Mater respondet se palla vetere adhuc uti posse, sed soleas novas emendas esse.

to be

Breakdown of Mater respondet se palla vetere adhuc uti posse, sed soleas novas emendas esse.

• mater: the mother
• sed: but
• novus: new

Questions & Answers about Mater respondet se palla vetere adhuc uti posse, sed soleas novas emendas esse.

Why is se used here?

Because after respondet Latin is using an indirect statement.

In an indirect statement:

• the subject is usually put in the accusative
• the verb is put in the infinitive

So se ... posse means that she can ...

Here se is reflexive and refers back to Mater. So:

• Mater respondet = Mother answers
• se ... posse = that she herself can ...

If the person in the indirect statement were someone else, Latin would use a different accusative pronoun, not se.

Why is posse an infinitive instead of potest?

Again, because of indirect statement.

After verbs of saying, thinking, answering, knowing, and so on, Latin often uses:

• accusative subject
• infinitive verb

So English Mother answers that she can still use ... becomes Latin Mater respondet se ... uti posse.

If this were a direct statement, it would be something like:

• adhuc uti potest = she can still use or, if Mother herself were speaking,
• adhuc uti possum = I can still use

But after respondet, Latin switches to the infinitive posse.