Tot dona sponsae data sunt ut mater ea omnia in armario ponere cogeretur.

Tot means so many (or simply that many, depending on context).

It is indeclinable, which means it does not change for case, gender, or number. So even though dona is neuter plural, tot still stays tot.

In this sentence, tot is especially important because it helps set up the result clause with ut:

• Tot dona ... data sunt ut ...
• So many gifts were given that ...

So tot is one of the clues that ut here means that rather than in order that.

Dona is the nominative plural of donum, meaning gift. It is the subject of the passive verb phrase data sunt.

Because data is a participle agreeing with dona, it must match it in:

• gender: neuter
• number: plural
• case: nominative

So:

• dona = neuter plural nominative
• data = neuter plural nominative

That is why you get data sunt, not datae sunt or datus est.

Data sunt is the perfect passive indicative of do, dare, dedi, datum (to give).

It is formed with:

• the perfect passive participle: data
• the present tense of sum: sunt

So literally:

• data sunt = have been given / were given

In smoother English here, it is usually translated:

• were given

This is a very common Latin passive construction.

Here sponsae is dative singular, meaning to the bride.

The verb do often takes:

• a direct object = the thing given
• an indirect object in the dative = the person receiving it

So in this sentence:

• dona = the gifts
• sponsae = to the bride

Even though sponsae could be genitive or dative in other contexts, here the meaning and syntax clearly show it is dative.

Here ut introduces a result clause, not a purpose clause.

The sentence means:

• So many gifts were given to the bride that the mother was forced ...

A good sign that it is a result clause is tot:

• tot = so many
• then ut = that

This is a classic pattern in Latin:

• tam ... ut = so ... that
• tot ... ut = so many ... that
• talis ... ut = such ... that

So here ut should be understood as that, not in order that.

Because it is inside a result clause introduced by ut.

Latin normally uses the subjunctive in both purpose and result clauses. Since this is a result clause, the subjunctive is required.

So:

• ut ... cogeretur = that ... was forced

Even though English usually does not show this with a special verb form, Latin does.

The imperfect subjunctive is used because the main verb is in past time:

• data sunt = were given

In a subordinate clause after a past main verb, Latin normally uses a secondary sequence tense. The imperfect subjunctive is often used for an action happening at the same time as the past main action, or as its result in a past setting.

So:

• data sunt ... ut ... cogeretur
• gifts were given ... so that/as a result the mother was forced ...

The tense is chosen because the whole situation is being described in the past.

Cogeretur is the imperfect passive subjunctive of cogo, cogere (to force).

So it means:

• was being forced
• was forced

In natural English here, was forced is best.

The passive makes mater the subject:

• mater ... cogeretur
• the mother was forced

If it were active, the mother would be the one doing the forcing, which is not the meaning here.

Because cogo is commonly followed by a complementary infinitive.

Latin says, literally:

• to force someone to put
• aliquem ponere cogere

So in the passive:

• mater ... ponere cogeretur
• the mother was forced to put

The infinitive ponere depends on cogeretur. It tells us what the mother was forced to do.

Ea is a neuter plural pronoun, meaning those things or, more naturally here, them. It refers back to dona.

Omnia means all and agrees with ea:

• neuter
• plural
• accusative

So ea omnia means:

• all those things
• all of them

Latin often uses both together for emphasis and clarity. It is stronger than just ea by itself.

Because mater is the subject of cogeretur.

In the result clause:

• mater ea omnia in armario ponere cogeretur

the mother is the one who was forced. Since she is the subject of that verb, mater is nominative.

So the structure is:

• mater = subject
• ea omnia = direct object of ponere
• ponere = infinitive depending on cogeretur
• cogeretur = main verb of the subordinate clause

In armario means in the closet/cupboard/wardrobe.

Here:

• in = in, into
• armario = ablative singular of armarium

With in, Latin can use:

• ablative for location: in the closet
• accusative for motion into: into the closet

In sentences with verbs of placing, Latin usage can vary, but here the textbook sentence uses in armario to express where the gifts were put.

The main thing for a learner is that armario is the form used after in here and means in the closet/cupboard.

Latin word order is much more flexible than English word order because Latin shows grammatical relationships mainly through endings, not position.

So Latin can arrange words for emphasis or style. In this sentence:

• Tot comes first for emphasis: So many ...
• dona sponsae data sunt gives the main statement
• ut ... cogeretur comes afterward as the result

A more English-like order would be something like:

• Dona tot sponsae data sunt ut mater ea omnia in armario ponere cogeretur

But Latin prefers the given arrangement because it sounds more natural and emphasizes tot strongly at the beginning.