Vespa prope mel volat, et mater puerum monet ne vespam tangat.

Latin word order is more flexible than English word order because Latin uses case endings to show what each word is doing.

So in:

Vespa prope mel volat, et mater puerum monet ne vespam tangat.

you can still tell that:

• vespa is the subject of volat
• mater is the subject of monet
• puerum is the object of monet
• vespam is the object of tangat

even if the words are not arranged exactly like English.

English depends heavily on word order; Latin depends much more on endings.

They are different cases of the same noun.

• vespa = nominative singular, used for the subject
• vespam = accusative singular, used for the direct object

So:

• Vespa ... volat = The wasp flies
• ne vespam tangat = that he not touch the wasp

This is one of the most important features of Latin: the ending changes depending on the noun’s job in the sentence.

Because they have different roles in the clause:

• mater is the one doing the warning, so it is the subject
• puerum is the person being warned, so it is the direct object

So:

• mater = mother as subject
• puerum = boy as object

This is very common with moneo, monere:
someone warns someone.

Yes—prope takes the accusative.

The reason mel looks unchanged is that mel is a neuter noun whose nominative and accusative singular are the same.

So after prope, the word is indeed accusative, but it still appears as:

• mel

That means:

• prope mel = near the honey

So the case has changed grammatically, but the form happens to look identical.

Prope takes the accusative.

So in this sentence:

• prope mel

mel is accusative, even though its form does not visibly change.

This is worth memorizing: many Latin prepositions regularly take a specific case, and prope is one of the ones that takes the accusative.

Because tangat is subjunctive, not indicative.

After monet, Latin often uses an indirect command:

• monet ... ne ... tangat

This means:

• she warns ... that he should not touch
• more naturally in English: she warns the boy not to touch

So tangat is present subjunctive because it is part of a dependent clause after monet.

Because ne is used to introduce a negative purpose clause or negative indirect command.

Here it is best understood as a negative indirect command after monet:

• mater puerum monet ne vespam tangat
• the mother warns the boy not to touch the wasp

If Latin used non here, that would not be the normal way to express this construction.

A useful pattern to remember is:

• ut
  • subjunctive = a positive indirect command
• ne
  • subjunctive = a negative indirect command

Monet comes from moneo, monere, which can mean:

• warn
• advise
• remind

In this sentence it means warns.

The structure is:

• mater puerum monet = the mother warns the boy
• ne vespam tangat = not to touch the wasp

So the full sense is:
The mother warns the boy not to touch the wasp.

Yes. It is a subordinate clause depending on monet.

It has:

• ne introducing the clause
• vespam as the object
• tangat as the verb

Even though English often translates this with an infinitive (not to touch), Latin uses a finite verb in the subjunctive instead.

So Latin says something more like:

• the mother warns the boy that he should not touch the wasp

Classical Latin normally has no articles.

So:

• vespa can mean a wasp or the wasp
• mater can mean a mother or the mother
• puerum can mean a boy or the boy

The context tells you which is more natural in English.

That is why the same Latin sentence can be translated with English articles even though none appear in the Latin.

All three are present tense forms.

• volat = flies / is flying
• monet = warns / is warning
• tangat = present subjunctive, touch / should touch

In English, present tense can be translated in different ways depending on context:

• The wasp flies near the honey
• The wasp is flying near the honey

Latin present tense often covers both ideas.

Because its understood subject is the boy.

In:

• mater puerum monet ne vespam tangat

the person who is supposed not to touch the wasp is puerum. In English, we would say:

• the mother warns the boy not to touch the wasp

Latin does not repeat puer inside the subordinate clause, but the verb tangat is singular because it refers back to that one boy.

Yes. Depending on context, it could be translated as:

• The wasp flies near the honey
• A wasp flies near the honey
• The wasp is flying near the honey
• A wasp is flying near the honey

Latin leaves some things unstated that English must choose, especially:

• whether to use a or the
• whether to use flies or is flying

So translation often requires a little interpretation.

It has two main clauses, joined by et:

1. Vespa prope mel volat
   = The wasp flies near the honey

2. mater puerum monet ne vespam tangat
   = the mother warns the boy not to touch the wasp

Inside the second main clause, there is also a subordinate clause:

• ne vespam tangat

So the sentence is:

• main clause
• et
• main clause containing a dependent clause

Latin often simply repeats a noun where English might use it.

So instead of something like:

• the mother warns the boy not to touch it

Latin says:

• ne vespam tangat
• that he not touch the wasp

This can make the sentence clearer, especially for learners. Latin certainly can use pronouns, but it does not always do so where English would.