Puer antea canem timebat, sed nunc eum tangit.

Puer is the subject of the sentence, so it is in the nominative singular. It means the boy or simply boy.

Latin uses endings to show a word’s job in the sentence. Here, puer is the one doing the actions: fearing earlier and touching now.

Because canem is the direct object of timebat. The boy feared the dog, so dog has to be in the accusative singular.

The dictionary form is canis, but its accusative singular is canem.

So:

• canis = dog, as a basic form
• canem = dog, when it is the object of a verb

Antea is an adverb meaning before, earlier, or previously.

It tells you when the action happened. In this sentence, it modifies timebat and shows that the fearing happened earlier.

Timebat is imperfect tense, third person singular, from timeo.

The imperfect often means:

• was fearing
• used to fear
• kept fearing

Here it contrasts with nunc tangit (now he touches him/it). So the idea is:

• earlier: the boy used to be afraid of the dog
• now: he touches the dog

The imperfect is a very natural tense here because it describes a past ongoing or habitual state.

Yes. Timeo commonly takes a direct object in the accusative, just like English fear can take a direct object.

So:

• canem timebat = he feared the dog

This is why canem is accusative.

Eum is the accusative singular form of the pronoun meaning him or it.

It refers back to canem. So in nunc eum tangit, the boy is now touching him/it, meaning the dog.

Latin often uses pronouns like this to avoid repeating the noun.

Because eum matches what it refers to:

• accusative because it is the object of tangit
• singular because it refers to one dog
• masculine because the dog is being referred to as masculine here

A useful point: canis can be masculine or feminine depending on the dog. The pronoun eum tells you that this dog is being treated as masculine.

Yes, very possibly. Latin often leaves out words that are clear from context.

So sed nunc tangit could mean but now he touches him/it, with the object understood from the earlier canem.

Using eum makes the reference more explicit and can help emphasize the contrast: earlier he feared the dog, but now he touches him.

Tangit is present tense, third person singular, from tango.

It means he touches or he is touching.

It is third person singular because the subject is puer (the boy). Latin verbs change form to show who is doing the action, so tangit already tells us he/she/it touches.

There are two main clues:

1. Grammar: the subject of tangit is still puer, understood from the sentence.
2. Meaning: it makes sense that the boy now touches the dog, not that he touches himself.

Also, eum is an object form, while puer is already the subject.

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

English depends heavily on word order:

• The boy fears the dog is different from The dog fears the boy

Latin can move words around more freely because puer and canem have different endings.

In this sentence, the order helps the flow and contrast:

• Puer antea canem timebat
• sed nunc eum tangit

The words antea and nunc are placed where they clearly highlight the time contrast: earlier versus now.

Sed is a conjunction meaning but.

It marks a contrast between the two parts of the sentence:

• earlier, the boy feared the dog
• but now, he touches him

So sed is an important signal that the second clause reverses the earlier situation.

No. Classical Latin has no articles like English the or a/an.

So:

• puer can mean the boy or a boy
• canem can mean the dog or a dog

You decide from context which English translation sounds best. In a sentence like this, English often uses the because both participants feel specific.

Yes. In English, animals can be referred to as it, especially if their sex is unknown or unimportant. But him is also possible, especially when the animal is more individualized.

In Latin, eum is grammatically masculine, so a very literal translation gives him. But depending on style and context, English may naturally say it.

It has two clauses joined by sed:

1. Puer antea canem timebat
   = the boy earlier feared / used to fear the dog

2. sed nunc eum tangit
   = but now he touches him/it

So the sentence is built around a clear contrast between past fear and present contact.