Magistra rogat cur in hac domo tam multa sint canistra, catini, et scutellae; mater respondet se interdum multis conviviis praeesse.

Because cur in hac domo tam multa sint... is an indirect question.

After verbs like rogat (asks), Latin normally puts the verb of the indirect question in the subjunctive. So:

• direct question: Cur sunt tam multa...? = Why are there so many...?
• indirect question: Magistra rogat cur ... sint = The teacher asks why there are...

So sint is the present subjunctive of esse.

Cur means why.

It introduces the question being asked:

• Magistra rogat cur... = The teacher asks why...

So it works much like English why, but because this is an indirect question, the verb later becomes subjunctive: sint.

In hac domo means in this house.

Here:

• in
  • ablative = in/on when it expresses location
• hac is the ablative feminine singular of hic, haec, hoc = this
• domo is ablative singular

So:

• in hac domo = in this house

A learner may notice that domus is a somewhat unusual noun in Latin, but here domo is simply the ablative form needed after in for place where.

This is a very natural question.

The three nouns are:

• canistra = neuter plural
• catini = masculine plural
• scutellae = feminine plural

When Latin refers to a mixed group of things, it very often uses a neuter plural adjective or pronoun. So tam multa means something like so many things.

In other words, multa does not need to match only one of the nouns. It can stand over the whole list collectively.

So:

• tam multa sint canistra, catini, et scutellae = that there are so many baskets, bowls, and dishes

They are nominative plural.

They are the subject of sint:

• canistra = nominative plural neuter
• catini = nominative plural masculine
• scutellae = nominative plural feminine

They are the things that are in the house.

Because Latin often uses accusative + infinitive after verbs of saying, thinking, knowing, and answering.

So after respondet (she answers), Latin does not usually say quod ea... here. Instead it says:

• mater respondet se... praeesse

That literally means:

• the mother answers herself to be in charge...

But in better English:

• the mother answers that she is sometimes in charge...

Here se is a reflexive pronoun referring back to mater.

Because se refers back to the subject of the main verb, here mater.

• mater respondet se... = the mother answers that she...

If Latin used eam, that would normally mean her as someone else, not the mother herself.

So se shows that the person doing the answering and the person being described in the subordinate statement are the same person.

Because it is part of the accusative-and-infinitive construction after respondet.

After a verb like respondet, Latin often expresses reported speech like this:

• subject in the accusative
  • infinitive

So:

• se ... praeesse = that she is in charge / presides over

The infinitive praeesse is the present active infinitive of praesum.

Because praesum, praeesse means to be over, to be in charge of, to preside over, and it takes the dative case.

So:

• multis conviviis = over many banquets / in charge of many banquets

This is a common feature of compounds with sum, especially praesum.

So although in English we say preside over many banquets, in Latin the governed noun is dative.

It is dative plural.

• multis = dative plural of multus
• conviviis = dative plural of convivium

It is dative because praeesse requires the dative.

Interdum means sometimes.

It modifies the whole verbal idea se ... praeesse:

• mater respondet se interdum multis conviviis praeesse
• the mother replies that she is sometimes in charge of many banquets

In English, sometimes can be placed naturally before is or later in the clause, but in Latin interdum is quite flexible in position.

Yes. Latin word order is much freer than English word order, so the endings are doing a lot of the work.

A few points:

• Magistra rogat cur... puts the main action first: The teacher asks why...
• tam multa comes before the list for emphasis: so many
• mater respondet se interdum multis conviviis praeesse saves the infinitive praeesse until the end, which is very common in Latin

So the word order is not random, but it is not as rigid as English.

Sometimes Latin can use a quod-clause, especially in later Latin or in certain styles, but with a verb like respondet, the classical and very standard construction is the accusative and infinitive:

• mater respondet se... praeesse

So for a learner, the important thing is: after verbs of saying or answering, expect accusative + infinitive very often.

The dictionary form is praesum, praeesse, praefui.

It is an irregular compound of sum.

Its basic meaning is:

• to be in charge of
• to preside over
• to command

And remember: it usually takes the dative.

Tam means so and strengthens multa:

• tam multa = so many

This is exactly the kind of combination English speakers should recognize:

• tam bonus = so good
• tam multi = so many
• tam multa = so many things

Here it adds emphasis to the teacher’s question.

Indirect speech, or more precisely here an indirect question.

If it were direct speech, you might expect something like:

• Cur in hac domo tam multa sunt...?

But instead Latin reports the question inside the sentence:

• Magistra rogat cur ... sint

So the sentence is not giving the teacher’s exact words; it is reporting them.

It follows a very common Latin pattern:

• main verb of saying/answering
  • accusative subject
    • infinitive verb

Broken down:

• mater respondet = main clause
• se = subject of the reported statement, in the accusative
• praeesse = infinitive
• interdum = adverb
• multis conviviis = dative object with praeesse

So the structure is:

• The mother replies [that] she sometimes presides over many banquets.

Because Latin often does not use a separate word equivalent to English that in this kind of construction.

Instead, the idea of that is built into the accusative and infinitive pattern:

• respondet se praeesse = she replies that she is in charge

So English needs that or an equivalent phrasing, but Latin does not.