Socer laetus et socrus benigna sponsam in atrio salutant.

Because the subject is two people: socer laetus and socrus benigna.

• socer = father-in-law
• socrus = mother-in-law

Since they are doing the action together, the verb must be 3rd person plural:

• salutat = he/she greets
• salutant = they greet

Latin shows this mainly through case endings, not just word order.

• socer and socrus are in the nominative case, so they are the subject
• sponsam is in the accusative case, so she is the direct object

So:

• socer laetus et socrus benigna = the happy father-in-law and the kind mother-in-law
• sponsam = the bride / fiancée

That is why the sentence means that the in-laws greet the bride, not the other way around.

Because sponsam is the accusative singular of sponsa.

• sponsa = bride / betrothed woman / fiancée
• sponsam = the bride, as the object of the verb

Since she is the person being greeted, Latin puts the noun in the accusative case.

Because here in means in or inside, showing location, not motion.

Latin uses:

• in + ablative for location: in atrio = in the atrium
• in + accusative for motion toward: in atrium = into the atrium

So in this sentence:

• in atrio salutant = they greet her in the atrium

If the sense were they go into the atrium, then you would expect in atrium.

Because adjectives in Latin must agree with the nouns they describe in gender, number, and case.

Here:

• socer is masculine singular nominative, so its adjective is laetus
• socrus is feminine singular nominative, so its adjective is benigna

So:

• socer laetus = the happy father-in-law
• socrus benigna = the kind mother-in-law

The endings differ because the nouns differ in gender.

Latin usually has no definite article and no indefinite article.

So a Latin noun like socer can mean:

• the father-in-law
• a father-in-law

The exact translation depends on context. In normal English, the is often the most natural choice, so the sentence is commonly translated with the even though Latin does not actually include that word.

Yes. Latin word order is more flexible than English because the case endings show each word’s role.

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

• Sponsam socer laetus et socrus benigna in atrio salutant.
• In atrio socer laetus et socrus benigna sponsam salutant.

The usual meaning stays the same because:

• socer, socrus = nominative subjects
• sponsam = accusative object
• atrio = ablative with in

However, different word orders can create different emphasis.

They mean:

• socer = father-in-law
• socrus = mother-in-law

These are standard Latin family terms. A learner may notice that they look somewhat similar; that is normal, since they are related terms but have different genders:

• socer is masculine
• socrus is feminine

Because et simply joins the two subjects:

• socer laetus et socrus benigna = the happy father-in-law and the kind mother-in-law

Latin, like English, often uses just one and to connect two items. There is no need to repeat it.

It can mean more than one closely related thing depending on context.

Common meanings include:

• bride
• betrothed woman
• fiancée

If the meaning has already been given in your exercise, follow that translation. But it is useful to know that Latin words often cover a range that does not match one single English word exactly.

Here is the full breakdown:

• socer — nominative singular
• laetus — nominative singular masculine, agreeing with socer
• socrus — nominative singular
• benigna — nominative singular feminine, agreeing with socrus
• sponsam — accusative singular
• atrio — ablative singular

So the pattern is:

• subjects in the nominative
• direct object in the accusative
• place where after in in the ablative

A simple classroom-style pronunciation would be something like:

SOH-ker LYE-toos et SOH-kroos beh-NEEN-ya SPON-sam in AH-tree-oh sah-LOO-tahnt

A few helpful notes:

• c is always hard, like k
• g is always hard, like in go
• v in restored classical pronunciation is closer to English w, though many classrooms use an English v
• ti in atrio is usually pronounced clearly as tri-o, not like English sh

Pronunciation systems vary somewhat, but the grammar of the sentence stays the same.