Mense Decembri mater dicit se cum liberis et coniuge ad propinquos ituram esse.

Because Latin often uses the ablative of time when to say when something happens.

• mense = in the month
• Decembri = of December / December in agreement with mense

So Mense Decembri means in December or more literally in the month of December.

A learner might expect a preposition like in, but Latin often does not need one for expressions of time.

Both types of expressions are possible in Latin, but mense Decembri is a fuller way of saying in the month of December.

It is simply a more explicit time expression:

• Decembri alone can mean in December
• mense Decembri emphasizes the idea of the month

So this is partly a matter of style rather than a major difference in meaning.

Because classical Latin normally uses indirect statement after verbs of saying, thinking, knowing, hearing, and so on.

After dicit (she says), Latin typically does not use a clause with that the way English does. Instead it uses:

• an accusative subject
• plus an infinitive

Here:

• dicit = she says
• se = that she
• ituram esse = will go

So mater dicit se ... ituram esse literally means Mother says herself to be going..., but in natural English: Mother says that she will go...

Because in an indirect statement, the subject of the infinitive is put in the accusative.

So in:

• mater dicit se ... ituram esse

the main verb is dicit and the subject of the reported action (going) is se, which is accusative.

This is one of the most important Latin constructions to learn:

• dicit eum venire = he says that he is coming
• dicit eam venire = he says that she is coming
• dicit se venire = he/she says that he/she is coming

Here se refers back to the subject mater, so it means herself / she.

Ituram esse is the future active infinitive of eo, ire (to go).

It is formed from:

• the future active participle: iturus, itura, iturum
• plus esse

Here we have ituram esse because it agrees with se, referring to mater, a feminine singular subject.

So:

• iturum esse = to be going to go / to be about to go for masculine singular
• ituram esse = the feminine singular form
• itura esse would be incorrect here; the full form is ituram esse

In English we usually translate this simply as will go.

Because the participle must agree with the person who is going, and that person is mater, which is feminine singular.

Even though the sentence uses se, the meaning is still mother says that she will go, so the future participle must be feminine:

• se ituram esse = that she will go
• se iturum esse would mean that he will go

This agreement is a key clue for understanding who se refers to.

Because the sentence is talking about an action that is future relative to dicit.

• se ire would usually mean that she is going
• se ituram esse means that she will go

So the future infinitive is needed to show that the going happens later than the saying.

They are in the ablative because the preposition cum takes the ablative and means with.

So:

• cum liberis = with the children
• et coniuge = and with her spouse

Forms here:

• liberis is ablative plural of liberi (children)
• coniuge is ablative singular of coniunx (spouse)

So the phrase means with her children and spouse.

Because liberi is a common Latin word meaning children.

Latin has more than one word that can refer to sons and daughters:

• liberi = children as a family group
• filii / filiae = sons / daughters

So cum liberis is a very natural way to say with her children.

Because the mother is going with:

• more than one child → liberis plural
• one spouse → coniuge singular

Latin marks that difference clearly in the endings.

Ad means to or toward, and it takes the accusative.

So:

• ad propinquos = to relatives or to her relatives

The word propinqui can mean relatives, originally from an adjective meaning near or related. Here it is used as a noun.

Because ad requires the accusative, we get propinquos.

Latin often leaves possessive ideas unstated when they are obvious from context.

Since the subject is mater, a Roman reader will naturally understand:

• cum liberis = with her children
• cum ... coniuge = with her spouse
• ad propinquos = to her relatives or simply to relatives

Latin does have possessive words like suus, sua, suum, but they are not always necessary.

If the author wanted extra emphasis or clarity, they could say something like ad propinquos suos, but here it is not needed.

The sentence breaks down like this:

• Mense Decembri = time expression, in December
• mater dicit = main clause, mother says
• se ... ituram esse = indirect statement, that she will go
• cum liberis et coniuge = accompanying people, with her children and spouse
• ad propinquos = destination, to relatives

So the overall pattern is:

time + main verb of saying + accusative-and-infinitive construction + additional phrases

This is a very typical Latin sentence pattern.

Latin word order is much freer than English word order because the endings show the grammatical relationships.

So this sentence could be rearranged in several ways without changing the core meaning, for example:

• Mater mense Decembri dicit se cum liberis et coniuge ad propinquos ituram esse.
• Mater dicit se ad propinquos cum liberis et coniuge mense Decembri ituram esse.

However, the original order is natural and readable. Latin word order often helps with emphasis, flow, or style rather than serving as the main way to show grammar.

Yes. Coniunx is gender-neutral in meaning and can mean spouse, husband, or wife, depending on context.

Since the sentence already has mater as the subject, many readers may naturally understand coniuge here as her husband, but the word itself does not force that translation. Spouse is often the safest literal gloss.