Mane merula sub fenestra canit, et avia eam libenter audit.

Mane means in the morning or simply morning used adverbially.

Latin often expresses time without a preposition, especially with common time words. So:

• mane = in the morning
• Compare English, where we usually need in the morning

Historically, mane is an old adverbial form, so learners often just memorize it as a time adverb.

Because merula is in the nominative singular, which is the case normally used for the subject.

In this clause:

• merula = the blackbird → subject
• canit = sings

So merula canit means the blackbird sings.

The ending -a here is nominative singular because merula is a first-declension feminine noun.

Here fenestra is in the ablative singular: sub fenestra = under the window.

With sub, Latin uses:

• ablative for location: under, beneath
• accusative for motion toward: to a position under

So:

• sub fenestra = under the window
• sub fenestram would suggest movement, something like to under the window

Since the bird is already there, not moving there, the ablative is used.

In many Latin texts for learners, vowel length is not marked at all, so you will simply see fenestra.

More precisely, the form here is fenestrā with a long final -ā, because it is ablative singular of a first-declension noun.

So:

• dictionary form: fenestra
• ablative singular: fenestrā

If macrons are omitted, both are written fenestra, and you have to tell from grammar.

Canit is the 3rd person singular present active indicative of canere.

Here it means:

• sings
• possibly also is singing, depending on context

Latin present tense can often be translated in more than one natural English way:

• merula canit = the blackbird sings
• or the blackbird is singing

Yes. Avia means grandmother, and it is the subject of audit.

In the second clause:

• avia = grandmother → nominative singular subject
• eam = her / it → direct object
• audit = hears / listens to

So the structure is:

et avia eam libenter audit
= and grandmother gladly listens to her/it

Because avia is nominative, it is the one doing the action.

Because it refers back to merula, and merula is a feminine noun.

Latin pronouns must agree with the noun they refer to in:

• gender
• number

So since merula is feminine singular, the pronoun is also feminine singular:

• nominative: ea = she / it
• accusative: eam = her / it

Here eam is accusative because it is the direct object of audit.

Latin often can omit an object if it is understood, but it can also include the pronoun for clarity or emphasis.

So avia audit could mean grandmother listens/hears, with the object left unstated. But avia eam audit makes it clear that she is hearing/listening to the blackbird.

In this sentence, eam helps tie the second clause back to merula.

Libenter means gladly, willingly, or with pleasure.

It is an adverb, so it modifies the verb audit:

• audit = she hears / listens
• libenter audit = she gladly hears / gladly listens

A very common thing in Latin is to use an adverb where English might use a longer phrase, such as:

• libenter = gladly
• cum gaudio would be a more literal phrase like with joy, but that is not what we have here

Good question. Audio, audire basically means hear, but in many simple Latin sentences it can also be translated naturally as listen to, depending on context.

Strictly speaking:

• audit = hears
• but in context, if someone is paying attention to a bird singing, English may naturally say listens to it

So both may be reasonable depending on the translation you were shown. If you want a verb more specifically meaning listen to, Latin often uses auscultare.

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

English depends heavily on word order:

• The blackbird sings
• Grandmother hears it

Latin can move words around more freely:

• Mane merula sub fenestra canit
• Et avia eam libenter audit

The verbs often come near the end, but that is a tendency, not a strict rule. The sentence sounds natural in Latin because the cases and verb endings already tell you who is doing what.

Latin has no articles.

So a noun like merula can mean:

• a blackbird
• the blackbird

and avia can mean:

• a grandmother
• the grandmother
• grandmother

You decide from context which English article sounds right. That is why translating Latin into English often requires you to add a, an, or the, even though nothing directly corresponds to them in the Latin sentence.

Grammatically, yes: eam is the feminine accusative singular form, so it can mean her or it.

But in this sentence it refers to merula, which is a bird. In English, when referring to an animal in a simple neutral way, we usually say it unless we want to personify the animal or stress that it is female.

So:

• grammatical Latin: feminine eam
• natural English: usually it

Here is a quick breakdown:

• mane — adverb: in the morning
• merula — nominative singular feminine: blackbird, subject of canit
• sub — preposition: under
• fenestra (fenestrā if marked with macron) — ablative singular feminine: window, object of sub
• canit — 3rd singular present of canere: sings
• et — and
• avia — nominative singular feminine: grandmother, subject of audit
• eam — accusative singular feminine pronoun: her / it, referring to merula
• libenter — adverb: gladly
• audit — 3rd singular present of audire: hears / listens to

That is the basic grammatical skeleton of the whole sentence.