Puer ad matrem fugit, quia tonitrum audit.

the boy

Breakdown of Puer ad matrem fugit, quia tonitrum audit.

• mater: the mother
• ad: to
• quia: because

Questions & Answers about Puer ad matrem fugit, quia tonitrum audit.

Why is puer the subject?

Puer is in the nominative singular, which is the case Latin normally uses for the subject of the sentence.

So in Puer ad matrem fugit, puer is the boy, the one doing the action of fleeing/running.

Its basic dictionary form is puer, puerī = boy.

Why is it ad matrem and not just matrem?

The preposition ad means to or toward and takes the accusative case.

So:

• ad = to/toward
• matrem = accusative form of māter (mother)

Together, ad matrem means to his/the mother or toward his/the mother.

Latin often uses a preposition where English also uses one, and ad is the normal choice here for motion toward a person.

Why does mother appear as matrem instead of mater?

Because after ad, Latin uses the accusative.

The noun is:

• nominative: māter = mother
• accusative: mātrem = mother as the object of a preposition like ad, or as a direct object

So ad matrem literally means toward mother.

What form is ?