Puer rogat utrum serpens ferox sit; magistra respondet non omnem serpentem hominibus nocere.

Utrum introduces an indirect yes/no question. After rogat, Latin does not usually say the question in the same way English does. Instead of The boy asks, Is the snake fierce?, Latin says something like The boy asks whether the snake is fierce.

So:

• rogat = asks
• utrum ... sit = whether ... is

In direct speech, the question might be:

• Estne serpens ferox? = Is the snake fierce?

But once it becomes indirect after rogat, Latin uses utrum and the verb goes into the subjunctive.

Because utrum serpens ferox sit is an indirect question, and Latin normally puts the verb of an indirect question in the subjunctive.

So:

• est = indicative, used in a direct statement or direct question
• sit = subjunctive, used here because the question is being reported indirectly

Compare:

• Serpens ferox est. = The snake is fierce.
• Puer rogat utrum serpens ferox sit. = The boy asks whether the snake is fierce.

This is a very common pattern in Latin.

Because serpens is the subject of sit.

In the clause serpens ferox sit:

• serpens = the snake → subject
• ferox = fierce → predicate adjective describing the subject
• sit = is

So the clause literally works like whether the snake be fierce, and the subject stays in the nominative.

It actually already agrees correctly with serpens.

Ferox is a third-declension adjective, and its nominative singular form is the same for masculine and feminine. Since serpens is nominative singular, ferox is also nominative singular.

So:

• serpens = nominative singular
• ferox = nominative singular, agreeing with serpens

This adjective just does not look like a first/second-declension adjective such as bonus, bona, bonum, so it can seem less familiar at first.

Because Latin often reports what someone says, thinks, hears, or answers by using an accusative-and-infinitive construction (often called indirect statement).

Here the teacher’s reply is not quoted directly. Instead, Latin gives the content of the reply like this:

• non omnem serpentem = not every snake → accusative subject of the infinitive
• nocere = to harm
• hominibus = to human beings / people

So the structure is:

• magistra respondet
  • [indirect statement]
• The teacher replies that not every snake harms people

English often uses that, but Latin often uses an infinitive construction instead.

Because in an indirect statement, the logical subject of the infinitive goes into the accusative.

In English we say:

• The teacher replies that not every snake harms people.

In Latin, the part meaning not every snake harms people becomes:

• non omnem serpentem hominibus nocere

Here:

• omnem serpentem is the subject in sense
• but grammatically it is accusative, because it is the subject of the infinitive nocere

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

Because nocere takes the dative, not a direct object in the accusative.

So:

• nocere alicui = to harm someone
• hominibus = to people / to human beings (dative plural)

This is different from English, where harm takes a direct object:

• English: harm people
• Latin: nocere hominibus

Many Latin verbs work this way, so it is worth memorizing nocere with the dative.

It means not every snake.

This is important because it does not mean no snake.

• non omnem serpentem hominibus nocere = not every snake harms people
• In smoother English: not all snakes harm people

That means some snakes do harm people, but others do not.

If Latin wanted to say no snake harms people, it would use a different idea, such as:

• nullum serpentem hominibus nocere

So the position of non matters for the meaning.

Latin often uses the singular of a noun to make a general statement about a whole class.

So omnem serpentem literally looks like every snake, singular, but it refers to snakes in general.

English does the same thing sometimes:

• Not every snake is dangerous
• Every student must listen

Even though the noun is singular, the meaning is general.

The present infinitive in an indirect statement usually shows action that is simultaneous with the main verb.

So:

• respondet ... nocere means she replies that ... harm(s) / are harming
• the harming is presented as true at the same time as the replying

Latin infinitives in indirect statement show time relative to the main verb, not simply absolute tense in the same way English does.

Here the teacher is making a general present statement, so nocere is exactly what we would expect.

Normally, utrum is the standard word for introducing an indirect yes/no question, especially when only one possibility is expressed.

So:

• utrum serpens ferox sit = whether the snake is fierce

An is often used in the second part of an either/or question:

• utrum hic an ille = whether this one or that one

Sometimes Latin can omit utrum, but in a textbook sentence like this, utrum is a very clear and standard choice.

Latin word order is much more flexible than English word order because Latin uses endings to show grammatical function.

In this sentence, the endings tell you what each word is doing:

• puer = nominative subject
• rogat = main verb
• serpens = subject of sit
• serpentem = accusative subject of nocere
• hominibus = dative with nocere

Because of this, Latin can place words for emphasis or style rather than relying only on position.

For example, non omnem serpentem puts the negative right before omnem, helping make the idea not every snake especially clear.