Peregrina a matre benigne accipitur et in atrium ducitur.

Because peregrina is the subject of both verbs: accipitur and ducitur.

In Latin, the subject of a verb is normally in the nominative case. This is true even though, in English, the subject of a passive sentence is the person receiving the action.

So in this sentence:

• peregrina = the female stranger / foreign woman = subject
• accipitur = is received
• ducitur = is led

A learner may expect an accusative because the woman is being acted on, but in a passive sentence the person acted on becomes the grammatical subject.

It is originally an adjective meaning foreign or strange, but here it is being used substantively, meaning it functions like a noun: a foreign woman, a female stranger, or a woman from abroad.

This is very common in Latin. An adjective can stand on its own when the noun is understood.

So:

• peregrina femina = a foreign woman
• peregrina by itself = a foreign woman / female stranger

Because it ends in -a, it is feminine singular nominative here.

In a passive sentence, Latin normally uses:

• a or ab
  • ablative to show the personal agent: the person who performs the action.

So:

• mater = mother
• matre = ablative singular
• a matre = by the mother

This is the normal way to express by someone with a passive verb.

For example:

• a puero = by the boy
• ab amico = by the friend
• a matre = by the mother

The choice between a and ab depends mostly on sound:

• usually ab before a vowel or sometimes for clarity
• often a before a consonant

Because after a/ab meaning by, Latin uses the ablative case.

The dictionary form is:

• mater = mother

But in the ablative singular it becomes:

• matre

So:

• mater = mother
• a matre = by the mother

This is a good example of how Latin changes word endings to show grammatical function.

Benigne is an adverb, and it means kindly, graciously, or warmly.

It modifies the verb accipitur:

• benigne accipitur = she is kindly received

A useful pattern to remember is:

• adjective: benignus, benigna, benignum = kind
• adverb: benigne = kindly

So the sentence does not just say she is received; it tells us how she is received.

Because accipitur is:

• 3rd person singular
• present tense
• passive voice

It comes from accipio, accipere, meaning receive.

In the active voice:

• accipit = he/she receives

In the passive voice:

• accipitur = he/she is received

The ending -tur is a very important clue that the verb is passive in the 3rd person singular.

For the same reason as accipitur: it is a 3rd person singular present passive verb.

It comes from:

• duco, ducere = to lead

So:

• ducit = he/she leads
• ducitur = he/she is led

Since the subject is peregrina, the sense is:

• the woman is led
• more naturally in English, depending on context, she is led

Because the subject, peregrina, is singular.

Latin verbs agree with their subject in number and person. Since there is one woman, both verbs are singular:

• accipitur = she is received
• ducitur = she is led

If the subject were plural, the verbs would also be plural, for example:

• peregrinae ... accipiuntur et ducuntur
• the women are received and led

This is completely normal in Latin, just as in English. One subject can be shared by two or more verbs joined by et.

Here the structure is:

• Peregrina = subject
• accipitur = first verb
• et = and
• ducitur = second verb

So the sentence means that the same person experiences two actions:

1. she is received
2. she is led into the atrium

Latin often does not repeat the subject when it is the same.

Because in with the accusative usually expresses motion into a place.

So:

• in atrium = into the atrium

This fits the verb ducitur very well, because being led implies movement.

A very important distinction is:

• in + accusative = into, onto, toward
• in + ablative = in, on

Compare:

• in atrium ducitur = she is led into the atrium
• in atrio est = she is in the atrium

Atrium is a neuter singular accusative noun, because it is the object of the preposition in when in shows motion toward a place.

Its dictionary form is:

• atrium, atrii = atrium, central hall

So in this sentence:

• in atrium = into the atrium

The ending -um is the regular accusative singular ending for many second-declension neuter nouns.

Because Latin verbs usually contain enough information to show the person and number, so a subject pronoun is often unnecessary.

Here, however, Latin does not use a pronoun because it uses the noun peregrina directly as the subject.

Even after that, Latin still does not need to repeat ea or another pronoun before ducitur. Once the subject is clear, it is usually left unstated again.

So Latin prefers:

• Peregrina ... accipitur et ... ducitur

rather than something more repetitive.

The word order is meaningful, but Latin word order is much freer than English word order because the endings show grammatical roles.

This sentence begins with peregrina, which puts the subject in a prominent position. Then:

• a matre tells us who performs the first action
• benigne adds the manner
• accipitur finishes the first idea
• et in atrium ducitur adds the second action

A more literal arrangement in English order might be:

• The stranger is kindly received by the mother and is led into the atrium.

But Latin can move pieces around for emphasis without changing the basic meaning.

Grammatically, it is placed directly with accipitur, so the most immediate reading is:

• she is kindly received by the mother
• and led into the atrium

In context, a reader may naturally understand that the mother is also the one leading her, but the Latin wording most clearly attaches a matre to the first verb.

If Latin wanted to make it especially clear that both actions are done by the mother, it could repeat or more strongly structure the agent. As written, the agent is explicit with the first passive verb and then understood with the second if the context supports that reading.

It helps to break it into two linked passive clauses sharing one subject:

1. Peregrina a matre benigne accipitur
   = The female stranger is kindly received by the mother.

2. et in atrium ducitur
   = and is led into the atrium.

So the overall pattern is:

• subject
• agent phrase
• adverb
• passive verb
• and
• prepositional phrase
• passive verb

Seeing the structure this way often makes the sentence much easier to read.