Mater queritur panem in foro nimium constare.

Because queritur comes from queror, queri, questus sum, which is a deponent verb.

A deponent verb:

• has passive forms
• but an active meaning

So queritur is morphologically passive-looking, but it means she complains, not she is complained.

This is very common in Latin, and it is something English speakers often have to get used to.

Panem is accusative because it is the subject of the infinitive constare in an indirect statement.

Latin often expresses that-clauses differently from English. Instead of saying:

• Mother complains that bread costs too much

Latin says, more literally:

• Mother complains bread to cost too much

In this construction:

• the subject of the infinitive goes into the accusative
• the verb itself becomes an infinitive

So:

• panis = bread
• panem = bread as the accusative subject of constare

Because after queritur Latin uses an indirect statement construction, also called accusative and infinitive.

So instead of:

• Mater queritur quod panis in foro nimium constat

Latin more classically prefers:

• Mater queritur panem in foro nimium constare

This pattern is very common after verbs of:

• saying
• thinking
• perceiving
• reporting
• feeling/showing mentally
• sometimes complaining

So constare is infinitive because it belongs to the reported content of the complaint.

Because queror does not take panem here as its direct object. Instead, panem constare forms a unit: an accusative + infinitive clause.

So the structure is:

• Mater queritur = Mother complains
• panem ... constare = bread costs ...

Within that clause:

• panem is the logical subject
• constare is the infinitive verb

A good test is this: ask what is doing the costing? The answer is bread, so panem must be the subject of constare, even though it appears in the accusative case.

Here constare means to cost.

So panem ... constare means that bread costs ...

This verb has several meanings in Latin depending on context, such as:

• to stand together
• to consist of
• to be established
• to cost

In this sentence, the context clearly gives the sense to cost.

Foro is ablative singular of forum.

It is ablative because it follows in in the sense of location:

• in foro = in the market / in the forum

Latin uses:

• in + ablative for where
• in + accusative for motion toward

So:

• in foro = in the market
• in forum = into the market

Here the sentence is talking about where the bread costs too much, so the ablative is used.

Here nimium means too much or excessively.

In this sentence it functions as an adverb, modifying constare:

• nimium constare = to cost too much

Although nimium can also be a neuter adjective form, here it is being used adverbially, which is very common in Latin.

Because Latin often does not use a conjunction like that in indirect statement.

English says:

• Mother complains that bread costs too much

Latin usually says:

• Mother complains bread to cost too much

So instead of a that-clause, Latin uses:

• accusative subject
  • infinitive verb

That is why there is no separate word corresponding to English that.

Latin word order is much more flexible than English word order, because the grammatical relationships are shown largely by case endings and verb forms.

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

• Mater panem in foro nimium constare queritur
• In foro mater panem nimium constare queritur

However, the original order is natural and clear. Latin word order often helps with:

• emphasis
• rhythm
• style

But it is usually the endings, not the position alone, that tell you how the sentence works.

The dictionary forms are:

• Mater → mater, matris = mother
• queritur → queror, queri, questus sum = complain
• panem → panis, panis = bread
• in → in = in, into
• foro → forum, fori = forum, marketplace
• nimium → nimium / from nimius, -a, -um = too much, excessively
• constare → consto, constare, constiti = to stand firm, to consist, to cost

Knowing the dictionary forms helps you see why the endings in the sentence look the way they do.

Not in this construction.

If the sentence uses an indirect statement after queritur, then the subject of the infinitive must be in the accusative, so panem is required.

You would only get panis if the clause were rewritten as a normal finite clause, for example with a different structure such as:

• Mater queritur: panis in foro nimium constat.

That would be more like:

• Mother complains: bread costs too much in the market.

But in the actual sentence, with indirect statement, panem is correct.