Ludus puero voluptatem dat.

• ludus is nominative singular
• puero is dative singular
• voluptatem is accusative singular

Those endings tell you what each word is doing in the sentence:

• nominative = subject
• dative = indirect object, often to or for someone
• accusative = direct object

So Latin is using case endings, not mainly word order, to show the grammar.

Because ludus is in the nominative case, which is the normal case for the subject of a sentence.

Also, the verb dat is third person singular, so it matches a singular subject: ludus.

So ludus is the one doing the action of giving.

Because puero is in the dative case.

With a verb like dat (gives), the dative usually marks the recipient:

• someone is given something
• so that person appears in the dative

That is why puero means to the boy or sometimes for the boy, depending on context.

Because voluptatem is in the accusative case, and the accusative is the normal case for the direct object.

In a sentence with give, the direct object is the thing being given. Here, voluptatem is that thing.

So:

• ludus = the giver
• puero = the receiver
• voluptatem = the thing given

Dat comes from the verb do, dare, meaning to give.

Its form here is:

• present tense
• active voice
• indicative mood
• third person singular

So dat means he/she/it gives. In this sentence, it is best translated as gives.

Latin does not have articles like English the or a/an.

So a noun like ludus can mean:

• the game
• a game

and puero can mean:

• to the boy
• to a boy

The exact choice in English depends on context and on the translation being used.

It matters less than in English.

In English, word order is very important:

• The game gives pleasure to the boy is different from
• The boy gives pleasure to the game

In Latin, the endings already show the roles:

• ludus = subject
• puero = indirect object
• voluptatem = direct object

So Latin can move the words around more freely without changing the basic meaning. Different word orders often change emphasis, not the core grammar.

Because puer is the dictionary form, which is nominative singular.

In this sentence, the word needs to be in the dative singular because it means to the boy. The dative singular of puer is puero.

This is a normal second-declension pattern:

• nominative singular: puer
• dative singular: puero

Because voluptas is the nominative singular form, but the sentence needs the accusative singular form, since it is the direct object.

For this noun, the accusative singular is voluptatem.

This is a normal third-declension pattern:

• nominative singular: voluptas
• accusative singular: voluptatem

So the ending changes to show its job in the sentence.

Yes. Ludus can have several meanings, including:

• game
• play
• school

Latin words often have a range of meanings, and context tells you which one is meant. Since the meaning has already been given to the learner, that context decides how ludus should be understood here.