or their when the owner is obvious from the context, especially with body parts.

So infans manus lavet naturally means:

• the baby washes his or her hands

Latin does not need to say suas manus unless it wants to be especially explicit or emphatic.

Because Latin has no definite or indefinite articles.

So a noun like mater can mean:

• mother
• the mother
• a mother

The exact English translation depends on the context.

The same is true for infans, aquam, and pelvim.

The word order is meaningful, but it is not as rigid as in English because Latin shows grammatical relationships mainly through word endings.

This sentence could be rearranged in different ways and still mean roughly the same thing, as long as the endings stay the same.

For example, Latin uses endings to show:

• mater = subject
• aquam = object of fundit
• pelvim = object of the preposition in
• infans = subject of lavet
• manus = object of lavet

The given order is natural and clear, but not the only possible one.

It has two parts:

1. Main clause
   Mater aquam calidam in pelvim fundit
   = The mother pours warm water into the basin

2. Purpose clause
   ut infans manus lavet
   = so that the baby may wash his or her hands

So the sentence means not just what the mother does, but also why she does it.

Yes. Ut has several meanings in Latin, depending on context. For example, it can mean things like:

• as
• when
• that
• so that

But in this sentence, because it is followed by the subjunctive lavet and clearly expresses purpose, the meaning is so that / in order that.

So this is a good example of ut introducing a purpose clause.