Mater servam laborantem in culina laudat.

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Breakdown of Mater servam laborantem in culina laudat.

• mater: the mother
• laudare: to praise
• culina: the kitchen

Questions & Answers about Mater servam laborantem in culina laudat.

How do we know mater is the subject?

Because mater is in the nominative singular, which is the case normally used for the subject of a sentence in Latin.

Here, mater means mother, and it is the one doing the action of laudat.

So:

• mater = the subject, the mother
• laudat = praises

Together, that gives the mother praises ...

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Why is it servam and not serva?

Because servam is the accusative singular form of serva, meaning female slave or maidservant.

In Latin, the direct object of a verb usually goes in the accusative case. Since the mother is praising the servant, the servant is the direct object.

So:

• serva = nominative singular, the servant as subject
• servam = accusative singular, the servant as object

That is why the sentence has servam.

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What is laborantem?

Laborantem is a present active participle from the verb laborare, meaning to work.