“Noli flere,” inquit avia, “ego tecum sum.”

Latin often makes a negative command to one person with:

• noli
  • infinitive

So noli flere literally means something like be unwilling to cry, but idiomatically it just means don’t cry.

A few helpful comparisons:

• noli flere = don’t cry (said to one person)
• nolite flere = don’t cry (said to more than one person)

So this is a very common and important pattern to learn.

Noli is the singular imperative of nolo, which means I do not want or I am unwilling.

Its basic forms are:

• nolo = I do not want
• non vis = you do not want
• non vult = he/she does not want

But in commands, Latin uses the imperative:

• noli = don’t... (to one person)
• nolite = don’t... (to more than one person)

So even though nolo normally means not want, in this construction it works like a negative command.

Because after noli Latin normally uses the infinitive.

So:

• flere = to cry
• noli flere = don’t cry

English learners often expect a direct imperative like cry not, but Latin usually prefers noli/nolite + infinitive for this kind of negative command.

Inquit means said or says in direct speech.

Latin often inserts inquit into a quotation, especially after the first few words. So instead of writing:

• Grandmother said, “Don’t cry. I am with you.”

Latin can do:

• “Don’t cry,” said grandmother, “I am with you.”

That is exactly what is happening here. The placement may feel unusual from an English point of view, but it is very normal in Latin.

Because avia is the subject of inquit.

• avia = grandmother
• inquit avia = grandmother said

Since avia is doing the action of speaking, it is in the nominative case.

Because ego adds emphasis.

Since sum already means I am, Latin does not need the pronoun ego unless the speaker wants to stress it. So:

• tecum sum = I am with you
• ego tecum sum = I am with you / I am with you

In this sentence, the grandmother may be reassuring the child, so the explicit ego makes the statement warmer or more emphatic.

Tecum means with you.

With personal pronouns, the preposition cum is usually attached to the end of the pronoun instead of standing before it:

• mecum = with me
• tecum = with you
• nobiscum = with us
• vobiscum = with you all

So tecum is the normal Latin form, even though it literally looks like you-with.

Sum is the first person singular present tense of esse, to be.

So:

• sum = I am

In ego tecum sum, it means I am with you.

Latin word order is more flexible than English word order, because the grammar is shown by endings as well as by position.

So these could all mean roughly the same thing:

• ego tecum sum
• tecum sum
• sum tecum

But the chosen order can change emphasis. Here:

• ego is placed first for stress
• tecum comes before sum
• sum comes last, giving a natural close to the reassurance

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

Because the verb ending already tells you the subject.

In sum, the ending itself means I am, so Latin can leave out ego unless it wants emphasis.

That is why Latin often drops subject pronouns:

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

So the sentence could have been tecum sum, but ego is included for emphasis or comfort.

Formally, inquit is a present-tense form, but in narrative it is commonly translated said.

So in practice:

• inquit = says or said, depending on context

In a story, English usually prefers said, even though Latin uses this special speech verb in a way that does not match English tense usage exactly.