Mater filiam benigne consolatur.

Because mater belongs to the third declension, not the first declension.

Many feminine Latin nouns do end in -a in the nominative singular, such as puella. But mater is a very common third-declension noun, with forms like:

• mater = mother
• matris = of the mother
• matrem = mother as a direct object

So its gender is feminine, but its declension pattern is different.

The ending -am shows that filiam is accusative singular.

That tells you it is the direct object of the verb: the person receiving the action. In this sentence, the mother is comforting the daughter, so filiam is in the accusative.

This comes from the noun filia:

• filia = daughter
• filiam = daughter as a direct object

Latin usually shows that through case endings, not mainly through word order.

Here:

• mater is nominative singular → the subject
• filiam is accusative singular → the direct object

So mater is the one doing the comforting, and filiam is the one being comforted.

An English speaker may want to rely on position, but in Latin the endings are more important than the order.

Because consolor, consolari, consolatus sum is a deponent verb.

Deponent verbs use passive-looking forms but have active meanings. So:

• consolatur looks like he/she/it is comforted
• but actually means he/she comforts or is comforting

In this sentence, consolatur means she comforts, referring to mater.

Consolatur is:

• third person singular
• present tense
• indicative mood
• from the deponent verb consolor

So it means he/she comforts or is comforting.

Because the subject is mater, the natural understanding is the mother comforts.

Benigne is an adverb. It describes how the mother comforts her daughter.

It means something like:

• kindly
• gently
• graciously

So it modifies the verb consolatur, not either noun.

It comes from the adjective benignus, benigna, benignum, meaning kind, good-hearted, or kindly.

Latin often forms adverbs from adjectives. Here, benigne is the adverbial form meaning kindly or gently.

So the pattern is roughly:

• benignus = kind
• benigne = kindly

It matters less in Latin than in English.

The sentence is:

• Mater filiam benigne consolatur

But Latin could also say things like:

• Mater benigne filiam consolatur
• Filiam mater benigne consolatur
• Benigne mater filiam consolatur

The core meaning stays the same because the endings still show the roles. However, different word orders can give different emphasis or style.

The given order is very natural and straightforward.

Because Latin often does not need possessive words like her when the relationship is already obvious.

Filiam simply means daughter, but with mater as the subject, the natural sense is her daughter unless context suggests otherwise.

Latin frequently leaves such things unstated when they are easy to infer.

Yes. The Latin present tense can often be translated in more than one natural English way, depending on context.

So consolatur could be:

• comforts
• is comforting
• sometimes even does comfort, depending on emphasis

English chooses among these more sharply than Latin does.

The dictionary forms are:

• mater, matris = mother
• filia, filiae = daughter
• benigne is usually understood from benignus, -a, -um
• consolor, consolari, consolatus sum = comfort, console

For nouns, dictionaries usually give the nominative and genitive forms.
For verbs, they give the principal parts; deponent verbs include passive-looking forms because that is how they are conjugated.

A simple classroom-style pronunciation would be roughly:

MA-ter FIL-ee-am beh-NEE-neh kon-so-LAH-tur

A few helpful points:

• mater has stress on the first syllable: MA-ter
• filiam has stress on FIL
• benigne is commonly pronounced with the gn sounding like in Italian gn, though classroom pronunciations vary
• consolatur has stress on LA

Pronunciation traditions differ, but the grammar and meaning stay the same.