Mane hospes benignam dominam iterum salutavit et viro, qui non iam asper erat, gratias egit.

Because mane is commonly used by itself as an adverb meaning in the morning or early in the morning.

So in this sentence:

• Mane = in the morning

Latin often does this with time expressions. It does not always need a preposition like English does.

Hospes is nominative singular, so it is the subject of the main verbs.

Here, hospes is the person who:

• salutavit = greeted
• egit = gave / expressed

So:

• hospes = the guest / host
• nominative = subject

A learner may notice that Latin word order is flexible, so you cannot rely only on position. The case ending tells you the job of the word.

Yes. Hospes can mean either guest or host, depending on context.

That is a common vocabulary point in Latin. The sentence itself does not force only one meaning grammatically, so the intended meaning comes from context or from the translation already provided.

They are in the accusative singular because they are the direct object of salutavit.

• salutavit = greeted
• Whom did the guest greet? benignam dominam

Also notice agreement:

• benignam = accusative singular feminine
• dominam = accusative singular feminine

The adjective benignam must agree with dominam in gender, number, and case.

Yes. Benignam modifies dominam.

We can tell because both words match in:

• gender: feminine
• number: singular
• case: accusative

That agreement is how Latin shows that the adjective belongs with the noun, even if word order changes.

Iterum is an adverb meaning again or for a second time.

It modifies salutavit:

• iterum salutavit = greeted again

Latin adverbs often have fairly flexible placement, so iterum can appear in different spots without changing the basic meaning much.

Because gratias agere takes the dative of the person thanked.

So:

• viro = to the man / to the husband
• gratias egit = gave thanks

Together:

• viro gratias egit = he gave thanks to the man = he thanked the man

This is a very important Latin idiom. English says thank someone, but Latin literally says give thanks to someone.

Because gratias agere is the normal Latin expression for to give thanks or to thank.

Breakdown:

• gratias = thanks
• egit = he did / drove / performed, from agere

In this idiom, the whole phrase means:

• gratias agere alicui = to thank someone

So viro gratias egit means he thanked the man.

Latin normally uses gratias in the plural in this expression.

So even though English often says thanks or gratitude, Latin idiomatically says:

• gratias agere = to give thanks

This is just the standard expression learners need to memorize as a phrase.

Both are perfect tense, meaning completed actions in the past.

• salutavit = he greeted
• egit = he gave / expressed

So the sentence narrates completed events:

1. he greeted the kind lady again
2. he thanked the man

This is a very common contrast in Latin.

• salutavit and egit are perfect: completed main actions
• erat is imperfect: a continuing or background state in the past

So:

• qui non iam asper erat describes what the man was like at that time
• it gives background information rather than a new completed event

In other words, the guest performed two completed actions, and the relative clause describes the man as no longer being harsh.

Because the case of a relative pronoun depends on its function in its own clause, not on the case of its antecedent.

Here:

• antecedent: viro = dative, because of gratias agere
• relative pronoun: qui = nominative, because it is the subject of erat

Inside the relative clause:

• qui ... erat = who ... was

So qui must be nominative.

This is a very important rule in Latin.

It is a relative clause describing viro.

Breakdown:

• qui = who
• non iam = no longer
• asper = harsh, rough, rude, stern
• erat = was

So the clause means:

• who was no longer harsh
• or who was no longer rude/stern

It gives extra information about the man.

Non iam means no longer or not anymore.

It is a very natural Latin way to express that something used to be true, but is not true now.

So:

• asper erat = he was harsh
• non iam asper erat = he was no longer harsh

Because it is a predicate adjective with erat and agrees with qui.

In the relative clause:

• qui = nominative singular masculine
• asper = nominative singular masculine
• erat = was

So asper describes the subject of erat.

In Latin, you usually tell by case endings, not by word order.

Here:

• hospes = nominative = subject
• benignam dominam = accusative = direct object

So even though English depends heavily on order, Latin shows the relationship through endings:

• hospes ... salutavit = the guest greeted
• benignam dominam = the kind lady was greeted

That is why learning cases is so important in Latin.

Yes. The sentence nicely shows two different patterns:

1. salutare + accusative

   • benignam dominam salutavit
   • he greeted the kind lady

2. gratias agere + dative

   • viro gratias egit
   • he thanked the man

So a learner should not assume both verbs take the same kind of object. Latin often uses different case patterns with different verbs or idioms.