Incendium totam viciniam terret.

Latin usually shows this through case endings, not mainly through word order.

• incendium is the subject
• totam viciniam is the direct object
• terret is the verb

Why?

• incendium is nominative singular, the case commonly used for the subject.
• viciniam is accusative singular, the case commonly used for the direct object.
• totam matches viciniam, so it goes with it: the whole neighborhood

So the structure is:

• Incendium = the fire
• totam viciniam = the whole neighborhood
• terret = frightens / terrifies

Even if the words were arranged differently, the endings would still show who is doing what.

Because totam has to agree with viciniam.

In Latin, adjectives must agree with the nouns they describe in:

• gender
• number
• case

Here:

• viciniam is feminine singular accusative
• so the adjective must also be feminine singular accusative
• that form is totam

So:

• tota vicinia = the whole neighborhood as a subject
• totam viciniam = the whole neighborhood as an object

Since the neighborhood is being frightened, it is the object, so Latin uses totam viciniam.

Terret is:

• 3rd person singular
• present tense
• active voice
• indicative mood

It comes from the verb terrere, meaning to frighten, to terrify, or to alarm.

So terret means:

• he/she/it frightens
• or more naturally here, it frightens

Because the subject is incendium (fire), the sentence means The fire frightens the whole neighborhood.

That is a very common question. In second-declension neuter nouns, the form -um can be both:

• nominative singular
• accusative singular

So incendium could be either nominative or accusative by form alone.

You figure out its role from the rest of the sentence:

• terret needs a singular subject
• totam viciniam is clearly accusative because of totam and viciniam
• that leaves incendium as the subject

Also, incendium is a neuter noun, and neuter nouns often have the same nominative and accusative form.

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

So:

• incendium can mean fire, a fire, or the fire
• viciniam can mean neighborhood, a neighborhood, or the neighborhood

You choose the most natural English wording from the context. In this sentence, the fire frightens the whole neighborhood is the most natural translation.

Viciniam is the accusative singular of vicinia, which means something like:

• neighborhood
• vicinity
• nearby area

In this sentence, neighborhood is usually the best English choice.

Because it is accusative, it is receiving the action of the verb:

• the fire frightens the whole neighborhood

Latin word order is much more flexible than English word order because the endings show the grammar.

An English sentence usually has to stay close to:

• subject + verb + object

Latin can do that, but it does not have to. This sentence uses:

• subject + object + verb

That is a very common Latin pattern.

So:

• Incendium totam viciniam terret
• literally: Fire the whole neighborhood frightens

But in natural English we say:

• The fire frightens the whole neighborhood

Latin often places the verb at or near the end, though this is not a strict rule.

Possibly in some contexts, but the basic form is simply present tense: frightens.

Latin present tense can sometimes be translated in different English ways depending on context:

• frightens
• is frightening
• sometimes even does frighten

But if no special context is given, the simplest translation is best:

• The fire frightens the whole neighborhood

Because totam agrees with viciniam in all the important grammatical features:

• feminine
• singular
• accusative

That agreement shows that totam describes viciniam.

So you should read them together:

• totam viciniam = the whole neighborhood

This is one of the main ways Latin shows which adjective belongs with which noun.

A common classroom pronunciation would be roughly:

• in-KEN-dee-um TOH-tam wi-KEE-nee-am TER-ret

A few helpful notes:

• c is always hard, like k
• v is often pronounced like English w in restored classical pronunciation
• rr in terret is a doubled consonant, so it is pronounced more strongly than a single r

So in a more classical style, viciniam may sound closer to wi-kee-nee-am than vi-si-ni-am.