Serva cinerem e foco tollit.

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

In Serva cinerem e foco tollit:

• serva = the maidservant / slave woman → subject
• cinerem = ash → direct object
• e foco = from the hearth
• tollit = takes up / removes

So the basic structure is:

Serva | cinerem | e foco | tollit
The maidservant | ash | from the hearth | removes

English relies heavily on word order for subject and object, but Latin usually shows their roles by endings instead.

Because cinerem is the accusative singular form, used for the direct object.

The dictionary form is cinis, meaning ash. But in this sentence, ash is the thing being removed, so Latin puts it in the accusative:

• cinis = ash (nominative)
• cinerem = ash (accusative)

This is a very common pattern in 3rd-declension nouns.

So:

• cinis tollit would suggest the ash removes
• cinerem tollit means she removes the ash

Because foco is ablative singular after the preposition e.

The noun is focus, meaning hearth, fireplace, or sometimes fire in context. After e/ex meaning out of / from, Latin normally uses the ablative:

• focus = hearth (nominative)
• foco = from the hearth / in the hearth, depending on context

Here:

• e foco = from the hearth

So the ending -o is not random; it shows the noun is in the ablative singular.

Because the sentence specifically means from the hearth, and Latin usually expresses movement out of something with e or ex plus the ablative.

So:

• e foco = from the hearth

If Latin used just foco by itself, that would usually suggest a different relationship, such as by/with/in the hearth depending on context, not clearly from.

The preposition is doing important work here.

Both e and ex mean out of / from.

The shorter form e is commonly used before consonants, and ex is often used before vowels, but Latin authors are not always completely rigid about this. In this sentence, foco begins with a consonant, so e foco is perfectly normal.

A simple rule of thumb:

• e before many consonants
• ex often before vowels or for sound/style preference

So e foco is just the expected form here.

Tollit is the 3rd person singular present active form of tollo, tollere.

Its basic meanings include:

• lift up
• take away
• remove

In this sentence, the best sense is probably:

• she removes
• she takes up
• she takes away

So Serva cinerem e foco tollit means that the maidservant is removing or taking up the ash from the hearth.

This is a good example of how one Latin verb can cover several related English ideas.

You do not know that from the verb alone.

Tollit simply means he/she/it lifts/removes. Latin verbs show:

• person: 3rd person
• number: singular
• tense: present

But they do not usually show grammatical gender in the finite verb.

You know it is she because the subject is serva, a feminine noun meaning maidservant or slave woman.

So:

• tollit = he/she/it removes
• serva ... tollit = the maidservant removes, therefore she removes

Because Latin word order is much more flexible than English word order.

English strongly prefers:

• The maidservant removes ash from the hearth.

Latin can say:

• Serva cinerem e foco tollit
• Cinerem serva e foco tollit
• E foco serva cinerem tollit

and the basic meaning can stay the same, because the endings tell you what each word is doing.

That said, word order in Latin is not random. It often adds emphasis or improves style. In this sentence, placing tollit at the end is very natural Latin style.

Classical Latin has no articles like English the or a/an.

So:

• serva can mean a maidservant or the maidservant
• cinerem can mean ash, the ash, or sometimes ashes, depending on context
• foco can mean a hearth or the hearth

The reader figures this out from context.

That is why a single Latin sentence can often be translated into English in more than one natural way.

Strictly speaking, serva means female slave or slave woman.

In some textbook translations, it may be softened to:

• maidservant
• servant
• maid

But the underlying Latin word is connected with servus / serva, meaning slave.

So if you want the most literal sense, serva is a female slave. If you want smoother English in a simple reading exercise, maidservant is often used.

By itself, yes: serva! can be the imperative of servo, meaning save!, keep!, or preserve!

But in this sentence, that interpretation does not fit the grammar well.

Why not?

• tollit is already a finite verb: she removes
• cinerem e foco works naturally as object + prepositional phrase with tollit
• serva fits very well as a nominative noun: the maidservant

So here serva is clearly the noun, not the command.

This is a good reminder that Latin forms can sometimes be ambiguous until you look at the whole sentence.

In Latin, cinerem is singular accusative.

So grammatically it means ash or the ash. But English often prefers ashes when talking about what remains in a fireplace or hearth.

That means both of these may be reasonable translations depending on style:

• The maidservant removes the ash from the hearth.
• The maidservant removes the ashes from the hearth.

Latin singular and English singular do not always line up perfectly in the most natural translation.