Benignitas matris puellam tristem consolatur.

Benignitas is in the nominative singular, which is the case normally used for the subject.

Also, the verb consolatur is third person singular, so it matches a singular subject.
So benignitas = kindness is the thing doing the action.

In other words:

• benignitas = the subject
• consolatur = comforts

So the sentence structure is basically:

The mother's kindness + comforts + the sad girl

Matris is the genitive singular of mater, matris (mother).

The genitive often shows possession or close relationship, so here it means:

• benignitas matris = the kindness of the mother
• more naturally in English: the mother's kindness

So matris is not the subject. It depends on benignitas and tells us whose kindness it is.

Puellam is the direct object of the verb consolatur.

The direct object is the person or thing receiving the action. Here, the action is comforting, and the one being comforted is the girl.

So:

• puella = girl
• puellam = girl as direct object, the girl

Even though consolatur looks passive in form, it is a deponent verb, so it still has an active meaning and can take a direct object.

Because tristis, triste is a third-declension adjective, not a first/second-declension one.

It still agrees with puellam in:

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

But third-declension adjectives have their own endings. So the feminine accusative singular of tristis is tristem.

That is why we get:

• puellam tristem = the sad girl

The adjective agrees in grammar, but it does not have to look like a first-declension ending.

Consolatur is from the verb consolor, consolari, consolatus sum, meaning to comfort.

This verb is deponent. Deponent verbs:

• have passive forms
• but active meanings

So consolatur looks like it might mean is comforted, but it actually means:

• he/she/it comforts

In this sentence, it means:

• comforts

This is one of the most important things for English speakers to learn, because the form can look misleading at first.

Yes. A deponent verb often has active meaning and active syntax, even though its forms look passive.

So consolatur can still take a direct object in the accusative:

• puellam

That is perfectly normal Latin.

So the sentence works like this:

• benignitas = subject
• consolatur = active meaning, comforts
• puellam tristem = direct object, the sad girl

Latin word order is more flexible than English word order because the endings show the grammatical roles.

Here:

• benignitas is nominative, so it is the subject
• matris is genitive, so it modifies benignitas
• puellam tristem is accusative, so it is the object
• consolatur is the verb

So even if the order changed, the basic meaning would stay the same. For example:

• Matris benignitas puellam tristem consolatur
• Puellam tristem benignitas matris consolatur

These would still mean essentially the same thing.

The given order is natural and clear, but the endings matter more than the position.

Latin has no definite article and no indefinite article.

So Latin does not have separate words for:

• the
• a
• an

Whether you translate a noun as the mother, a mother, the girl, or a girl depends on context.

So:

• matris could mean of the mother or of a mother
• puellam could mean the girl or a girl

In most contexts, English uses the because it sounds more natural.

The dictionary forms are:

• benignitas, benignitatis = kindness
• mater, matris = mother
• puella, puellae = girl
• tristis, triste = sad
• consolor, consolari, consolatus sum = comfort

These dictionary forms help you identify:

• the noun’s declension
• the adjective’s pattern
• the verb’s conjugation and whether it is deponent

Here is the breakdown:

• benignitas, benignitatis: third-declension noun
• mater, matris: third-declension noun
• puella, puellae: first-declension noun
• tristis, triste: third-declension adjective

So the sentence mixes different declensions, which is very common in Latin.

That is why the endings are different:

• benignitas = nominative singular
• matris = genitive singular
• puellam = accusative singular
• tristem = accusative singular feminine, agreeing with puellam

Yes. Matris literally means of the mother.

So:

• benignitas matris = the kindness of the mother

But English usually prefers the possessive form:

• the mother's kindness

Both are correct ways to understand the Latin genitive. The second is just more natural English in this sentence.

You can tell by both meaning and grammar.

Grammatically, tristem is:

• accusative
• singular
• feminine

Puellam is also:

• accusative
• singular
• feminine

So they match, and that tells you the adjective modifies puellam.

It would not make sense with benignitas, because benignitas is nominative, not accusative.

So:

• puellam tristem = the sad girl

Yes. Consolatur is present indicative, third person singular.

So it means:

• comforts
• is comforting in some contexts

In a simple sentence like this, the normal translation is:

• comforts

So the sentence describes something happening in the present, or a general fact.