Femina prudens tabernae patris praeest, sed ipsa quoque contionibus civium interdum interest.

Prudens is a third-declension adjective, and many third-declension adjectives use the same nominative singular form for masculine and feminine. So:

• prudens vir = a prudent man
• prudens femina = a prudent woman

It still agrees with femina in case, number, and gender, even though the ending does not look especially feminine.

Because praeesse does not take a direct object. It takes the dative.

So:

• tabernae = to/for the shop
• patris = of the father

Together, tabernae patris means to her father’s shop, or more naturally in English, her father’s shop as the thing she is in charge of.

A very common point for learners is that praeesse means to be in charge of, to preside over, but grammatically it governs the dative, not the accusative.

Patris is genitive singular of pater, meaning of the father.

It depends on tabernae, so:

• tabernae patris = the father’s shop / the shop of her father

The important thing is that the phrase combines two different case relationships:

• tabernae = dative with praeest
• patris = genitive modifying tabernae

So the woman is in charge of the father’s shop.

Yes. Praeest comes from praeesse, which is a compound of prae- + esse (to be).

So:

• sum = I am
• es = you are
• est = he/she/it is

and:

• praesum = I am in charge / I am at the head of
• praees = you are in charge of
• praeest = he/she is in charge of

Because it is a compound built on esse, its forms can look a little unusual at first, but they are very common in Latin.

Yes, interest already implies she because the verb is third person singular. But ipsa adds emphasis:

• ipsa = she herself
• quoque = also, too

So sed ipsa quoque means something like:

• but she herself also
• but she too
• but she personally as well

It gives extra stress to the fact that the woman herself, not just someone connected with her, also attends or takes part in these assemblies.

Because interesse here also takes the dative.

In this sentence, interesse means to be present at, to attend, or to take part in. With that meaning, the thing attended is put in the dative:

• contionibus = at the assemblies / in the assemblies

So just as praeesse takes a dative, interesse does too.

This is another very common feature of compounds of esse: they often govern cases in ways English speakers do not expect.

Civium is genitive plural of civis, meaning of the citizens.

It modifies contionibus, so:

• contionibus civium = assemblies of the citizens / citizens’ assemblies

Again, the phrase contains two layers:

• contionibus = dative with interest
• civium = genitive modifying contionibus

That is a great question, because interest can indeed mean it matters in Latin in some contexts. But here it is from interesse in the sense to be among, to be present, to take part.

So in this sentence:

• interesse contionibus = to attend the assemblies / to take part in the assemblies

You have to tell the meaning from the context:

• if Latin says something like magni interest, that usually means it is of great importance
• if it has a person attending some event, especially with a dative like contionibus, it means to be present at / attend

Latin word order is much freer than English word order because Latin relies heavily on case endings rather than position.

So in:

Femina prudens tabernae patris praeest, sed ipsa quoque contionibus civium interdum interest.

the endings tell you how the words fit together:

• femina prudens = the prudent woman
• tabernae patris = to/of the father’s shop
• contionibus civium = at the citizens’ assemblies

The order is not random, though. Latin often uses word order for emphasis and style. For example:

• Femina prudens puts the subject first
• ipsa quoque highlights she herself also
• interdum is placed neatly near the verb it modifies

So the sentence is grammatical not because of a fixed English-style order, but because of the forms of the words.

Interdum is an adverb meaning sometimes or from time to time. It modifies interest.

So:

• interdum interest = she sometimes attends / she is sometimes present at

In English, you would usually place it before the verb:

• she sometimes attends the citizens’ assemblies

But Latin can place it more flexibly.

Yes. The subject throughout is a single woman:

• Femina prudens ... praeest
• sed ipsa quoque ... interest

Both verbs are third person singular, agreeing with that one subject.

The second clause does not repeat femina, because Latin often omits an expressed subject when it is already clear. Ipsa is enough to bring the subject back in an emphatic way.

Possibly, depending on context, because contio can refer to a public meeting, assembly, gathering, or address to a crowd. But in this sentence, the most natural sense is something like public assemblies of the citizens.

So interest contionibus civium suggests that she attends or takes part in those gatherings.

A learner should mainly notice the grammar here:

• contionibus = dative after interest
• civium = genitive depending on contionibus

The exact English wording may vary a little with context.