Pater non sinit puerum in via morari, quia nox obscura est.

Because sinit often takes this pattern:

• someone in the accusative
• plus an infinitive

So pater non sinit puerum morari literally means the father does not allow the boy to stay/delay.

In other words:

• pater = the one doing the allowing or not allowing
• puerum = the person being allowed
• morari = the action

This is a very common Latin construction.

After sinit (allows), Latin normally uses an infinitive to express the action that is allowed.

So:

• sinit puerum morari = allows the boy to stay
• not sinit puerum moratur

English does something similar:

• He allows the boy to stay
• not He allows the boy stays

So the infinitive morari is exactly what we expect after sinit.

Morari is a deponent verb. Deponent verbs look passive in form, but they have an active meaning.

So:

• morari looks passive
• but it means to stay, to linger, or to delay

Its dictionary form is moror, morari, moratus sum.

That means in this sentence morari is not passive in meaning. It simply means to stay/linger.

Because in can take two different cases depending on the meaning:

• in + ablative = in/on a place, with no motion into it
• in + accusative = into a place, showing motion toward it

Here the idea is staying on the road or remaining in the street/road, not going into it. So Latin uses the ablative:

• in via = on the road / in the street

If the sentence meant into the road, then in viam would be expected.

Via is ablative singular.

It is ablative because it follows in in a location sense:

• in via = on the road / in the street

The noun is from the first declension:

• nominative: via
• ablative: via

In the first declension, the ablative singular often looks the same as the nominative singular.

Non sinit means does not allow or does not permit.

The verb is sino, sinere, sivi, situs = to allow, permit, let.

So:

• pater non sinit puerum in via morari
• = the father does not allow the boy to stay in the road/in the street

Depending on context, English might also translate it more naturally as the father won’t let the boy stay in the street.

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

Here:

• nox = subject
• obscura = adjective describing the subject
• est = verb

So nox obscura est means the night is dark.

But Latin could also say:

• obscura nox est
• nox est obscura

The meaning would stay basically the same, though the emphasis might shift a little. Putting est at the end is very common in Latin.

Because it agrees with nox, which is a feminine noun.

In Latin, adjectives must agree with the nouns they describe in:

• gender
• number
• case

Here:

• nox = feminine singular nominative
• obscura = feminine singular nominative

So obscura matches nox exactly.

Nox is nominative singular because it is the subject of est.

In nox obscura est:

• nox = the night → subject
• obscura = dark → predicate adjective
• est = is

So nox must be nominative, and the adjective obscura also appears in the nominative to agree with it.

Quia means because. It introduces a clause giving the reason:

• quia nox obscura est = because the night is dark

So the sentence has two parts:

1. Pater non sinit puerum in via morari
2. quia nox obscura est

The second part explains why the father does not allow it.

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

So:

• pater can mean father or the father
• puerum can mean a boy or the boy
• nox can mean night or the night

You understand which English article to use from the context. In this sentence, English naturally uses the:

• the father
• the boy
• the night

Yes, morari can have a range of related meanings, including:

• to stay
• to linger
• to delay
• to hold back in some contexts

Here, because of in via, the most natural meaning is to stay or to linger on the road/in the street.

So a learner should not think the verb always has only one English equivalent. Latin words often cover a small range of meanings, and the context tells you which is best.