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The usual -am ending signals the dir. obj., as does the word order, which is standard for Latin: SOV, subj.-obj.-verb (vs. English, which is an SVO language); final -m was often muted in speech, and sometimes therefore dropped in writing.
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Richard A. LaFleur (Scribblers, Sculptors, and Scribes: A Companion to Wheelock's Latin and Other Introductory Textbooks)