Ille matri veritatem tandem fatetur.

Ille is nominative masculine singular, and it is the subject of fatetur.

It can mean:

• he
• that man
• that person

In many contexts, ille is stronger than a plain unstated subject. Latin often leaves the subject pronoun out, so using ille can add emphasis, contrast, or a slight sense of distance:

• Ille ... fatetur = that man / he, for his part, admits...

So a learner should notice that ille is not just mechanically he; it often has a bit more force than English he.

Matri is dative singular from mater, matris.

It is dative because fateor commonly takes:

• the person admitted/confessed to in the dative
• the thing admitted/confessed in the accusative

So:

• matri = to the mother
• veritatem = the truth

This is very natural with this verb:

• alicui aliquid fateri = to admit/confess something to someone

Veritatem is accusative singular from veritas, veritatis.

It is the direct object of fatetur. In other words, it is the thing being admitted.

So in the pattern:

• alicui aliquid fateri

the aliquid part is in the accusative, and here that is veritatem.

Fatetur comes from fateor, fateri, fassus sum.

It is a deponent verb. That means:

• it has passive-looking forms
• but an active meaning

So even though fatetur looks like a passive form because of -tur, it means:

• he admits
• he confesses

not he is admitted or he is confessed

This is one of the most important things to notice in the sentence.

From its ending and its dictionary entry.

• fatetur = he/she/it admits
• it is present indicative
• third person singular

The ending -tur is the present passive/deponent third singular ending. Since fateor is deponent, that form has active meaning.

So:

• fateor = I admit
• fateris = you admit
• fatetur = he/she admits

Latin often leaves out possessives like his, her, or their when they are obvious from context.

So matri by itself literally means:

• to mother
• or more naturally in English, to the mother

But in context it may clearly mean:

• to his mother

Latin does not always need to say suae matri. If the relationship is obvious, the possessive is often omitted.

So whether you translate matri as to the mother or to his mother depends on the context and the meaning already supplied.

Tandem is an adverb meaning things like:

• at last
• finally
• in the end

It adds a sense that the admission happened after delay, hesitation, resistance, or buildup.

So it is not just filler. It suggests that he did not admit the truth immediately.

Yes, it could go elsewhere. Latin word order is flexible.

Here, tandem is placed just before fatetur, which gives it a natural connection to the action:

• Ille matri veritatem tandem fatetur

That can feel like:

• He finally admits the truth to his mother

If you moved tandem, the core meaning would stay the same, though the emphasis might shift slightly.

Latin often uses word order for nuance rather than basic grammatical function, since case endings already show who is doing what.

Yes, it is perfectly natural.

The order is roughly:

• subject: Ille
• indirect object: matri
• direct object: veritatem
• adverb: tandem
• verb: fatetur

Latin very often places the finite verb near the end, so this feels quite normal.

At the same time, Latin is flexible, so other orders are possible too. This sentence is a good example of readable, standard prose order.

They are:

• ille, illa, illud = that; he
• mater, matris = mother
• veritas, veritatis = truth
• tandem = at last, finally
• fateor, fateri, fassus sum = admit, confess

A learner should especially remember fateor as deponent.

Ille is nominative masculine singular.

You can tell because:

• it agrees with an understood masculine singular subject
• it matches the singular verb fatetur
• it is the form used for he / that man as subject

If it were, for example, accusative masculine singular, you would expect illum, not ille.

Very often, yes: it can take the thing admitted in the accusative.

So:

• veritatem fatetur = he admits the truth

But like many verbs, it can also appear in other constructions depending on what exactly is being said. Still, for this sentence, the important pattern is simple and common:

• alicui aliquid fateri = to admit something to someone

That is exactly what you are seeing here.

Yes. Latin could simply say:

• Matri veritatem tandem fatetur

and that would still mean he admits the truth to his mother at last, with the subject understood from the verb ending.

Adding ille makes the subject more explicit and often more emphatic. It can suggest contrast, like:

• that man, or
• he, as opposed to someone else

So its presence is meaningful, even though Latin does not strictly need it.

Because fateor is deponent.

That means its forms use passive endings, but its meaning is active. So:

• fatetur looks like a passive form
• but means he admits/confesses

This is one of the classic features of Latin that English speakers have to get used to. The form and the meaning do not line up the way they do with ordinary non-deponent verbs.

Yes. Veritas means truth, and veritatem fatetur gives the idea of acknowledging what is true.

That can sound slightly weightier than simply admitting a fact. It can suggest honesty after concealment or denial.

Grammatically, though, the key point is straightforward:

• veritatem is a third-declension accusative singular noun
• it is the direct object of fatetur

Yes. Fateor can often be translated as either:

• admit
• confess

Which English word sounds best depends on context.

• admit often sounds more neutral
• confess can sound stronger or more emotional

So both may work, but the Latin grammar remains the same either way.