Breakdown of Mater puellae pallium imponit, quia ventus frigidus est.
esse
to be
puella
the girl
mater
the mother
quia
because
Questions & Answers about Mater puellae pallium imponit, quia ventus frigidus est.
Why is puellae not puellam here?
Because imponere often takes:
- an accusative for the thing being placed
- a dative for the person or thing on whom / on which it is placed
So in Mater puellae pallium imponit:
- pallium = the cloak → accusative
- puellae = to/on the girl → dative
A very literal sense is The mother places a cloak onto the girl, though natural English would be The mother puts a cloak on the girl.
Could puellae mean of the girl instead of to/for the girl?
Yes, puellae can be either:
- genitive singular = of the girl
- dative singular = to/for the girl
The form is ambiguous by itself. But the verb tells you which meaning makes sense here. Since imponit commonly takes a dative of the person receiving the thing, puellae is understood as to/on the girl, not of the girl.
Why is pallium in the accusative?
Because it is the direct object of imponit.
The mother is doing the action of putting, and the thing being put is , so is accusative singular.