Mater gemitus puellae audit et eam consolatur.

Because mater is in the nominative singular, the case normally used for the subject.

Also, the verb audit means he/she hears, and consolatur means he/she comforts, so we look for a singular subject to go with them. Mater fits perfectly: the mother hears ... and comforts ...

Even though Latin word order is more flexible than English, the case ending still tells you the grammatical role.

Here gemitus is the accusative plural of gemitus, -us (groan, sigh, cry of दुख/complaint), a fourth-declension noun.

So gemitus puellae audit means she hears the girl’s cries/groans.

This form can be confusing because without macrons, gemitus looks the same in more than one case. In this sentence, though, it must be the object of audit, so it is accusative plural.

Because here puellae is a genitive singular, showing possession or close association.

So:

• gemitus puellae = the cries of the girl
• more naturally in English: the girl’s cries

A learner might notice that puellae could also be:

• dative singular = to/for the girl
• nominative plural = girls

But those do not fit the sentence as well. The most natural reading is genitive singular, connected with gemitus.

Grammatically, puellae can be dative singular in other contexts, but not likely here.

Why not?

• audit normally takes a direct object in the accusative: you hear something
• gemitus already works as that direct object: the cries
• then puellae naturally explains whose cries they are: the girl’s

So gemitus puellae is best understood as the girl’s cries, not cries to the girl.

Latin often uses a pronoun instead of repeating the noun, just as English does.

So after mentioning puellae (the girl’s), the sentence continues with eam = her.

This avoids repetition:

• Mater gemitus puellae audit et eam consolatur
• The mother hears the girl’s cries and comforts her

If Latin repeated the noun, it would still be possible, but using eam is natural and smoother.

Eam refers to puella, the girl.

It is:

• accusative singular
• feminine

That matches the direct object needed by consolatur and points back to the previously mentioned girl.

So the mother hears the girl’s cries and comforts her, not someone else.

Because consolatur is a deponent verb.

Deponent verbs:

• have passive-looking forms
• but active meanings

So consolatur looks as if it might mean is comforted, but it actually means comforts.

This is very common in Latin, and consolor, consolari, consolatus sum is one of those verbs.

Because the subject is mater, which is singular.

So:

• audit = she hears
• consolatur = she comforts

Latin verbs agree with their subject in person and number. Since mater is one person, the verbs are singular.

Latin word order is much freer than English word order because Latin uses case endings to show grammatical function.

English depends heavily on position:

• The mother hears the girl’s cries

Latin can move words around more easily because forms like mater, gemitus, puellae, and eam help show who is doing what.

This sentence is actually quite natural:

• Mater first introduces the subject
• gemitus puellae keeps the girl’s cries together as a phrase
• eam before consolatur puts the object close to the verb

So the order is not random, but it is less rigid than English.

Latin has no definite article (the) and no indefinite article (a/an).

So a noun like mater can mean:

• mother
• a mother
• the mother

The context tells you which is best in translation. In this sentence, English naturally uses the mother and the girl’s cries.

Yes. Et means and, and here it joins two verbs with the same subject:

• audit = hears
• consolatur = comforts

So the structure is:

• Mater ... audit
• et ... consolatur

The mother performs both actions.