Cum ancilla paulisper apud puteum morata esset, mater ei dixit ut aquam celerius ferret.

Here cum means when or after, introducing a subordinate clause:

Cum ancilla paulisper apud puteum morata esset
= When/after the slave-girl had lingered for a little while at the well

In this kind of narrative sentence, cum often takes the subjunctive, especially when it gives background circumstances rather than just a simple time reference.

Morata esset is pluperfect subjunctive, while morata erat would be pluperfect indicative.

With cum in narrative background clauses, Latin commonly uses the subjunctive. So:

• cum ... morata esset = when/after she had lingered
• morata erat would be more straightforwardly factual, but that is not the usual construction here

So the subjunctive is not making the action doubtful; it is there because of the kind of cum clause Latin is using.

Morata comes from moror, morari, moratus sum, a deponent verb meaning to delay, to linger, or to stay.

Deponent verbs:

• have passive forms
• but active meanings

So morata esset literally looks like had been delayed, but it actually means:

• had delayed
• had lingered
• had stayed

Also, morata is feminine singular because it agrees with ancilla.

Because it agrees with ancilla, which is feminine singular.

In deponent perfect tenses, Latin uses:

• a perfect participle
• plus a form of sum

So:

• masculine singular: moratus esset
• feminine singular: morata esset
• neuter singular: moratum esset

Since ancilla is feminine, Latin uses morata.

Paulisper means for a little while, for a short time, or briefly.

It is an adverb modifying morata esset:

• paulisper morata esset = had lingered for a little while

Apud usually means at, near, or by when referring to a place or person.

So:

• puteus = well
• apud puteum = at/by the well

Notice that apud takes the accusative, which is why it is puteum, not puteo.

Because apud is a preposition that takes the accusative case.

So:

• nominative: puteus
• accusative: puteum

Therefore:

• apud puteum = at the well

This is simply the case required by the preposition.

Because ei means to her, while eam means her as a direct object.

In mater ei dixit:

• mater = mother
• dixit = said
• ei = to her

So the mother said to her something.

If Latin used eam, it would make her the direct object of said, which is not what this construction needs.

After verbs of commanding, urging, persuading, or telling someone to do something, Latin often uses:

• ut
  • subjunctive

So:

mater ei dixit ut aquam celerius ferret
= the mother told her to carry the water more quickly

This is called an indirect command.

Here ut does not mean so that in a purpose sense. It introduces what the mother told the slave-girl to do.

Because it is in an indirect command after dixit.

Latin regularly uses:

• ut
  • subjunctive

after verbs like:

• imperare = command
• monere = warn
• persuadere = persuade
• rogare = ask
• dicere = tell, when it means tell someone to do something

So ut ... ferret means to carry or that she should carry.

Because of the sequence of tenses.

The main verb is dixit, a past tense. After a past-tense main verb, Latin normally uses a secondary sequence subjunctive in the subordinate clause.

So:

• main verb in past: dixit
• subordinate subjunctive: ferret imperfect subjunctive

That is why Latin says:

• dixit ut ... ferret

rather than:

• dixit ut ... ferat

Celerius means more quickly. It is the comparative adverb from celeriter.

So:

• celeriter = quickly
• celerius = more quickly

The idea is that the mother wants the slave-girl to carry the water faster than she has been doing.

Because aquam is the direct object of ferret.

• ferre = to carry
• what is being carried? aquam = water

So the accusative is used for the thing carried.

Latin has no definite article like English the and no indefinite article like a/an.

So:

• aquam can mean water or the water
• puteum can mean a well or the well

The context tells you what is meant. In this sentence, English naturally uses the well and the water, but Latin does not need separate words for that.

It has two main parts:

1. Cum ancilla paulisper apud puteum morata esset
   a subordinate cum clause giving background

2. mater ei dixit ut aquam celerius ferret
   the main clause, followed by an indirect command

So the pattern is:

• When/after X had happened, Y told her to do Z

Either can work, depending on context.

Because morata esset is pluperfect, the action of lingering is completed before dixit:

• she had lingered
• then her mother spoke

So after often brings out the timing clearly. But when is also very common in translation.

Latin itself leaves some flexibility, and English can choose the smoother wording.

Latin word order is much more flexible because grammatical endings show each word’s role.

So Latin can say:

Cum ancilla paulisper apud puteum morata esset, mater ei dixit ut aquam celerius ferret

without needing a fixed English-style order.

A few points about the order here:

• cum clause comes first to set the scene
• mater is placed prominently at the start of the main clause
• celerius comes near ferret, which it modifies

The order is natural Latin, even though English would organize the sentence differently.