Mater simul loquitur et cenam parat.

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Breakdown of Mater simul loquitur et cenam parat.

• mater: the mother
• cena: the dinner
• loqui: to speak

Questions & Answers about Mater simul loquitur et cenam parat.

Why is mater used without the or a?

Because Latin has no articles. There is no separate word for the or a/an.

So mater can mean:

• mother
• the mother
• a mother

You understand which one is meant from the context.

What case is mater, and how do we know it is the subject?

Mater is nominative singular, which is the case normally used for the subject of a sentence.

It is the one doing the actions:

• loquitur = speaks
• parat = prepares

So mater is the subject of both verbs.

Why is it cenam and not cena?

Because cenam is accusative singular, the case used for a direct object.

Here, the dinner/meal is the thing being prepared, so it must be in the accusative:

• cena = dinner, meal, supper (nominative)
• cenam = dinner, meal, supper (accusative)

So:

• mater cenam parat = mother prepares dinner