Censor lustrum agit, postquam civis iusiurandum dat.

Latin shows that mainly through case endings, not just word order.

• censor is nominative singular → the subject of agit
• lustrum is accusative singular → the direct object of agit
• civis is nominative singular → the subject of dat
• iusiurandum is accusative singular → the direct object of dat

So the structure is:

• Censor lustrum agit = The censor performs the lustrum
• postquam civis iusiurandum dat = after the citizen gives/swears the oath

Even if the words were rearranged, the endings would still show the relationships.

Not necessarily. A singular noun in Latin can be generic.

So civis can mean:

• the citizen in a general sense
• each citizen
• sometimes something closer to citizens in natural English

In a sentence about a public procedure, Latin often uses the singular to describe what members of a group do as part of a regular process.

Lustrum is a culturally specific Roman word. It can refer to:

• a purificatory ceremony
• the completion of a census
• by extension, a five-year period, because the census was associated with that cycle

In this sentence, it means the rite/ceremony performed by the censor after the census process, not just five years as a number of years.

Because agere has a wider range of meanings than English to drive/do.

With ceremonies, festivals, and official acts, agere can mean:

• perform
• conduct
• celebrate
• carry out

So lustrum agit is an idiomatic Latin expression meaning he performs/conducts the lustrum.

It is not saying the censor is physically driving anything here.

This is an idiom. Latin often uses dare (to give) where English uses take or swear.

So:

• iusiurandum dare = to swear/take an oath

That sounds strange if translated word-for-word, but it is perfectly normal Latin.

A very literal rendering would be give an oath, but idiomatic English is swear an oath or take an oath.

Iusiurandum is a substantive verbal form meaning oath.

A few useful points:

• it is neuter singular
• in this sentence it is the direct object of dat
• it is often connected with the expression ius iurandum

Historically, it comes from a form meaning something like that which must be sworn, but in ordinary use it simply means oath.

So a learner usually just needs to recognize:

• iusiurandum = oath

Postquam is a subordinating conjunction meaning after.

It introduces the clause:

• postquam civis iusiurandum dat = after the citizen swears the oath

So the sentence has:

• a main clause: Censor lustrum agit
• a subordinate time clause: postquam civis iusiurandum dat

In other words, postquam tells you when the main action happens.

Because the time relationship is shown by postquam, not only by tense.

Here:

• agit = present
• dat = present

This can be used for a general or vivid statement:

• The censor performs the lustrum after the citizen swears the oath
• or more generally, whenever the citizen swears the oath, the censor performs the lustrum

Latin often uses the present in this kind of descriptive or procedural statement.

So even though the oath comes first, the present tense is still possible because postquam already marks the sequence.

Because Classical Latin has no articles.

So Latin often leaves English speakers to supply:

• the
• a/an
• sometimes no article at all

depending on context.

That means:

• censor could be the censor or a censor
• civis could be the citizen or a citizen
• lustrum could be the lustrum
• iusiurandum could be an oath or the oath

English has to choose; Latin usually does not mark that directly.

Because Latin word order is much more flexible than English word order.

English depends heavily on position:

• The censor performs the lustrum
• The citizen swears the oath

Latin depends more on endings, so it can arrange words for:

• emphasis
• rhythm
• style
• clarity

This sentence is actually quite straightforward, but it still does not need to match English order exactly.

A learner should focus first on:

1. finding the verb
2. finding the nominative subject
3. finding the accusative object
4. noticing conjunctions like postquam

That method is usually more reliable than trying to read Latin strictly left to right as if it were English.