Serva catīnum cum pōmīs et pāne ad mēnsam fert.

Because serva is in the nominative singular, which is the form Latin typically uses for the subject of a sentence.

Here, serva means slave woman, female servant, or maid. The ending -a is the normal nominative singular ending for a first-declension noun.

So serva ... fert means the maid carries / brings.

Because catīnum is a neuter noun, and in Latin, neuter nominative and accusative are always the same.

So:

• nominative singular: catīnum
• accusative singular: catīnum

In this sentence, catīnum is the thing being carried, so it is the direct object, even though its form does not change.

That is very common with neuter nouns.

Because they come after cum, and cum meaning with takes the ablative case.

So:

• pōmīs = ablative plural of pōmum
• pāne = ablative singular of pānis

That gives cum pōmīs et pāne = with apples and bread.

The different endings happen because one noun is plural and the other is singular, and they also belong to different declensions.

Because ad means to or toward, and it takes the accusative case.

So:

• mēnsa = nominative singular
• mēnsā = ablative singular
• mēnsam = accusative singular

Since the idea is motion toward the table, Latin uses ad + accusative:

• ad mēnsam = to the table

Fert is the third-person singular present tense of ferō, ferre, an irregular verb meaning carry, bear, or bring.

So fert means:

• he carries
• she carries
• it carries

In this sentence, since the subject is serva, it means she carries or she brings.

A few related forms are:

• ferō = I carry
• fers = you carry
• fert = he/she/it carries
• ferunt = they carry

Latin word order is much more flexible than English word order because the endings show how words function.

Putting the verb at the end is very common in Latin, especially in simple textbook sentences.

So this order:

• Serva catīnum cum pōmīs et pāne ad mēnsam fert

is natural Latin, even though English usually wants:

• The maid carries the bowl with apples and bread to the table

Latin uses endings, not position alone, to show who is doing what.

Because Classical Latin does not have articles like English the and a/an.

So a noun like serva can mean:

• a maid
• the maid

and catīnum can mean:

• a bowl
• the bowl

Which one is best depends on the context or on the translation chosen for the sentence.

No. Cum can mean different things in Latin.

In this sentence, cum means with because it is a preposition followed by nouns in the ablative:

• cum pōmīs et pāne = with apples and bread

But cum can also be a conjunction meaning when, since, or although in other kinds of sentences.

So the grammar around it tells you which meaning is intended.

The macrons show long vowels:

• ī in catīnum
• ō in pōmīs
• ē in mēnsam

They are mainly a pronunciation and learning aid in modern textbooks. Ancient Romans usually did not write them in ordinary texts.

Macrons matter because vowel length can help with:

• pronunciation
• rhythm and poetry
• telling forms apart

For example, learners can use macrons to develop more accurate Latin pronunciation, even though many printed Latin texts leave them out.

Because they do different jobs.

• cum connects the whole phrase to catīnum and means with
• et joins the two nouns pōmīs and pāne and means and

So the structure is:

• cum
  • pōmīs et pāne
• with apples and bread

In other words, the bowl is accompanied by both apples and bread.