Puer canem mitem tangit, quia eum non timet.

Puer is the nominative singular, which is the form typically used for the subject of the sentence.

Here, puer is the one doing the action:

• puer = the boy
• he is the one who touches and does not fear

So puer is nominative because it is the subject.

Because canem is the accusative singular form of canis.

The dog is the direct object of tangit:

• the boy touches the dog

In Latin, direct objects usually go in the accusative case. So:

• canis = dog as a dictionary form / nominative
• canem = dog as a direct object

Mitem agrees with canem.

Since canem is:

• masculine
• singular
• accusative

the adjective describing it must also be:

• masculine
• singular
• accusative

So:

• mitis = gentle, mild (basic form)
• mitem = gentle, modifying an accusative singular masculine noun

That is why Latin uses canem mitem = the gentle dog or a gentle dog.

Because the adjective must match the noun it describes.

In Latin, adjectives agree with their nouns in:

• gender
• number
• case

So since canem is accusative singular masculine, mitem must also be accusative singular masculine.

This is called agreement.

Tangit means he touches or she touches.

It comes from the verb tangere, meaning to touch.

The ending -it here tells you:

• third person
• singular
• present tense

So tangit = he/she touches.

In this sentence, the subject is puer, so the meaning is the boy touches.

Because the verb ending already shows the subject.

In English, we usually need:

• he touches
• he fears

But in Latin, tangit and timet already mean:

• he/she/it touches
• he/she/it fears

So Latin often leaves out the subject pronoun unless it wants extra emphasis.

Here:

• puer ... tangit
• quia eum non timet

The subject of timet is still understood to be the boy.

Quia means because.

It introduces a clause giving the reason:

• Puer canem mitem tangit = The boy touches the gentle dog
• quia eum non timet = because he does not fear him

So the second part explains why the boy touches the dog.

Eum refers to canem, the dog.

It means him and is:

• masculine
• singular
• accusative

That matches the idea that the boy does not fear the dog.

So:

• eum non timet = he does not fear him
• in natural English here: he is not afraid of the dog

Because eum is the direct object of timet.

In Latin, the person or thing feared is often put in the accusative:

• eum timet = he fears him
• eum non timet = he does not fear him

So eum is accusative for the same basic reason that canem is accusative: it receives the action of the verb.

In normal reading, eum is understood to mean the dog, not the boy.

Why?

• The subject of timet is already understood from the verb: the boy
• So eum naturally becomes someone else in the sentence, namely the dog

Also, the meaning of the whole sentence strongly supports that:

• the boy touches the dog
• because he does not fear the dog

So while pronouns can sometimes create ambiguity in Latin, here the intended reference is clear.

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

So:

• puer can mean the boy or a boy
• canem mitem can mean the gentle dog, a gentle dog, or the mild dog, depending on context

English has to choose an article, but Latin often leaves that idea to context.

Non is the standard Latin word for not, and it commonly goes directly before the word it negates.

So:

• non timet = does not fear

That is the most straightforward placement.

Latin word order is more flexible than English word order because the endings show each word’s role.

So this sentence could be rearranged in several ways without changing the basic meaning, for example:

• Canem mitem puer tangit, quia eum non timet.
• Quia eum non timet, puer canem mitem tangit.

The original order is natural and clear, but Latin does not rely on word order as much as English does.

Latin often uses a pronoun when English would also use one.

After quia, the new clause has its own verb:

• eum non timet

The pronoun helps show clearly who is being feared.

Latin could sometimes omit things that are understood, but here eum makes the relationship explicit:

• the boy touches the dog
• because he does not fear him = the dog

So the pronoun is natural and useful here.