Factum bonum laudatur.

Here factum is being used as a noun, meaning deed, act, or thing done.

Historically, it comes from the perfect passive participle of facere (to do, to make), so it literally means something done. In this sentence, though, you can treat it simply as a noun.

Because bonum is an adjective modifying factum, and Latin adjectives must agree with the nouns they describe in:

• gender
• number
• case

So if factum is neuter singular nominative, then bonum must also be neuter singular nominative.

That is why you get factum bonum: a good deed or the good deed.

It is nominative singular.

That is because factum bonum is the subject of the sentence. In Latin, the subject of a finite verb is normally in the nominative case.

Since laudatur means is praised, the thing being praised is the subject, so factum bonum must be nominative.

Because the idea of is praised is built into the verb form laudatur itself.

Latin verbs often pack a lot of meaning into one word. Laudatur includes:

• the verb stem lauda- = praise
• tense = present
• voice = passive
• person = third
• number = singular

So laudatur means he/she/it is praised.

Latin does not need a separate word for is here.

Laudatur is:

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

of the verb laudare, meaning to praise.

So it means is praised or gets praised.

We know because of the verb ending -tur.

In Latin, present passive endings include forms like:

• -r
• -ris
• -tur
• -mur
• -mini
• -ntur

So laudatur is clearly passive, not active.

Compare:

• laudat = praises active
• laudatur = is praised passive

Because the subject, factum bonum, is singular.

Latin verbs agree with their subjects in number and person. Since there is one good deed, the verb is third person singular: laudatur.

If the subject were plural, the verb would also be plural. For example:

• facta bona laudantur = good deeds are praised

No. Latin does not have articles like English a, an, and the.

So factum bonum could mean:

• a good deed
• the good deed
• sometimes simply good deed

Which one is best depends on context.

Yes. Latin word order is much freer than English word order because the endings show how the words function.

So these can mean basically the same thing:

• Factum bonum laudatur.
• Bonum factum laudatur.
• Laudatur factum bonum.

That said, word order can affect emphasis. Putting a word first or last may make it stand out more.

Because passive sentences do not have to name the agent.

Factum bonum laudatur simply says that the good deed is praised. It does not say by whom.

If Latin wanted to add the agent, it could do so, often with ab plus the ablative for a personal agent. For example:

• Factum bonum ab hominibus laudatur.
• The good deed is praised by people.

An active version would make the praiser the subject.

For example:

• Homines factum bonum laudant.
• People praise the good deed.

Compare the structures:

• Passive: Factum bonum laudatur.
• Active: Homines factum bonum laudant.

In the passive sentence, the good deed is the subject. In the active sentence, people are the subject.

Yes, quite literal.

Since factum originally means something done, factum bonum is literally a good thing done or a good deed.

It is a natural and understandable Latin expression, and it shows nicely how Latin can turn a participle into a noun-like word.